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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—Describing Virginia:
In Chapter 1, the narrator describes the members of the Otis family. Wilde does not state outright that he intends these characters to defy Gothic tropes typical for their roles, genders, and ages, but it is quite clear in the included descriptions that juxtaposition was intended. Take, for instance, the narrator's description of Miss Virginia E. Otis, whose demeanor he outlines using both allusion and simile:
Miss Virginia E. Otis was a little girl of fifteen, lithe and lovely as a fawn, and with a fine freedom of her large blue eyes. She was a wonderful amazon.
Related Themes:
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Wind:
In the following passage from Chapter 3, Wilde employs a wide range of figurative language, including imagery, personification, and simile, to evoke aspects of the Gothic for the reader. Each instance of figurative language in this sentence emphasizes the agency of the natural world, at times above or in contrast to the agency of human actors:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The owl beat against the window panes, the raven croaked from the old yew-tree, and the wind wandered moaning round the house like a lost soul; but the Otis family slept unconscious of their doom, and high above the rain and the storm [the ghost] could hear the steady snoring of the Minister for the United States.
Related Themes:
