Simile and Metaphor

Simile and Metaphor

Simile
· also called an open comparison, is a form of metaphor that compares two different things to create a new meaning.
· always uses "like" or "as" within the phrase and is more explicit than a metaphor.
For example, Shakespeare's line could be rewritten as a simile to read: "The world is like a stage."
Another simile would be: "The spy was close as a shadow." Both metaphor and simile can be used to enhance writing.
Metaphor
· also called a hidden comparison
· as a figure of speech that uses one thing to mean another and makes a comparison between the two.
For example, Shakespeare's line, "All the world's a stage," is a metaphor comparing the whole world to a theater stage.
· Metaphors can be very simple, and they can function as most any part of speech.
For example: "The spy shadowed the woman" is a verb metaphor. The spy doesn't literally cast his shadow on the woman, but he follows her so closely and quietly that he resembles her own shadow.