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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 6
Explanation and Analysis—The Fiendish, Wild Beast:
In Chapter 6, after Watson learns the notorious convict Selden has escaped to the Moor, he uses a simile and compares him to a wild beast:
Somewhere there, on that desolate plain, was lurking this fiendish man, hiding in a burrow like a wild beast, his heart full of malignancy against the whole race which had cast him out.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Ghostly House:
In Chapter 6, after Watson, Baskerville, and Mortimer pass through the tunnel and approach Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry’s fearful response is captured in a simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[Sir Henry] shuddered as he looked up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmered like a ghost at the farther end.
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—A Savage Animal:
In Chapter 9, Watson uses a simile to describe the escaped convict Selden before he evades capture from Watson and Sir Henry Baskerville:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The light beneath him was reflected in his small, cunning eyes, which peered fiercely to right and left through the darkness, like a crafty and savage animal who has heard the steps of the hunters.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Helpless Butterfly:
Once Holmes confirms that Mr. Stapleton is Sir Henry Baskerville’s cousin and therefore an eligible heir, Holmes uses a simile that captures his wry enthusiasm:
Unlock with LitCharts A+We have him, Watson, we have him, and I dare swear that before tomorrow night he will be fluttering in our net as helpless as one of his own butterflies. A pin, a cork, and a card, and we add him to the Baker Street collection!
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—The Ship Made of Fog:
In Chapter 14, as Watson, Holmes and Lestrade anxiously stake out the Stapleton house, the encroaching fog threatens to foil their plans to capture Stapleton once and for all. The story uses a simile to describe the menacing nature of the fog and surrounding landscape:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The fog-wreaths came crawling round both corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank, on which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship upon a shadowy sea.
Related Themes:
