All 3 Uses of
simile
in
The Divine Comedy -- translated by Cary
- ] This simile is well translated by Chaucer— But right as floures through the cold of night Iclosed, stoupen in her stalkes lowe, Redressen hem agen the sunne bright, And speden in her kinde course by rowe, &c.†
Canto 1.N.
- ] This simile is imitated by Lorenzo de Medici, in his Ambra, a poem, first published by Mr. Roscoe, in the Appendix to his Life of Lorenzo.†
Canto 1.N. *
- ] The author of the Caliph Vathek, in the notes to that tale, justly observes, that it is more than probable that Don Quixote's mistake of the wind-mills for giants was suggested to Cervantes by this simile. v. 37.†
Canto 1.N.
Definition:
-
(simile) a phrase that highlights similarity between things of different kinds -- usually formed with "like" or "as"
as in "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," or "She is as quiet as a mouse."editor's notes: While metaphors and similes are both techniques of figurative language. The distinction is that a simile explicitly shows that a comparison is being made, by using words such as "like" or "as". A metaphor simply substitutes words assuming the reader will understand the meaning should not be take literally. "She is like a diamond in the rough" is a simile; while "She is a diamond in the rough" is a metaphor.