The metaphor and the simile are two literary figures widely used by the writers of this country. For connoisseurs of literary figures, it is not difficult to differentiate them, however, for ordinary people it is usually somewhat complicated.
In addition, this question is usually common in language subjects as an exam question. Textbooks explain a little what each one consists of, but they do it with such boring language, that in the end the differences between them are not clear to us.
If you want to be a writer, editor or poet, it is absolutely essential to have an in-depth knowledge of literary figures, because when it comes time to start writing we will be able to immerse the reader using metaphors and similes.
The ocean of your eyes is beautiful and special. Phrases like this are usually common in poems and prose, however, it is not clear if it is a metaphor or a simile, which is not good because if we do not know how to identify them, we will not know how to use them correctly either and we cannot achieve the desired effect.
But don’t worry, from doncomos.com we are going to teach you everything you need to know about the differences between metaphor and simile, so that you can use them in a poem or prose.
What do you need to differentiate the metaphor and simile?
- Basic reading comprehension.
Instructions to differentiate the metaphor and simile
- Definition of metaphor: If you have read more differences between terms of my authorship, you will see that in most cases I like to define the terms separately, because as I always say, if the definition is learned separately, it is hardly necessary to say the differences and is never forgotten or confused. I will start by defining a metaphor, which is a substitution of one term for another, terms that are different but share some kind of similarity such as color, size, shape. An example of a metaphor would be: “And in combat I faced the mountain.” In this case we would substitute a big man for a mountain, since a mountain is big, powerful, tall, just like a big man. Another example would be “the fire in your eyes”, a phrase in which we say fire, making a metaphor for passion, intensity, brightness, something that fire does.
- Definition of simile: Surely it has already become clear to you what a metaphor is, since I have explained it in the previous point. Now it is the turn of the simile, which although it seems similar, is a totally different concept. The simile or comparison is a literary figure that compares two similar terms with each other, does not replace them, but only compares them. An example of a simile would be: “your eyes are as bright as the sky and the stars.” As you can see, two similar elements are usually compared (it’s so, it’s like, it’s the same as…), in this case the brightness of a person’s eyes is compared with the brightness of celestial bodies such as stars, the sky, the stars …as they both shine. Another example of a simile would be “your lips are as red as burning fire.” Here we compare the heat and color of fire with the color of lipstick.
- Differences: Now that you know the differences between simile and metaphor, it’s time to differentiate the terms from each other, terms that you already know can be differentiated well and are not the same as we thought at first. The main difference is that the metaphor substitutes one element for another and the simile compares one element for another. The fire in your eyes is a metaphor and your eyes are as hot as fire is a simile. If you look closely, in the metaphor they substitute one term for another (burning for fire) and in the simile they are both present and they compare them directly.
Tips to differentiate the metaphor and simile
- How to use them correctly: Now that you know the difference between metaphor and simile, it’s time to learn how to use them in a text, something that will improve your writing skills. When writing a poem, metaphors look great, but they they must use terms that are really similar, identifying visible qualities (saying that fire is red is an easily identifiable quality for example). In the case of similes, it is easier to use them, however, similar terms must also be used with each other, since otherwise they would not look good either. In addition, these terms must have known differences in society for the text to be understood (no one will understand if you compare a doll with the binary code for example).