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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
Act 1, scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Anaeas and Anchises:
In Act 1, Scene 2, Cassius tells stories of Caesar's supposed weakness in order to pit Brutus against him. At one moment, Cassius describes a time in which he saved Caesar from drowning. He makes his point through simile and an allusion to the story of the epic hero, Aeneas:
Caesar cried “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!”
I, as Aeneas, our great ancestor,
Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired Caesar.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Big Caesar, Big Problems:
In Act 1, Scene 2, Cassius shows his disdain for Caesar as Brutus and he remark on the crowd's ecstatic reception of Caesar's victory over Pompey. He makes an allusion alludes to the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, to describe Caesar's perceived stature over his peers:
Unlock with LitCharts A+BRUTUS:
I do believe that these applauses are
For some new honors that are heaped on Caesar.CASSIUS:
Why, man, he doth bestrie the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
Related Themes:
Act 2, scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Doctor Death:
In Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus attempts to recruit Licarius to the conspiracy against Caesar. Though Ligarious is ill, he feels eager to join the cause. He goes so far as to compare, using simile, Brutus's recruitment efforts to the work of a spiritual healer:
Unlock with LitCharts A+LIGARIUS:
Brave son, derived from honorable loins,
Thou like an exorcist hast conjured up
My mortified spirit. Now bid me run,
And I will strive with things impossible,
Yea, get the better of them. What’s to do?BRUTUS:
A piece of work that will make sick men whole.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Serpent's Egg:
In Act 2, Scene 1, during Brutus's soliloquy, he ponders the threat that Caesar may pose to the Roman Republic if he seeks to become a monarch. Using a simile, he compares Caesar to a snake egg:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg,
Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow
Mischievous,
And kill him in the shell.
Related Themes:
Act 4, scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Hollow Handy Horses:
In Act 4, Scene 2, Lucilius confides in Brutus that Cassius's behavior is becoming untrustworthy. Brutus suspects his shifting loyalty as well, and uses simile and alliteration to articulate his suspicions:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Thou hast described
A hot friend cooling. Ever note, Lucilius,
It useth an enforcèd ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith;
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
Make gallant show and promise of their
mettle…
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Act 5, scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Beasts of Betrayal:
In Act 5, Scene 1, Antony viciously rebukes the conspirators who assassinated Caesar for their brutality. He uses a set of similes to compare their attack to the work of wild animals and enslaved people:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Villains, you did not so when your vile daggers
Hacked one another in the sides of Caesar.
You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds,
And bowed like bondmen, kissing Caesar’s feet,
While damnèd Casca, like a cur, behind
Struck Caesar on the neck.
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