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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Key Examples in Arms and the Man
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Don Quixote:
In the following passage from Act 1, Bluntschli reveals to Raina that her betrothed behaved in a naive and silly manner on the battlefield; Sergius, it turns out, is not the brave hero Raina envisioned. In his description of Sergius's actions during the battle, Bluntschli alludes to Miguel de Cervantes's epic novel Don Quixote (published 1605/1615):
MAN: He did it like an operatic tenor—a regular handsome fellow, with flashing eyes and lovely moustache, shouting a war-cry and charging like Don Quixote at the windmills. We nearly burst with laughter at him; but when the sergeant ran up as white as a sheet, and told us they’d sent us the wrong cartridges, and that we couldn’t fire a shot for the next ten minutes, we laughed at the other side of our mouths.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Sergius's Portrait:
In the following passage, Shaw utilizes the stage directions to describe Raina's pre-bedtime viewing of Sergius's portrait. This description provides an important bit of characterization, using simile to make clear the lens through which Raina views her lover:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Raina, left alone, goes to the chest of drawers, and adores the portrait there with feelings that are beyond all expression. She does not kiss it or press it to her breast, or shew it any mark of bodily affection; but she takes it in her hands and elevates it like a priestess.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Peas on the Window:
In Act 1, Bluntschli attempts to describe a cavalry charge to Raina who, despite having great Romantic images in her head of battlefield heroism, has never seen military action in person. To aid in his description of the soldiers, Bluntschli utilizes simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+MAN: You never saw a cavalry charge, did you?
RAINA: How could I?
MAN: Ah, perhaps not—of course. Well, it’s a funny sight. It’s like slinging a handful of peas against a window pane: first one comes; then two or three close behind him; and then all the rest in a lump.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Man's Physique:
In the following passage from Act 1, Shaw uses the stage directions to provide a description of Captain Bluntschli's appearance. This description provides a certain amount of insight not only into Bluntschli's objective physical appearance, but also into how Raina perceives him. Bluntschli's aesthetic attributes thus come under criticism, in particular through the use of simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He is a man of middling stature and undistinguished appearance, with strong neck and shoulders, a roundish, obstinate looking head covered with short crisp bronze curls, clear quick blue eyes and good brows and mouth, [and] a hopelessly prosaic nose like that of a strong-minded baby.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Nervous Masculinity:
In the following passage, Raina reacts with astonishment to Captain Bluntschli's statement that it was "mean" of her to "revenge herself" on him simply because he had given her a fright. In the ensuing conversation, Bluntschli uses simile to describe his current traumatized, reactionary state:
Unlock with LitCharts A+RAINA: (superbly). Frighten me! Do you know, sir, that though I am only a woman, I think I am at heart as brave as you.
MAN: I should think so. You haven’t been under fire for three days as I have. I can stand two days without shewing it much; but no man can stand three days: I’m as nervous as a mouse. (He sits down on the ottoman, and takes his head in his hands.) Would you like to see me cry?
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Avalanche:
In the following passage from the beginning of Act 1, Catherine Petkoff relives the glory of a Bulgarian victory through a rather romanticized conversation with her daughter, Raina. As is to be expected with a romantic retelling, Catherine uses a fair bit of figurative language—including simile—to heighten her description of the scenario:
Unlock with LitCharts A+CATHERINE: Can’t you see it, Raina; our gallant splendid Bulgarians with their swords and eyes flashing, thundering down like an avalanche and scattering the wretched Servian dandies like chaff.
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