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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
Explanation and Analysis—Jupiter's Comeuppance:
In the following passage from Act 1, Prometheus describes what he wishes to happen to Jupiter. This description comes from a place of anger and occurs before Prometheus elects to hear his curse in full; thus, the passage below comprises Prometheus's thoughts on Jupiter before he decides upon forgiveness. Using simile, an angry and vindictive Prometheus describes the retribution his foe will face:
And yet to me welcome is day and night,
Whether one breaks the hoar frost of the morn,
Or starry, dim, and slow, the other climbs
The leaden-coloured east; for then they lead
Their wingless, crawling Hours, one among whom
—As some dark Priest hales the reluctant victim—
Shall drag thee, cruel King, to kiss the blood
From these pale feet, which then might trample thee
If they disdained not such a prostrate slave.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Abandoned Place:
In the following excerpt from Act 1, Mother Earth/Gaia speaks to her son, Prometheus, advising him to seek out knowledge of his prior curse against Jupiter at the inception of his imprisonment. The Earth pushes for this outcome because she wants revenge on behalf of her children, the Titans, who were all imprisoned by Jupiter. The Earth imagines what that vengeance might look like in figurative terms, using metaphor to describe it to Prometheus:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ask, and they must reply: so the revenge
Of the Supreme may sweep through vacant shades,
As rainy wind through the abandoned gate
Of a fallen palace.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Mercury:
During a particular scene in Act 1, Mercury addresses Prometheus, whom he has been sent to converse with on Jupiter’s behalf. While he takes this mission seriously, Mercury makes it clear that this task brings him no joy. In the following passage, Mercury sheds some light on his outsider’s perception of Prometheus’s imprisonment, using simile to describe the situation:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Alas! I pity thee, and hate myself
That I can do no more: aye from thy sight
Returning, for a season, Heaven seems Hell,
So thy worn form pursues me night and day,
Smiling reproach.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Bloody Day:
The following passage, spoken by the Third Voice (from the Air) in Act 1, recounts Prometheus's imprisonment and the effect it had on the natural world. Utilizing simile, the voice specifically recounts the aftermath of Prometheus's curse:
Unlock with LitCharts A+By such dread words from Earth to Heaven
My still realm was never riven:
When its wound was closed, there stood
Darkness o’er the day like blood.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Hell:
In the following passage from Act 1, Prometheus angrily curses Jupiter, using simile as a means of describing Jupiter's soul:
Unlock with LitCharts A+What ruin
Will hunt thee undefended through the wide Heaven!
How will thy soul, cloven to its depth with terror,
Gape like a Hell within!
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—Siren Song:
The following excerpt from Act 2, Scene 3 is from the end of the sirens' song, which Asia and Panthea hear as they attempt to enter the realm of the Demogorgon. In their song, the sirens use a simile to describe the fate of those who "descend" into "the deep":
Unlock with LitCharts A+We have bound thee, we guide thee
Down, down!
With the bright form beside thee;
Resist not the weakness—
Such strength is in meekness
That the Eternal, the Immortal,
Must unloose through life’s portal
The snake-like Doom coiled underneath his throne
By that alone!
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Jupiter the Slave:
In the following passage from Act 2, Scene 4, Asia addresses the Demogorgon, seeking out an answer to the oft-asked question: who is responsible for the suffering of humanity? Asia herself does not seem to know the answer to this question, wondering about Jupiter's role in human suffering but questioning, through simile, his capacity for such cruel action:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Not Jove: while yet his frown shook Heaven, aye, when
His adversary from adamantine chains
Cursed him, he trembled like a slave. Declare
Who is his master? Is he too a slave?
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis—Love:
In the following excerpt from Act 2, Scene 5, Asia, Panthea, and the Spirit of the Hour pause in their flight across the sky. At this moment, Panthea remarks on Asia's visage, asserting that there is love in the air because of her presence. With this comment comes the implication that Asia's appearance is a good omen foreshadowing the positive change to come. Asia replies to this comment, using simile to describe the state of the world around her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Common as light is love,
And its familiar voice wearies not ever.
Like the wide Heaven, the all-sustaining air,
It makes the reptile equal to the God:
They who inspire it most are fortunate,
As I am now; but those who feel it most
Are happier still, after long sufferings,
As I shall soon become.
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