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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
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Relative Sizes:
One of the most prominent motifs in Gulliver's Travels is the theme of relative perspective, with Jonathan Swift consistently demonstrating how different physical and social circumstances can lead to different perspectives on reality. In order to advance this argument, Gulliver undergoes literal changes in perspective as well as more theoretical ones. He goes from being a giant in Lilliput to being smaller than a dwarf in Brobdingnag, and his perspective on the relative size of objects changes accordingly.
In order to illustrate these changes in visual perspective, Swift frequently uses simile to describe the size of particularly small or large objects. In Book 1, Chapter 1, for example, he uses several similes to describe Lilliputian food:
There were Shoulders, Legs, and Loins, shaped like those of Mutton, and very well dressed, but smaller than the Wings of a Lark. I eat them by two or three at a mouthful, and took three Loaves at a time, about the bigness of Musket Bullets.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Bombs and Arrows:
At numerous points throughout Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver describes the fantastical places he visits by comparing and contrasting them with England and other European nations, often using similes to fully illustrate his points. On one hand, these descriptions reflect a lack of imagination on Gulliver's part—he is only able to describe things in terms of what he already knows. But Jonathan Swift also uses these descriptions to satirize aspects of European culture and encourage readers to view their society with a new perspective.
One notable set of similes appears in Book 1, Chapter 1, when Gulliver is captured by the Lilliputians:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I felt above an hundred Arrows discharged on my left Hand, which pricked me like so many Needles; and besides they shot another Flight into the Air, as we do Bombs in Europe.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Relative Sizes:
One of the most prominent motifs in Gulliver's Travels is the theme of relative perspective, with Jonathan Swift consistently demonstrating how different physical and social circumstances can lead to different perspectives on reality. In order to advance this argument, Gulliver undergoes literal changes in perspective as well as more theoretical ones. He goes from being a giant in Lilliput to being smaller than a dwarf in Brobdingnag, and his perspective on the relative size of objects changes accordingly.
In order to illustrate these changes in visual perspective, Swift frequently uses simile to describe the size of particularly small or large objects. In Book 1, Chapter 1, for example, he uses several similes to describe Lilliputian food:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There were Shoulders, Legs, and Loins, shaped like those of Mutton, and very well dressed, but smaller than the Wings of a Lark. I eat them by two or three at a mouthful, and took three Loaves at a time, about the bigness of Musket Bullets.
Related Themes:
