Metaphor, Simile and Analogy

Whilst all three are closely related, it's important to understand the differences. When you know the distinctions between metaphors, similes and analogy this will also help you decide what technique is best appropriate for you to use when it comes to your writing.

Metaphors

Metaphors can be used in many different writing formats such as poetry, short stories, novels and plays. They are also used to compare two different subjects (whether they’re describing something visual or an emotion). Metaphors are mostly used in poetry to make the piece more descriptive and interesting for the reader. When writing a descriptive piece metaphors can be one of the best techniques to use, they tend to paint the ‘perfect picture’. It may be a physical image that the writer is trying to get across to the reader or even an emotion.Writers such as Shakespeare have used metaphors within their writing to give the reader am image of romance and wanting.

For example: “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”

This metaphor compares Juliet to the sun. A comparison like this gives the reader an image of something that is so beautiful. It shows the reader that Romeo needs Juliet in the same way that the Earth needs the Sun.

Metaphors can also be used within poetry, for example in ‘Storm At Sea’ by Amar Qamar a metaphor is used in order to describe sea. “The stormy seas as dark as coal.” This gives the reader a strong image and makes the piece more descriptive as to grab the reader’s attention.

Simile

Similes can be used in just about any context, from the printed word to general conversation. A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things that are alike in some way. To help you identify a simile, know that the words “like” or “as” are typically used. Their purpose is to add depth to our language making it more descriptive and enjoyable. There are lots of different ways to create and use similes but more than often they are generally used to emphasise something to the reader or listener. Similes can be funny, serious and creative.

Take the example: ‘You are bright as a summer’s day'.

Don’t worry you don’t have to take this literally, a simile is just a figure of speech almost, something that makes a comparison which shows similarities between two different things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the help of the words “like” or “as”. Therefore, it’s a direct comparison.

With the use of similes it makes it easier for the readers to understand the subject matter of a literary text, which may have been otherwise too demanding to be comprehended. Like metaphors, similes also offer variety in our ways of thinking and offers new perspectives of viewing the world.

Analogy

An analogy is a comparison between one thing and another, to show that they are alike but also different in some respects. If you are thinking that this sounds very similar to metaphors and similes, you are not wrong, it really does. What makes them different however is the concept of logic. Metaphors are often used to say that one thing is the same as another thing which is completely unrelated. Simile is saying something is like something to compare them. An analogy is less of a figure of speech and more of a coherent argument. It is most commonly used to show that two things have legitimate similarities.

For example, an extract of Henry Kissinger’s memo to Richard Nixon, in which he says ‘Withdrawal of US troops will become like salted peanuts to the American public’. To compare US troops to salted peanuts seems a bit bizarre, however they are moreish and once started are difficult to finish with a high demand for more, therefore this a legitimate example of similarity.

Another example is strangely from a ‘peanuts’ comic strip. Charlie Brown describes the way adults and siblings get along to be similar to how nations get along. Siblings are well known to fight and bicker, as are nations, hence the fact that tensions and wars exist, therefore making this an effective analogy, not in the context of the comic however, as Charlie has seen his analogy prove the point he was trying to disprove.

So to summarise, similes, metaphors and analogy all help the readers understand something that is unfamiliar by comparing it to a familiar thing.