A symbol represents something abstract or invisible through association with a real object. It refers to spiritual concepts or other realities. Examples include the eagle symbolizing the United States and bread and wine symbolizing Christ's body and blood in Christianity. A simile directly compares two things that share a feature, using like or as. Examples are "as cold as a dog's nose" and "they fought like cats and dogs." A metaphor makes an implicit comparison where a word for one thing is used to refer to another for emphasis or clarity. Examples include "a river of tears" and "her home was a prison," comparing the constraints of her home to those of an actual prison.

1. SYMBOL
It is something that represents something
else by association, especially a material
object used to represent something invisible
or abstract.
Symbol is the use of a real object to refer to
something spiritual or imagined or simply to
evoke another reality.
A thing that is regarded as representing or
standing for another.
Examples:
"The eagle is a symbol of the United
States"
Heart: love
In the Christian religion, bread and
wine are symbolic of Christ's body
and blood.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/symbol
http://www.retoricas.com/2009/06/1-ejemplo-de-
simbolo.html
SIMILE
It is where two things are directly compared
because they have a feature in common.
Simile is an expression that describes
something by comparing it with something
else using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Examples:
Using as:
‘As cold as a dog’s nose’
‘She isn’t as beautiful as her mother
was in her youth’
‘As clear as crystal’
Using like:
‘Your smile is like a flower’
‘It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve
been working like a dog’. The Beatles
‘They fought like cats and dogs’
The above patterns of simile are the most
common, but there are others made with
adverbs or words such as than and as if, for
example:
‘He is larger than life’
‘They ran as if for their lives’
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/figures-
simile.htm
METAPHOR
It is a figure of speech in which a word or
phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is
used to designate another, making and
implicit comparison.
A metaphor is a comparison that shows how
two things are similar in one important way.
Examples:
‘A river of tears’
‘A sea of troubles’
‘He is a tiger when he’s angry’
‘She was fairly certain that life was a
fashion show’
Look at this example:
Her home was a prison’
In the above sentence, we understand
immediately that her home had some of the
characteristics of a prison. Mainly, we
imagine, she could not leave her home.
Dead metaphor: a metaphor that has
occurred so often that it has become a new
meaning of the expression (e.g., `he is a
snake' may once have been a metaphor but
after years of use it has died and become a
new sense of the word `snake')
Mixed metaphor: a combination of two or
more metaphors that together produce a
ridiculous effect.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/figures-
metaphor.htm
The dove is the
symbol of peace.
A weighing scale:
justice