Language Portal of Canada
www.ourlanguages.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Institutional links
Guided Tour of the Portal
-
Language Portal
-
Well Written, Well Said
-
Discover
-
From Our Contributors
Stay connected!
Information
-
Proactive Disclosure
Simile
Recommend or share this page by e-mail, social bookmarking or social networking
Share this pageShare this page
If you wish to recommend or share this page by e-mail, social bookmarking or social networking, click on the icon of your choice:
Access to the proposed sites is free, but you must have a user account. Access to these sites may vary depending on your browser (for example, Internet Explorer 6 does not support all the sites). You must make sure that your browser is up to date. In addition, depending on which sharing method you have chosen, some characters (accented letters, apostrophes or other symbols) in the title of the page you are recommending may be displayed incorrectly or missing. You will need to make these corrections yourself before recommending the page to your contacts.
Note: No e-mail or personal information will be retained. For more information on privacy policies and practices that apply to the Language Portal of Canada, see the Government of Canada Privacy Statement.
Social bookmarking
Social bookmarking allows you to save your favourite links on the Internet through social bookmarking sites such as Google Bookmarks or Reddit. These sites offer many advantages. You can:
Social bookmarking sites are usually free, but you must subscribe to use them. Social bookmarking is also known as collaborative tagging, social classification and social indexing.
Social networking
Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Linkedln, are Internet platforms that allow you to interact online and create interconnected Web communities. You can create personal profiles, establish lists of users with whom you have a common connection or establish new relationships.
To exchange ideas with other members, you can post messages to your personal page, send e-mails and instant messages or share files.
Comments
Please do not hesitate to contact us at noslangues.ourlanguages@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca if you have any comments or suggestions about this feature.
Authors can use any variety of techniques to hold the attention of their readers. One such technique is the use of figures of speech, which are ways of saying something other than in the ordinary or literal way. There are many different figures of speech. In this article, we'll look at the simile.
What is a simile?
A simile is a figure of speech that uses the words "like" or "as." A simile usually compares two quite different things in a way that helps the reader form a mental picture. Let's look at some examples.
The bed felt like a cloud to Karl after a long day of physical labour.
After finishing her last exam, Alina felt as light as a feather.
In these examples, the writer compares Karl's bed to a cloud and Alina's sense of buoyancy to the lightness of a feather. The effect on the reader is a clear mental image of comfort or relief.
More Examples
Professional writers and poets often use similes in their writing. Here are some examples from Canadian writers and poets:
"And there when lengthening twilights fall / As softly as a wild bird's wing…"
(From "The Flute of Spring" by Bliss Carman)
"Here and there a wild plum leaned out from the bank like a white-clad girl tip-toeing to her own reflection." (From Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery)
"Moments before sleep are when she feels most alive, leaping across fragments of the day, bringing each moment into the bed with her like a child with schoolbooks and pencils." (From The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje)
"Out of the jargoning city I regret,
Rise memories like sparrows rising from
The gutter-scattered oats,
Like sadness sweet of synagogal hum,
Like Hebrew violins
Sobbing delight upon their Eastern notes."
(From "Autobiographical" by A. M. Klein)
Why use similes?
Use similes to make your writing more creative and help readers create vivid images in their minds. But be careful. Fresh, original figures of speech can liven a text. Dull, overused ones can weigh the text down.
Test your knowledge of commonly used English similes with our Similes 1 quiz.
