Metaphor, Analogy, and Simile

THE CONCEPT AND CONTENT OF

Metaphor, Analogy
and Simile

want to know the fundamentals?

IT ALL IN ONE BOOK

©KRITTA

PREFACE

THIS BOOK CAN BE USED AS A
PRACTICE GUIDE IN ENGLISH CLASSES

FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGES.
ANALOGY, METAPHOR, AND SIMILE
ARE CORRECT, AND THE AUTHOR
WISHES FOR READERS TO BENEFIT

FROM THEIR LEISURE TIME.
THE AUTHOR HOPES THAT THIS BOOK

WILL AID IN THE CORRECT USE OF
ANALOGY, METAPHOR, AND SIMILE.



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WRITTEN BY

KRITTAYOT IN
TARACHUT

IND
E
X

CONTENT PAGE

METAPHOR 3-5
ANALOGY 6-8
SIMILE
9-11

3

METAPHOR DEFINITION:
THE DIRECT

COMPARISON

T H E W O R D “ M E T
A P H O R ” C O M E S
DIRECTLY FROM THE GREEK WORD
METAPHORA, “A TRANSFER.” THAT’S
EXACTLY WHAT METAPHORS DO: THEY
TRANSFER IDENTITIES, ALTERING THE
READER’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE

NATURE OF SOMETHING.
A METAPHOR IS A STATEMENT IN WHICH

TWO ITEMS, OFTEN UNRELATED, ARE
TREATED AS THE SAME THING. ALSO
KNOWN AS A “DIRECT COMPARISON,”
METAPHORS CAN CREATE POWERFUL
IMAGERY AND DESCRIPTION, DEEPENING
THE MEANING OF OBJECTS AND IDEAS.




"THE LOVE OF BOOKS IS A LOVE WHICH REQUIRES
NEITHER JUSTIFICATION, APOLOGY, NOR DEFENSE."

4

A METAPHOR IS A STATEMENT IN
WHICH TWO THINGS, OFTEN

UNRELATED, ARE TREATED AS THE
SAME THING.

RATHER THAN USING “LIKE” OR “AS” LIKE
SIMILES DO, METAPHORS ARE STATEMENTS
OF BEING, OFTEN USING WORDS LIKE “IS,”

“ARE,” AND “BECAME” TO MAKE A
COMPARISON. METAPHORS CAN ALSO MAKE

A COMPARISON WITHOUT USING “BEING
VERBS” OR OTHER COMPARABLE WORDS.
TAKE THESE THREE METAPHOR EXAMPLES,

EACH OF WHICH DRAWS A PORTRAIT
WITHOUT USING EXCESSIVE LANGUAGE:
THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK IS THE KING
OF THE FAMILY ROOM FURNITURE.
THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK BECAME A
DEATH KNELL FOR HER CHILDHOOD.
THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK HAD THE FACE
OF AN ESTRANGED LOVER.




"BOOKS ARE THE PLANE, AND THE TRAIN, AND THE ROAD.

THEY ARE THE DESTINATION, AND THE JOURNEY. THEY ARE HOME."

METAPHOR 5
EXAMPLES

T H E F O LLOWING ME T A P H O
ORF EX A MPL E S AL L COME
F R O M P UBLISHED W O R K S LI T ERA T U RE.

“WHATEVER CAUSES NIGHT IN OUR SOULS

MAY LEAVE STARS.” —NINETY-THREE BY

VICTOR HUGO

SOMETIMES, THE SIMPLEST METAPHORS CARRY THE
MOST COMPLEX MEANINGS. THE PREMISE OF THIS
DIRECT COMPARISON IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND:
THE THINGS THAT TROUBLE US NOW MAY
STRENGTHEN US LATER. AT THE VERY LEAST,
THOSE STARS ARE TWINKLES OF WISDOM THAT WE
GAIN FROM LIFE EXPERIENCE, ILLUMINATING OUR
PATHS FORWARD, IF DIMLY.
WHAT EMERGES FROM THIS METAPHOR IS A
BITTERSWEET RUMINATION ON LIFE AND ITS MANY
PERILS. ACCRUING WISDOM IS ALWAYS A CHOICE,
BUT FAITH IN THE LIGHT IS VITAL FOR ANYONE TO
PUSH FORWARD.

THE MORE THAT YOU READ, THE MORE THINGS YOU WILL KNOW.
THE MORE THAT YOU LEARN, THE MORE PLACES YOU'LL GO.

6

ANALOGY DEFINITION :
THE ARGUMENTATIVE
COMPARISON

THE WORD “ANALOGY” COMES FROM
GREEK, ROUGHLY TRANSLATED TO

MEAN “PROPORTIONAL.” ANALOGIES
ARGUE THAT TWO SEEMINGLY
DIFFERENT ITEMS ARE

“PROPORTIONAL” AND, IN DOING SO,
BUILD AN ARGUMENT ABOUT A LARGER

ISSUE. AN ANALOGY MIGHT NOT BE
THE CENTRAL DEVICE OF YOUR
WRITING, BUT ANALOGIES CAN
CONTRIBUTE MUCH-NEEDED
PERSPECTIVE TO AN ARGUMENT,

APPEALING TO THE READER’S SENSE
OF LOGIC.

