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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
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Fire and Flames:
Fire is a recurring symbol, or motif, in Sons and Lovers. In the novel fire symbolizes passion, warmth, and sexuality. Lawrence first uses fire as a motif to express these qualities to the reader in Chapter 1, when Gertrude meets her future husband Walter at a country dance. The novel uses a simile that presents the image of fire to the reader and relates the element to Walter, the young miner:
The dusky, golden softness of this man’s sensuous flame of life, that glowed off his flesh like the flame from a candle, not baffled and gripped into incandescence by thought and spirit as her life was, seemed something wonderful, beyond her.
Explanation and Analysis—Burrowing Ants:
In Chapter 1, the narrator uses a simile when introducing the landscape and inhabitants of Nottinghamshire County, where the majority of the novel takes place:
Unlock with LitCharts A+All over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II, the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth.
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Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Mr. Morel's Guilt:
In Chapter 2, the novel uses a simile to describe Walter Morel's emotions after he drunkenly throws a drawer at his wife Gertrude and accidentally wounds her in front of their young son:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Nothing, however, could prevent his inner consciousness inflicting on him the punishment which ate into his spirit like rust, and which he could only alleviate by drinking.
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Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Scotch in the Machinery:
In Chapter 4, the reader learns Mr. Morel's presence in the family home has become increasingly unwanted. The narrator uses a simile, a figure of speech that compares two unlike things, to describe how other members of the family feel about him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As soon as the father came in, everything stopped. He was like the scotch in the smooth, happy machinery of the home. And he was always aware of this fall of silence on his entry, the shutting off of life, the unwelcome. But now it was gone too far to alter.
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Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Excitement of Lovers:
In Chapter 5, the narrator uses a simile to describe Mrs. Morel and Paul when they arrive in Nottingham, the bustling city where Paul is to begin work at a factory:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The mother and son walked down Station Street, feeling the excitement of lovers having an adventure together.
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Explanation and Analysis—The Black Valley:
The narrator uses vivid imagery and a simile in Chapter 5 to describe Paul's long commute from the city to The Bottoms, the mining community where he lives:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Occasionally the black valley space between was traced, violated by a great train rushing south to London or north to Scotland. The trains roared by like projectiles level on the darkness, fuming and burning, making the valley clang with their passage. They were gone, and the lights of the towns and villages glittered in silence.
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Explanation and Analysis—Arabian Nights:
Chapter 5 closes with a simile that makes an allusion, or reference, to the Arabian Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Paul's] life story, like an Arabian Nights, was told night after night to his mother. It was almost as if it were her own life.
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Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Fire and Flames:
Fire is a recurring symbol, or motif, in Sons and Lovers. In the novel fire symbolizes passion, warmth, and sexuality. Lawrence first uses fire as a motif to express these qualities to the reader in Chapter 1, when Gertrude meets her future husband Walter at a country dance. The novel uses a simile that presents the image of fire to the reader and relates the element to Walter, the young miner:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The dusky, golden softness of this man’s sensuous flame of life, that glowed off his flesh like the flame from a candle, not baffled and gripped into incandescence by thought and spirit as her life was, seemed something wonderful, beyond her.
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Glaring Wild Beasts:
An instance of simile, a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things, and personification, a form of figurative language in which non-human things are given human attributes, occurs in Chapter 13 after Paul leaves his lover Clara and ruminates on their relationship on a walk home:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Behind, the houses stood on the brim of the dip, black against the sky like wild beasts glaring curiously with yellow eyes down into the darkness. It was the town that seemed savage and uncouth, glaring on the clouds at the back of him. Some creature stirred under the willows of the farm pond. It was too dark to distinguish anything.
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