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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
Key Examples in The Fisherman and His Soul
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Like Little White Pigeons:
The third time the Soul tries to tempt the Fisherman to abandon the Mermaid and explore the world with him, he describes a beautiful dancer in a nearby town, hoping to arouse the Fisherman’s carnal desires. While doing so, the Soul uses a simile, as seen in the following passage:
“Her face was veiled with a veil of gauze, but her feet were naked. Naked were her feet, and they moved over the carpet like little white pigeons. Never have I seen anything so marvellous, and the city in which she dances is but a day’s journey from this place.”
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Mermaid’s Appearance:
When introducing readers to the character of the Mermaid, the narrator uses a series of similes, as seen in the following passage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair as a thread of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as white ivory, and her tail was of silver and pearl. Silver and pearl was her tail, and the green weeds of the sea coiled round it; and like sea-shells were her ears, and her lips were like sea-coral. The cold waves dashed over her cold breasts, and the salt glistened upon her eyelids.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Freed Fisherman:
Immediately after the scene in which the Fisherman and his Soul separate from each other, the narrator captures the Fisherman’s sense of freedom and excitement using a pair of similes, as seen in the following passage:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And his Soul besought him piteously, but he heeded it not, but leapt from crag to crag, being sure-footed as a wild goat, and at last he reached the level ground and the yellow shore of the sea.
Bronze-limbed and well-knit, like a statue wrought by a Grecian, he stood on the sand with his back to the moon, and out of the foam came white arms that beckoned to him, and out of the waves rose dim forms that did him homage.
Related Themes:
