Simile and Metaphor

       One of the ways that poets manipulate language to make it more artistic is through the use of simile and metaphor.  These comparative tools allow juxtapositions of complex concepts with simple images, beautiful language with harsh realities, and strange truths with fanciful lies.  It is rare to see poetry that contains no similes or metaphors.

    Simile- A comparison using like or as.

        Examples: He smelled like a rose.  She is as big as a cow.  The sky was like a mirror.  The snow fell like a swan.

    Metaphor- A direct comparison.  Metaphors can be extremely complex or subtle.  The poet will not state that they are making a comparison, they will rather compare as if their statement is truth.

        Examples: A heart of stone.  The snow was a swan.  She's a rose. 

    Hyperbole- Hyperbole can be a type of simile or metaphor.  Hyperbole always contains an exaggeration or impossible claim.

        Examples: Her feet are like elephants.  I'd travel to the ends of the earth to prove my love.  I'd rope you the moon.

    Personification- Personification, rather than comparing something, gives a non-human thing or concept human qualities.

        Examples: Truth watches you. Justice is blind.

    Symbolism- An object, person, or event that stands for something else.  Symbolism can be very subtle and an object such as a rose may be symbolic of love, death, life, hope, or any number of other things.  It may stand for more than one thing at the same time within a poem.  This allows vast numbers of interpretations of a single poem.

    Allegory-Allegory is similar to symbolism and often mistaken for it.  Allegory deals with a poem having a definition symbolic reference to a specific event, action, or individual.  A poem may tell the story of a wizard fighting a troll but be an allegory for World War II.