Previous
Setting
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 The Blithedale Romance
Chapter 3: A Knot of Dreamers
Explanation and Analysis—Wind-Anthems in the Woods:
In Chapter 3, Coverdale uses a lofty simile to express his wish to write great poetry:
I hope, on the contrary, now, to produce something that shall really deserve to be called poetry—true, strong, natural, and sweet, as is the life which we are going to lead—something that shall have the notes of wild-birds twittering through it, or a strain like the wind-anthems in the woods, as the case may be!
Related Themes:
Chapter 4: The Supper-table
Explanation and Analysis—Hollingsworth:
In Chapter 4, the narrator describes Hollingsworth's looming figure via simile in order to establish his towering masculinity:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There, sure enough, stood Hollingsworth, his shaggy great-coat all covered with snow; so that he looked quite as much like a polar bear as a modern philanthropist.
“Sluggish hospitality, this!” said he, in those deep tones of his, which seemed to come out of a chest as capacious as a barrel. “It would have served you right if I had lain down and spent the night on the door-step, just for the sake of putting you to shame. But here is a guest, who will need a warmer and softer bed.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 10: A Visitor from Town
Explanation and Analysis—Priests:
When Mr. Moodie visits Blithedale in Chapter 10, Coverdale compares him to an "idol" with a simile that evokes the enigmatic nature of his character:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The visitor made a grateful little murmur of acquiescence[...] I could see his gray pantaloons and dusty shoes, while his upper part was mostly hidden behind the shrubbery. Nor did he come forth from this retirement during the whole of the interview that followed. We handed him such food as we had, together with a brown jug of molasses-and-water, (would that it had been brandy, or something better, for the sake of his chill old heart!) like priests offering dainty sacrifice to an enshrined and invisible idol. I have no idea that he really lacked sustenance; but it was quite touching, nevertheless, to hear him nibbling away at our crusts.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11: The Wood-path
Explanation and Analysis—A Tuft of Moss:
A few months into the Blithedale project, the narrator finds himself losing his individuality, and in Chapter 11 he compares his befuddled mind to "a tuft of moss":
Unlock with LitCharts A+My thoughts became of little worth, and my sensibilities grew as arid as a tuft of moss, (a thing whose life is in the shade, the rain, or the noontide dew,) crumbling in the sunshine, after long expectance of a shower.
Related Themes:
