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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 Far From the Madding Crowd
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Gabriel's Proposal:
After Bathsheba rejects Oak's marriage proposal, Oak’s thoughtlessness, pride and anger come to the surface. He tries to embody the countenance of an affectionate, spurned suitor, but Hardy casts doubt on his performance with a simile:
“Upon my heart and soul, I don’t know what a maid can say stupider than that,” said Oak. “But dearest,” he continued in a palliative voice, “don’t be like it!” Oak sighed a deep, honest sigh—none the less so in that, being like the sigh of a pine plantation, it was rather noticeable as a disturbance of the atmosphere.
“Why won’t you have me?
Related Themes:
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—A River Under Ice:
After seeing Bathsheba once again, Gabriel cannot stop thinking about her, as Hardy illustrates with a simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+That night at Coggan’s, Gabriel Oak, beneath the screen of closed eyelids, was very busy with fancies and full of movement, like a river flowing rapidly under its ice. Night had always been the time at which he saw Bathsheba most vividly, and through the slow hours of shadow he tenderly regarded her image now.
