Simile, Metaphor, and Personification

You will be hard pressed to find a poem that does not contain either simile, metaphor, or personification. In fact, you might just find all three. It's actually more common than you might think. One of the reasons for this is that these literary devices help the fluidity of a poem, making it flow easily and sound melodic. Another reason for the usage of these devices is that, whether we like it or not, we generally tend to use them without even thinking. Yet, for beginners, identifying the differences between the three can be quite a challenge. Let's take a look:

Simile

A simile is a comparison between two unlike objects using the words "like" or "as."
 For example:

Her eyes are like diamonds.

In this example, eyes are being compared to diamonds--two very unlike things. However, by bridging the two nouns together with "like," the sentence suggests that a woman's eyes resemble two beautiful, sparkling diamonds.

Metaphor

A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike objects WITHOUT using the words "like" or "as."

For example:

He was a lion in battle.

In this example, we aren't saying that this warrior was like a lion. No, he was a lion (figuratively speaking). Using metaphors can strengthen a comparison. In this sentence, the ferocity of the subject is heightened through the usage of metaphor. To turn the sentence into a simile, you could say, "He was like a lion in battle" or "He was a fierce as a lion in battle".

Personification

Personification is when an inanimate object (or objects) are given human like qualities. For example:

The leaves danced in the wind.

In reality, leaves cannot dance; however, humans can. By using personification in this sentence, the line suggests that the leaves were blowing in the wind with all the grace and delicacy of a dancer, making it a beautiful sight.









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