This difference is important because, when using a metaphor, the thing or quality takes on the characteristics of the object of comparison. However, in making the comparison, the words “like” or “as” are not used. Similar to the simile, a metaphor makes a connection between the qualities of two different things. Whether you’re writing an essay or poem, song lyrics, or an advertisement, similes make a comparison as juicy and unforgettable as…well…fresh-squeezed orange juice! What Is a Metaphor? Similes add depth and interest to a topic. Consider what the writer is trying to get you, the reader, to think about when making the comparison using “like” or “as.”Ī simile, then, makes creative writing more interesting for the reader. You never know what life holds from one day to the next.īelow are examples of more common similes. The next day might hold the horrible shock of a loved one dying. One day might offer a happy surprise of a new bike or friend. The comparison between chocolates and life grows more evident as the listener continues to think about the simile. Is it caramel or nuts, cream or marshmallow?Īfter taking a bite, SURPRISE! You learn the sweet center’s flavor. The listener has a mental image of reaching into a box of chocolates and choosing a piece of candy without knowing what’s in its center. Hence, the next statement: You never know what you’re going to get. Life isn’t literally a box of chocolates, but the title character used a simile because he wanted the listener to understand the comparison between life and a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”
The movie Forrest Gump made famous the saying, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You connect these two things by using “like” or “as.” Then you draw upon the comparison by outlining what they have in common.
Use a simile to make a direct comparison between the qualities of two different things. Let’s look more closely at each of these types of figurative language. Or someone might say, “You are as tall as a giant!” (simile), while another concludes, “You are a giant” (metaphor). As you grow more aware of using similes and metaphors in speaking, you can more readily use them in written language.
For example, one might say, “You’re as busy as a bee,” employing a simile, while another might say, “Oh my, aren’t you a busy bee?” using a metaphor. Other forms of the expression are: as pale as death as white as a sheet as white as a ghost as white as snow as white as the driven snow.Īnd just as there are six kinds of comparisons, so too are there six kinds of similes.People use similes and metaphors in everyday language, often without even realizing they are using them. She was as pale as a ghost after her husband's death.