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Q&A When is using a simile better than giving a literal description?

A simile usually implies more than the mere appearance. In the comparison you link two entities that share some features. Sometimes the common elements are marked explicitly, for instance: her ha...

posted 5y ago by _X_‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-18T21:34:23Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43918
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T11:27:45Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43918
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T11:27:45Z (almost 5 years ago)
A simile usually implies more than the mere appearance. In the comparison you link two entities that share some features. Sometimes the common elements are marked explicitly, for instance:

- her hair was gleaming like a summer cornfield.

- they fought bravely like tigers

- he was tall and gaunt like a willow

or, in some cases, the linking element is left to the reader to guess:

- her hair was like a summer cornfield

- they fought like tigers

- he was like a willow

In both cases, albeit more so in the latter, the simile transfers some of the features to the first entity. Besides being gleaming, a summer cornfield has perhaps a warmth and puffy quietness to it, and it could suggest a joyous character, welcoming, and lighthearted. Fighting like a tiger may not be just about courage, but also about physical abilities, and perhaps foreshadowing the fact that they will not surrender. The willow... the exercise is left to the reader.

A word of caution though: **as with any other figure of speech, use sparingly and wisely**.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-03-22T10:24:08Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 1