The document discusses similes, which are comparisons between two different things using like or as. It provides examples of similes from daily speech and literature, and discusses identifying the two things being compared in similes. The document also contains exercises asking students to identify similes in passages and songs, discuss similes used in different types of media, and construct their own similes. Students are asked to analyze and discuss similes found in songs and share examples from media in an online forum discussion.

1. ENG308
Week 2
Simile
Dr. Russell Rodrigo

2. Simile
“Our soldiers are as brave as lions.”
uA simile is a figure of speech that makes
a comparison, showing similarities between two
different things.

3. Example
u We can find simile examples in our daily speech. We often hear
comments like, “John is as slow as a snail.”
u Snails are notorious for their slow pace, and here the slowness of
John is compared to that of a snail.
u The use of “as” in the example helps to draw the resemblance.

5. Why use similes?
u Using similes can add emotion or feeling that helps give
the reader a vivid sense of the effect being described.
u Simile - a kind of description. ... (Hint - 'like' or 'as' are key
words to spot as these create the simile).
u A simile can create a vivid image in the reader's mind,
helping to engage and absorb them.

6. Similes in Daily life

7. Supposed you’ve seen them?
How would describe them to
your best friends?

11. My next door neighbor is as hot as Jason Mamoa.

12. My next door neighbor is as hot as Jason Mamoa.

13. Common Examples of Simile
1. Your explanation is as clear as mud.
2. The water well was as dry as a bone.
3. Watching the show was like watching grass grow.

14. Practice 1: Identify the two things that are being compared in each simile and
explain what the simile is expressing in literal language.
1. The glow of the tube-light was as bright as the sunshine.
2. In winter, when it rained, he climbed into bed and felt as snug as a bug in a rug.
3. At exam time, the high school student was as busy as a bee.
4. The beggar on the road looked as blind as a bat.
5. When the examination finished, the candidate felt as light as a feather.
6. When the teacher entered the class, the 6th-grade students were fighting like cats and dogs.
7. The diplomat said the friendship of the two countries was as deep as an ocean.
8. The desert traveler’s hopes were dashed, as when at last he reached a well, it was as dry as a bone.
9. His opponent was trying to infuriate him, but he remained as cool as cucumber.
10. The laborer remained busy at work all day long and slept like a log that night.

15. Answers
1. The glow of the tube-light was as bright as the sunshine.
2. In winter, when it rained, he climbed into bed and felt as snug as a bug in a rug.
3. At exam time, the high school student was as busy as a bee.
4. The beggar on the road looked as blind as a bat.
5. When the examination finished, the candidate felt as light as a feather.
6. When the teacher entered the class, the 6th-grade students were fighting like cats and dogs.
7. The diplomat said the friendship of the two countries was as deep as an ocean.
8. The desert traveler’s hopes were dashed, as when at last he reached a well, it was as dry as a bone.
9. His opponent was trying to infuriate him, but he remained as cool as cucumber.
10. The laborer remained busy at work all day long and slept like a log that night.

16. Similes in Literature
Identify the Similes and explain the
meaning.
1. Lord Jim (By Joseph Conrad)
“I would have given anything for the power
to soothe her frail soul, tormenting itself in
its invincible ignorance like a small bird
beating about the cruel wires of a cage.”
2. Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)
“Elderly American ladies leaning on their
canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.”
3. A Red, Red Rose (By Robert Burns)
“O my Luve’s like a red red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.”
4. the Daffodils (By William Wordsworth)
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o’er vales and hills.”

17. 5. Sonnet 18 (By William Shakespeare)
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines”
6. Othello (By William Shakespeare)
“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,—
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!
It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood;
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.”
7. Will There Really Be a Morning? (By Emily
Dickinson)
“Will there really be a morning?
Is there such a thing as day?
Could I see it from the mountains
If I were as tall as they?
Has it feet like water-lilies?
Has it feathers like a bird?
Is it brought from famous countries.”
8. Romeo and Juliet (by William
Shakespeare)
"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too
rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."

18. Answers
Identify the Similes and explain the meaning.
1. Lord Jim (By Joseph Conrad)
“I would have given anything for the power to soothe her
frail soul, tormenting itself in its invincible ignorance like a
small bird beating about the cruel wires of a cage.”
2. Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)
“Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed
toward me like towers of Pisa.”
3. A Red, Red Rose (By Robert Burns)
“O my Luve’s like a red red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.”
4. the Daffodils (By William Wordsworth)
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o’er vales and hills.”

19. 5. Sonnet 18 (By William Shakespeare)
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines”
6. