2. Simile
“Our soldiers are as brave as lions.”
A simile is a figure of speech that makes
a comparison, showing similarities between two
different things.
3. Example
We can find simile examples in our daily speech. We often hear
comments like, “John is as slow as a snail.”
Snails are notorious for their slow pace, and here the slowness of
John is compared to that of a snail.
The use of “as” in the example helps to draw the resemblance.
4. Why use similes?
Using similes can add emotion or feeling that helps give
the reader a vivid sense of the effect being described.
Simile - a kind of description. ... (Hint - 'like' or 'as' are key
words to spot as these create the simile).
A simile can create a vivid image in the reader's mind,
helping to engage and absorb them.
9. Common Examples of Simile
1. Your explanation is as clear as mud.
2. The water well was as dry as a bone.
3. Watching the show was like watching grass grow.
10. Practice 1: Identify the two things that are being compared in
each simile and explain what the simile is expressing in literal
language.
1. The glow of the tube-light was as bright as the sunshine.
2. In winter, when it rained, he climbed into bed and felt as snug as a bug in a rug.
3. At exam time, the high school student was as busy as a bee.
4. The beggar on the road looked as blind as a bat.
5. When the examination finished, the candidate felt as light as a feather.
6. When the teacher entered the class, the 6th-grade students were fighting like cats and dogs.
7. The diplomat said the friendship of the two countries was as deep as an ocean.
8. The desert traveler’s hopes were dashed, as when at last he reached a well, it was as dry as a bone.
9. His opponent was trying to infuriate him, but he remained as cool as cucumber.
10. The laborer remained busy at work all day long and slept like a log that night.
11. Answers
1. The glow of the tube-light was as bright as the sunshine.
2. In winter, when it rained, he climbed into bed and felt as snug as a bug in a rug.
3. At exam time, the high school student was as busy as a bee.
4. The beggar on the road looked as blind as a bat.
5. When the examination finished, the candidate felt as light as a feather.
6. When the teacher entered the class, the 6th-grade students were fighting like cats and dogs.
7. The diplomat said the friendship of the two countries was as deep as an ocean.
8. The desert traveler’s hopes were dashed, as when at last he reached a well, it was as dry as a bone.
9. His opponent was trying to infuriate him, but he remained as cool as cucumber.
10. The laborer remained busy at work all day long and slept like a log that night.
12. Similes in Literature
Identify the Similes and explain the
meaning.
1. Lord Jim (By Joseph Conrad)
“I would have given anything for the power
to soothe her frail soul, tormenting itself in
its invincible ignorance like a small bird
beating about the cruel wires of a cage.”
2. Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)
“Elderly American ladies leaning on their
canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.”
3. A Red, Red Rose (By Robert Burns)
“O my Luve’s like a red red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.”
4. the Daffodils (By William Wordsworth)
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o’er vales and hills.”
13. 5. Sonnet 18 (By William Shakespeare)
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines”
6. Othello (By William Shakespeare)
“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,—
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!
It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood;
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.”
7. Will There Really Be a Morning? (By Emily
Dickinson)
“Will there really be a morning?
Is there such a thing as day?
Could I see it from the mountains
If I were as tall as they?
Has it feet like water-lilies?
Has it feathers like a bird?
Is it brought from famous countries.”
8. Romeo and Juliet (by William
Shakespeare)
"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too
rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."
14. Answers
Identify the Similes and explain the
meaning.
1. Lord Jim (By Joseph Conrad)
“I would have given anything for the power to
soothe her frail soul, tormenting itself in its invincible
ignorance like a small bird beating about the cruel
wires of a cage.”
2. Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)
“Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes
listed toward me like towers of Pisa.”
3. A Red, Red Rose (By Robert Burns)
“O my Luve’s like a red red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.”
4. the Daffodils (By William Wordsworth)
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o’er vales and hills.”
15. 5. Sonnet 18 (By William Shakespeare)
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of
May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines”
6. Othello (By William Shakespeare)
“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,—
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!
It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood;
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.”
7. Will There Really Be a Morning? (By Emily
Dickinson)
“Will there really be a morning?
Is there such a thing as day?
Could I see it from the mountains
If I were as tall as they?
Has it feet like water-lilies?
Has it feathers like a bird?
Is it brought from famous countries.”
8. Romeo and Juliet (by William
Shakespeare)
"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too
rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."
16. Practice 2: Identify the two things that are being compared
in each simile and explain what the simile is expressing in
literal language.
Example: Fame is fleeting as the wind.
Fame (is / are) being compared to the wind.
In literal language this means...
This means that fame can come and go very quickly.
17. 1. Bright were his eyes like live coals, as he gave me a sideways glance.
2. They were standing where a brook, bending like a shepherd's crook, Flashed its silver, and
thick ranks of willow fringed its mossy banks;
3. A year has gone, as the tortoise goes, heavy and plodding;
4. There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart, in a fellowless firmament;
5. One self-denying act, one word that eased the heart of him that heard; One glance most
kind, which felt like sunshine where it went,
6. The mellow glow of the twilight shone like a jeweled crown,
7. The skies in the darkness stoop nearer and nearer, a cluster of stars hangs like fruit in the
tree,
8. What shall we do when hope is gone? The words leapt like a leaping sword; "Sail on! sail
on! sail on! and on!“
9. Turn from blotted archives of the past and find the future's pages white as snow!
10. Why should the spirit of mortal be proud! Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud, A
flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, he passes from life to his rest in the grave.
20. Occasionally, a simile can be created without any comparative word.
Similes like this are said to be submerged.
