Simile

Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison of two objects that are essentially unlike one another. Similes are made up of two parts: the thing being compared, the comparandum, and the thing by which the comparison is made, the comparatum.

Since there is a comparison being made in similes, they often rely on these words: like, as, or than.

You probably use similes (or at least hear them) nearly everyday. Here is a brief list that you may have heard. Many of these similes are so commonly used that they are considered cliche.

* busy as a bee
* clear as a bell
* cold as ice
* cute as a button
* dry as a bone
* dead as a doornail
* free as a bird
* high as a kite
* light as a feather
* sharp as a tack
* solid as a rock

To further illustrate what a simile is, this next poem was written by a teacher for the express purpose of teaching similes.

“Predictable”
by Bruce Lansky

Poor as a church mouse.
strong as an ox,
cute as a button,
smart as a fox.
thin as a toothpick,
white as a ghost,
fit as a fiddle,
dumb as a post.
bald as an eagle,
neat as a pin,
proud as a peacock,
ugly as sin.
When people are talking
you know what they'll say
as soon as they start to
use a cliché.

Normally I would have asked you to watch for similes, but you would have probably been more hard pressed to find a line that didn't have a simile.




Assignment

Download “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns and answer the questions attached to the poem.