by Carrie Schutrick

Created on: April 27, 2009

Telling the difference between a simile and a metaphor can get a little tricky, but there's a very easy way to remember which is which: "simile" sounds like "similar", which means that a simile uses "like". That's it; that's all there is to it. But if you want to get a little more in depth, read on.

Similes and metaphors are both figures of speech in which one thing is compared to another. Neither one needs to be literal; you can say that the sun is like a flower or that a tree is a veil of green even though neither of those things are particularly true.

For a simile (pronounced SIM-i-lee), the writer must use the word "like". Thus, if you wanted to compare someone's eyes to precious stones using a simile, you'd say or write, "His eyes were like sapphires". Note the vital word, "like". In modern writing, this is essentially always the word used; old-fashioned texts will sometimes use other linking words, as in "Her hair shone as silk". The important thing is that the figure of speech compares the two things without directly saying that the one actually IS the other. Thus, when Shakespeare wrote, "My love is LIKE a red, red rose", he was using a simile.

Saying that one thing is another thing is the province of metaphor (MET-a-for). To give another example from Shakespeare, Romeo's line that "Juliet is the sun" is a metaphor, because it says that Juliet, a girl, actually is the same being as the sun. The fact that of course she isn't doesn't make the figure of speech any less effective. To use a metaphor, you simply write that one thing is another thing: "His eyes were sapphires" or "Her hair was silk". If you know the meaning of the word "metamorphosis", it can help you remember what "metaphor" means, because in a metaphor one thing is being figuratively turned into another.

To finish up, here's a short quiz that will help you test your knowledge of the difference between similes and metaphors. Four of the following sentences contain similes, four contain metaphors, and two contain neither one. There's an answer key at the end.

1. That guy is such a snake.

2. The flowers are very pretty.

3. She's like a rock, you can always depend on her.

4. Be careful, the sidewalk's a sheet of glass.

5. The guard was a statue at the gate.

6. The surface of the water was like a mirror, it was so still.

7. She's, like, so awesome!

8. The glass goblet sparkled like diamond in the sunlight.

9. The boat was a bird on the sea.

10. The frost on the window is like lace.

Answers: 1 Metaphor 2 Neither 3 Simile 4 Methaphor 5 Metaphor 6 Simile 7 Neither 8 Simile 9 Methaphor 10 Simile

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