Baby Anna has silky hair and the skin of an angel.
In the example above, the similes are hair like silk and skin like an
angel’s skin .
In neither case is the comparing word like necessary, thus allowing a
greater economy of expression.
21. When you create a simile, consider the effect you want to produce―a visual
scene, an emotional touch, a positive or negative feeling―and select an
image that will be appropriate to your need.
Rewrite the following sentences, incorporating a simile suggested by the
idea in parentheses.
(a) The service in this restaurant is slow. (a slow-flowing liquid in a winter month)
(b) Before he could get to work, his ideas dissipated. (a liquid on something porous)
(c) They were unmovable from their demands. (a large, heavy object)
(d) We have a tough battle in front of us. (something really tough)
(e) The ballerina moved over the floor effortlessly. (something that slides easily)
22. Practice 3
Write sentences using similes to make comparisons. Use a different
construction style for each one. (See the table earlier for ideas.)
1. Classroom
2. STIU
3. University life
4. Studying English
5. Your crush
6. Students
7. Exam
26. Simile in Songs
Task 1:
Listen to Katy Perry’s song “Firework”
Note as many similes as you can.
Task 2:
Listen again to the song and fill in the gaps.
Underline the similes.
Pair-share.
27. Firework
Katy Perry
Do you ever feel like a 1.)___________ 2.)____________
Drifting thought the wind
Wanting to start again
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a 3.)_______ of 4.)____________
One blow from caving in
Do you ever feel already 5.)_________ 6.) ____________
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a 7.)___________
Do you know that there's still a 8.)___________ for you
'Cause there's a 9.) _________ in you
You just gotta 10.)___________ the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the 11.)__________ of 12.)___________
You just gotta 10.)___________ the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the 11.)__________ of 12.)___________
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your 13.)_______________
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you 14.___________ across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your 15.)____________ 16.)_____________
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down down down
You don't have to 17.) ___________ like a 18.)_______________
You're original, cannot be 19.)______________
If you…
28. Firework
Katy Perry
Do you ever feel like a 1.)plastic 2.) bag
Drifting thought the wind
Wanting to start again
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a 3.)house of 4.)_cards
One blow from caving in
Do you ever feel already 5.)buried 6.) deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a 7.)thing
Do you know that there's still a 8.)chance for you
'Cause there's a 9.) _________ in you
You just gotta 10.)ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the 11.)fourth of 12.) July
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your 13) worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you 14.shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your 15.)colors 16) burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down down down
You don't have to 17.) feel like a 18.) waste of space
You're original, cannot be 19) replaced
If you…
30. Find the lyrics of these songs. Identify the
similes.
1. Exes and Ohs, Elle King
2. Shape of You, Ed Sheeran
3. Hozier, Take me to Church
4. Candle in the Wind, Elton John
5. Halo, Beyonce
6. Shawn Mendes – Stitches
31. More examples of songs with similes
Explain the similes and their meaning
Exes and Ohs, Elle King
Ex’s and the oh, oh, oh’s they haunt me
Like ghosts they want me to make ’em all
They won’t let go
Shape of You, Ed Sheeran
I’m in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Hozier, Take me to Church
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
Candle in the Wind, Elton John
"And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in“
Halo, Beyonce
Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You’re the only one that I want
Think I’m addicted to your light
Shawn Mendes – Stitches
Just like a moth drawn to a flame
Oh, you lured me in, I couldn’t sense the pain
Your bitter heart cold to the touch
Now I’m gonna reap what I sow
I’m left seeing red on my own
33. Analogy
An analogy (uh NAL uh jee), like a simile, compares two different things by identifying points
of similarity. The differences between a simile and an analogy are several:
1. An analogy usually identifies several points of similarity, rather than just one or two
identified in a simile.
2. An analogy is created for the purpose of giving conceptual clarity, explaining an unfamiliar
idea by comparing it to a familiar one. Similes are often used for emotional or artistic
effect rather than for producing literal understanding.
3. An analogy is a practical device used to help the reader’s thought process, and is therefore
usually chosen for its close similarity to the subject, so that the qualities in common offer
helpful illumination of the subject. Similes more often strive for effect through the use of
images very different from the subjects.
34. Analogies are useful for explaining technical information or
processes in a way that a general reader can understand.
Examples:
1. A flash memory chip works like a chalkboard, in that, when information is written on
it, the information remains present even when the power is turned off. Only when
the information is deliberately erased will it disappear. And like the chalkboard,
flash memory can be written on and erased many times.
2. The oil system of an automobile is similar to the circulatory system of the body. The
oil system has tubes and passages for the oil in the same way the body has blood
vessels. The engine drives an oil pump to circulate the oil, corresponding to the
action of the heart. And, just as the kidneys clean the blood as it passes through, the
oil filter cleans the circulating oil.
35. Analogies are also useful for connecting abstract concepts to concrete
pictures. Apprehending a concept is easier for most people if they can
attach a picture to an idea. Analogies serve this purpose.
Examples:
1. In order to solve a problem, you first have to know what the problem really is, in the
same way that you can’t untie a knot until you’ve found the knot. – Aristotle
2. A virtual device, like an impersonator, pretends to be something other than it really is.
For example, just as a cab driver with the aid of a lab coat may impersonate a
doctor, an area of computer memory with the aid of software can impersonate a disk
drive. The computer uses this pretended drive as if the drive were a real piece of
hardware, but it is only virtual hardware.
36. Week 2 Assignment (Group)
Group work
Present examples of similes in media
Video Presentation on Friday
1. Movies
2. Songs
3. advertisements
