Simile Examples In Poem: Similes are a common grammar technique that is used to define an event, object or feeling, comparing it with another event, object or feeling. The most common use of similes can be found in poems and verses. Similes can be easily identified by the words ‘as’ or ‘like’ in a sentence. However, not every ‘as’ depicts a simile.
Similes and metaphors make a textual piece more vivid to the readers, hiking their aesthetic value. Similes are also sometimes used in common language when we communicate with someone. Similes lay an important role in building up the thrill in a poem or prose.
Students can also check the English Summary to revise with them during exam preparation.
English poems have witnessed the use of similes more often than literature. This article identifies 10 poems that use similes in their text—poets like Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Philip Larkin, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Bishop, etc. We will also learn about how the use of a simile affects a sentence’s aesthetic or the entire piece of writing.
The Crickets Sang by Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson’s poem “The cricket sang” uses simile as a figure of speech at one instance in the second paragraph. This is a poem about how a day ends and night commences. The beautiful depiction of events during the sunset is wrapped with words.
The second paragraph contains the line “the twilight stood as strangers do”,, a simile. The poet wants to let the readers know that the twilight made the surroundings calm and serene as if two strangers greeted each other with their hat gestures politely.
The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop
The tale of catching a fish and its venerability sums up the poem. The poetess uses several similes to draw a vivid picture of the narration in the reader’s mind. The first use of simile can be noticed in line eleven when the poetess compares the fish’s brown skin to an ancient wallpaper.
The shape of the fish is compared to a full-blown rose. Its flesh was packed in like feathers. The poetess further describes the structure of the bones and bladder as a big peony. The fine black thread hung from the bladder is described as medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering.
Deceptions by Philip Larkin
A poem about the aftermath of critical physical abuse: deception by Philip Larkin is a poem about a rape victim that subtly guilts the abuser. The poem starts with a verse from Mayhew’s London Labour and London Poor. The verse is used to describe the victim’s feelings.
The poem further describes the pain of the victim and how she must have been grieving. The poet accuses the rapist of deception. The fine use of simile is seen in the first paragraph’s end lines- Your mind lay open like a drawer of knives.
Rain on a Grave by Thomas Hardy
The poem is a sad tale of the grief of the poet. The poet grieves his wife’s death while sitting beside her grave. The ambiance is moist, and the clouds are showering hard on the grave, making the poet uncomfortable.
The poem’s beginning is sad, with the poet describing how the rain is falling hard on his wife’s grave and might be hurting her. As the poem proceeds, the poet comes to terms with nature, and positivity fills up the words.
The use of simile is one of the primary positive figures of speech that gives the poem a soothing end- “like stars on the ground”.
Lovesong by Ted Hughes
The love poem is about a man and a woman deeply in love. The poem describes how lovers describe each other and love till the very end it lasts. Lovesong uses different similes to depict how the lovers are.
The first use of simile is used to describe the man’s smile. The poet calls his smiles as a garret of a lovely palace. The woman’s smile is described with a simile calling it “spider bites”.
The New Year by Edward Thomas
The poem is about two strange men meeting in the middle of a forest. Maybe the time is of war. The interaction between both men is the central theme of this poem. The title sums up as it is new year eve’s when the two strangers see each other.
The various use of similes describes the physique and movements of one man. The wheelbarrow is described by the expression of a pig. Further, the lines “his head rolled under his cape like a tortoise” define the use of simile.
Sex without Love by Sharon Olds
Sex Without Love poem is a question by the poet. The question being- how do you people make love without being in love? The poet uses various figures of speech to describe the affection between two people when they are not in love. The poet also describes real lovers who love each other, not for mere sexual pleasures.
The use of similes can be found in a number of sentences in the poem. “Beautiful as dancers”, “gliding over each other as ice-skaters over the ice”, “faces red as steak”, “wet as the children at birth”, “like the great runners” are the similes seen in the poem.
Tulips by Sylvia Plath
Tulips is a narrative, expressive yet complex poem that revolves around a hospital and the poetess’s time on a hospital bed. It is depressing to read and feel the way the poet feels. Describing her illness and state of mind, the poem uses several complex figures of speech.
Some of the similes in use are like an eye between two white lids that will not shut, they tend it as water, like a black pillbox, little smiling hooks, like a Communion tablet, like an awful baby, way a river snags and eddies round a sunken rust-red engine, etc.
The Water Carrier by John Montague
The poem is a memory decorated with words and feelings. The poet described one of his childhood events when he used to fetch water every day before going to school. He remembers the feeling that event gave him then and now. In the end, he stands at the lake and cherishes the one event that made up his childhood and realizes how things have changed.
The poet uses several similes to describe the event of his memory. He uses the words balanced as a fulcrum between two buckets, bleakly white as bones, manacles of ice on the wrists, like the portrait of an Egyptian water-carrier, etc., to paint a vivid picture of his feelings.
Awakening In New York by Maya Angelou
It is a very small poem that describes the awakening of the poet in New York City. The poem doesn’t have a definite interpretation. It is upon the readers to take it as they want. However, the poem has used the strong figures of speech such as similes and metaphors.
The one use of simile is awake as a rumour of war. This is the state of feeling the poet had in herself when she woke up in the morning in New York City. She describes the city’s morning and compares it to her. The poet states how the children might be dreaming with seraphim, and the city forces itself to wake up.