"A BOOK IS A DEVICE TO IGNITE THE IMAGINATION."

7

AN ANALOGY HAS
TWO PURPOSES

1.THE IDENTIFICATION OF A SHARED
RELATIONSHIP, AND/OR

2.THE USE OF SOMETHING FAMILIAR TO
DESCRIBE SOMETHING UNFAMILIAR.

THIS WILL MAKE SENSE WITH SOME
ANALOGY EXAMPLES. LET’S START

WITH A SIMPLE ONE:

FINDING A NEW SPECIES OF FISH IS
LIKE FINDING A NEEDLE IN A
HAYSTACK.

LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES—
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE
GONNA GET.




NO ENTERTAINMENT IS SO CHEAP AS READING, NOR ANY
PLEASURE SO LASTING.

ANALOGY 8
EXAMPLES

T H E F OLLOWING AN A LO G YO
EF XA MPL E S ALL COME
F R O M PUBLISHED W O RK S LI TER A T URE.

“THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSE / BY ANY
OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS SWEET” —
ROMEO AND JULIET BY WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE

SHAKESPEARE IS NEGATING THE IDEA OF
NOMINATIVE DETERMINISM—THE IDEA THAT THE
NAME OF SOMETHING CHANGES ITS ESSENTIAL
CHARACTERISTICS. THE IDEA OF A “SWEET-
SMELLING ROSE” IS FAMILIAR TO THE READER, AND
BY MODIFYING THIS IDEA TO CALL THE ROSE A
NAMELESS FLOWER, SHAKESPEARE SUGGESTS THAT
THE NAME “ROSE” HAS NO EFFECT ON THE ROSE’S
SMELL.
IN ROMEO AND JULIET, ROMEO UTTERS THIS LINE
AS PART OF A LARGER ARGUMENT: THAT JULIET’S
STATUS AS A CAPULET DOES NOT CHANGE HIS
LOVE FOR HER, EVEN THOUGH HE IS A MONTAGUE.
THIS REJECTION OF FAMILY HISTORY FOR THE
SAKE OF LOVE IS CENTRAL TO THE PLAY’S
TRAGEDY.

"NO MATTER WHAT HIS RANK OR POSITION MAY BE,
THE LOVER OF BOOKS IS THE RICHEST AND THE
HAPPIEST OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN."

9

SIMILE DEFINITION:
THE INDIRECT
COMPARISON

T H E W O R D S “ S I M I L
E ” A N D “ S I M I L A R ”
COME FROM THE SAME ROOT, AND

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT A SIMILE IS: A
COMPARISON OF SIMILAR THINGS.

SPECIFICALLY, A SIMILE COMPARES
TWO OR MORE ITEMS USING “LIKE,”

“AS,” OR ANOTHER COMPARATIVE
PREPOSITION. ALSO KNOWN AS AN
“INDIRECT COMPARISON,” THE SIMILE
ALLOWS WRITERS TO EXPLORE THE
MANY FACETS OF COMPLEX IDEAS.




TODAY AREADER,TOMORROW A LEADER.

10

A SIMILE COMPARES TWO OR
MORE ITEMS USING “LIKE,”
“AS,” OR ANOTHER
COMPARATIVE PREPOSITION.

TAKE THESE THREE SIMILE EXAMPLES:
MY CAT IS AS LOUD AS SHEA
STADIUM.
MY CAT IS SOFT AND FLUFFY, LIKE
A TEDDY BEAR.
MY CAT DESTROYS FURNITURE THE
WAY BULLDOZERS DESTROY
BUILDINGS.

THESE SIMILES OFFER VERY DIFFERENT
DESCRIPTIONS, YET COEXIST QUITE
PEACEFULLY IN MY CAT—WHO IS, IN
FACT, LOUD AND SOFT AND
DESTRUCTIVE.




THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK. READ BEFORE YOU THINK.

SIMILE 11

EXAMPLES

THE FOLLOWING SIMILE EXAMPLES ALL COME FROM

P U B L I S H E D W O R K S O F L I T
E R A T U R E .

YOU LIVED YOUR LIFE LIKE A CANDLE IN
THE WIND” — “CANDLE IN THE WIND”
BY ELTON JOHN

THIS SIMILE IS DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE BECAUSE IT
PAINTS A COMPLEX IMAGE. HOW DOES A CANDLE
REACT TO THE WIND? SOMETIMES IT FLICKERS,
SOMETIMES IT STANDS EVEN TALLER, AND
SOMETIMES IT WANES TO AN EMBER, WAITING FOR
THE WEATHER TO PASS.
ELTON JOHN WROTE “CANDLE IN THE WIND” TO
COMMEMORATE THE LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE, BUT
ALTHOUGH THE SONG IS SPECIFIC TO ONE PERSON,
THE SIMILE COULD APPLY TO ANYONE,
DEMONSTRATING THE SIMPLE POWER OF THIS
LITERARY DEVICE.

YOU CAN NEVER BE WISE UNLESS YOU LOVE READING

©KRITTAYOT INTARACHUT