Metaphor vs simile

Question

i wanna learn what is or are the difference or differences between metaphor and simile thank u very much happy holidays

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hi Serdar,

Here are three definitions of 'METAPHOR':

A comparison that is made literally, either by a verb (for example, John Keats' "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" from his "Ode on a Grecian Urn") or, less obviously, by a combination of adjective and noun, noun and verb, etc. (for example, Shakespeare's sonnet on the "the marriage of true minds"), but in any case without pointing out a similarity by using words such as "as," "like," or "than."

A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected. Some examples of metaphors: the world's a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.

A figure of speech that expresses an idea through the image of another object. Metaphors suggest the essence of the first object by identifying it with certain qualities of the second object. An example is "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?/ It is the east, and Juliet is the sun" in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Here, Juliet, the first object, is identified with qualities of the second object, the sun.

And three definitions of 'SIMILE':

A direct comparison between two things essentially unlike each other, but resembling each other in at least one way, usually using the words 'like' or 'as'.

A figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two essentially unlike things, usually using 'like', 'as' or 'than', as in Burns', "O, my luve's like A Red, Red Rose" or Shelley's "As still as a brooding dove," in "The Cloud."

A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two things by using words such as 'like', 'as', 'than', 'appears', and 'seems'. The effectiveness of the simile is created by the differences between the two things compared, and it is the job of the simile itself to suggest the important ways in which the two are similar.

Anonymous · Answer

hello will u tell me what the diffrece is between a metaphor and a simile

plz thanks alot bye bye

Pieanne · Answer

Hello, Anon, this has already been discussed at lengths... Clicking on the links under the first post here will surely help you.

Anonymous · Answer

Serdar281kdi wanna learn what is or are the difference or differences between metaphor and simile
thank u very much happy holidays

Hi, guys

I'd like to know what i have to use in this sentence:

" Family is / is like / likes a cell of society"

Thanks for helping

Stev.

Anonymous · Answer

0so is this metaphor or simile or just a figure of speech:02br
02br
00he had the wrong filling in his sandwich02br
02br
05000 thnx (if you do reply)010id2

Nona the brit · Answer

0 I don't recognise it as any of those. It certainly isn't a simile as it doesn't contain a comparison. Perhaps it is a metaphor/figure of speech in your local form of English. 0-

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Mister Micawber-

[Y]

Okay so I know what a metaphor and a smilie are, and I know their differences.

I know that a METAPHOR is: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object OR action to which it is not literally applicable.

I know that a SIMILE is: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid....

The DIFFERENCE is that a simile is distinguished by using "LIKE" OR "AS"..... NOT"THAN". (Simile is a word taken form latin, which is "similis" ... the translation from Latin to English is "similar" or "similarity"... the way you make a comparison (usually) is to use the words "like and as".... unless it's a metaphor.

).

So, I just thought that I would let you know that there are only two ways to establish a simile.... and using "than" is not one of them. But I like your ways of explaining the 3 types of metaphors... very nice, I couldn't do better.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi,

It is not a simile b/c it does not show the comparison between anything in that statement.

SO that leaves: metaphor or figure of speech.

To me, it seems like a figure of speech... b/c "having the wrong filling" seems like someone got something they didn't (order) like or want. For example, if someone asked they wanted something for x-mas, and didn't get it or they got the opposite.... So yeah, I would say figure of speech.

Hope that helped....

Anonymous · Answer

i want to konw the same thing

BarbaraPA · Answer

Anonymousi want to konw the same thing

Which 'same thing' is that? The question that was asked at the beginning of the thread and given an excellent, comprehensive answer in the second post?

If you have read through the thread and still have questions, please be specific.

Metaphor vs simile

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