An Examination of Similes in the Iliad - and how Homer's Use of Them Affected the Story In the Iliad, Homer finds a great tool in the simile. Just by opening the book in a random place the reader is undoubtedly faced with one, or within a few pages. Homer seems to use everyday activities, at least for the audience, his fellow Greeks, in these similes nearly exclusively. When one is confronted with a situation that is familiar, one is more likely to put aside contemplating the topic and simply inject
disregarded in life. The author’s specific uses of similes and metaphors allows for interpretation by his readers regarding the main idea behind his poem, and in this essay I will examine how these literary techniques help to ameliorate the author’s meaning. The use of similes in “Harlem” creates a serious mood and emphasizes the theme. In the beginning of the poem the author asks a question about what will happen to a dream when deferred. The simile...
Similes in The Big Sleep In response to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, I have just one question. Why all the similes? There isn't a single page in the novel that doesn't display this annoying literary device. Everything is "like this" or "like that." It never ends! Similar to decoding a secret message that isn't difficult to understand, but nevertheless tiring due to the overwhelming amount of messages, the novel is frustrating to read. The following analysis acknowledges Chandler's
Simile: Simile is a literary device used to draw parallels or comparisons between two unrelated and dissimilar things, marked by the use of the words ‘as’ or ‘such as’ or ‘like’. Example: “ He had got completely away from everyone, like a tortoise in its shell” (Dostoevsky 35). In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment, he introduces Raskolnikov, the main character, when Raskolnikov is deliberating over whether or not he his capable of committing a murder. Raskolnikov has been contemplating
The Use of Similes in Auto Wreck In his poem Auto Wreck (p. 1002), Karl Shapiro uses carefully constructed similes to cause the events he relates to become very vivid and also to create the mood for the poem. To describe the aftermath, especially in people's emotions, of an automobile accident, he uses almost exclusively medical or physiological imagery. This keeps the reader focused and allows the similes used to closely relate to the subject of the poem. Three main similes used are arterial
Analysis of Similes in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse `Thoughts are made of pictures.' Our consciousness may be visualized as a photomontage of simultaneous impressions, mostly visual, according to poet John Ciardi (238). In verbalizing conscious experience, authors tend to use metaphor and simile to create images that, like words, possess both denotation, visual identification, and connotation, an emotional aura (Ciardi 239). In To the Lighthouse, by my count, Virginia Woolf employs
Repetition, Diction, and Simile in Cormac McCarthy’s The Crossing In Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Crossing, there is a dramatic sequence described by the narrator. The author uses many different techniques to convey the impact of the experience on the narrator. Some of these such techniques are: repetition, diction, and simile. Of the aforementioned techniques, the most obvious is repetition. The author uses the word “and” a total of thirty-three times. However, the simple usage of the
itself and Eliot’s use of different literary elements further elevate his main idea. Throughout The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot utilizes a number of metaphors and similes in a way that give insight into Prufrock’s fragmented view of love, time, and life itself. Throughout the poem, Eliot uses a number of similes to reveal different parts of Prufrock’s character and internal dilemma. An example of this is seen in lines 1-3 when Eliot writes, “Let us go then, you and I, when the evening
The author uses many similes and metaphors throughout the book to enrich the description. Examples include: • “Her throat was a closed and choking trapdoor [compelled and sentenced to silence]” (p.2,). This is a metaphor making out that she must stay silent out of fear of being discovered by the Taliban. • “[Her mother as well as] Soraya, thumb in mouth. Both were as still as a block of stone” (p.2) This simile describes the feeling and actions of Mahtab and her family
Brazil. The experience Latin authors express to a reader is shown through metaphors, simile and analogy. The literary elements of each device can show a way how a character felt about a person's life through the times of writing, showing a dark theme. Accordingly in Latin American
October 2014 Homer’s Use of Similes and the Impact on an Unsuspecting Audience Epic similes are perhaps the greatest tool that Homer utilizes in the Iliad. It seems as if it would be possible to find a simile within just a few pages of the book if opened to a random chapter. There is a noticeable pattern Homer employs which involves using everyday Greek activities in these similes in order to make them more relatable to his audience. When the Greeks hear an epic simile that uses something familiar
birds to show that man can be uplifted by observing nature. Updike’s conclusion is lead up to with the beauty of autumn and what a binding spell it has on the two men playing golf. In Updike’s conclusion and throughout the poem, he uses metaphors, similes, and diction to show how nature mesmerizes humans. In John Updike’s poem “The Great Scarf of Birds”, he uses diction and figurative speech to depict the beautiful autumn season to show how inspiring and uplifting nature is to man. Updike chooses
different roles. His unconditional love is evident as he portrays his mother in everyday life with the challenges she is facing. In the sonnet “To my Mother” George Barker uses poetic devices such as similes, imagery, and connotation to demonstrate his mother’s strong and endearing qualities. Similes are used to compare two different
Robert Frost, the importance of living in the moment and being grateful for the gifts God has blessed us with is expressed through the use similes, metaphors, and imagery. Frost uses a plethora of figurative language to help express the theme of “A Prayer in Spring”. Two very strong similes are used in this poem. Near the beginning of the poem Frost uses the simile “[a]nd give us not to think so far away/ as the uncertain harvest” (lines 2/3). Here thinking so far away is being compared to the uncertain
English poet that lived in the late 1700's and early 1800's. His poems reflect his experiences in life, many of them being about love. John Clare writes in a simple, unsophisticated manner, using a plentiful amount of figurative language such as similes and metaphors.Imagery is also a main element is his poetry. John Clare's poems are very straightforward, making the general idea of his poems stronger and easier to understand. Clare tells a story in each of his poems, and expresses his feelings
with ice-skaters, which gives us an image of coldness, but this does not mean that this poem is less profound because even though the theme is superficial and cold, the author describes it in a very detailed and profound way through metaphors and similes. In this poem the author leaves all the feelings and emotions behind, and talks about how superficial and cold are the people that can "...make love without love."(l.1) In this poem the persona starts by saying "How do they do it, the ones who make
When writing poetry, there are many descriptive methods an author may employ to communicate an idea or concept to their audience. One of the more effective methods that authors often use is linking devices, such as metaphors and similes. Throughout “The Elder Sister,” Olds uses linking devices effectively in many ways. An effective image Olds uses is that of “the pressure of Mother’s muscles on her brain,” (5) providing a link to the mother’s expectations for her children. She also uses images of
Metaphors have been used in literature for a very long period of time, even before the era of Aristotle. A brief history of the earliest examples of metaphors dates back to The Odyssey by Homer and The Epic of Gilgamesh, in Ancient Mesopotamia, from ten thousand B.C. (Rankin). Metaphors are used in many different types of literature including poems, fiction pieces, nonfiction pieces, and plenty of others. My intention for this paper is to answer and help understand how metaphors work, their effect
Every famous write always have some type of novel technique to make their masterpiece more vivid and one of the most commonly used method is through figurative language. Using Figurative Language, Personification and Similes are an excellent way to praise and adore certain attributes like beauty. Moreover, Symbolism and Hyperbole are often just simply used just show the endless eternal love toward a certain individual. Last of all, the departure of too love ones are also filled with figurative languages
wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath" (pg. 73). This sermon was effective in the way that Edward focused on one point, and illustrated it by using different rhetorical devices such as biblical allusions, progression of similes, metaphors etc. He took one point and related in many ways that was applicable and that people would understand, whether it was comparing God's wrath to nature, or our wickedness with material possession. Edward also introduced me to a different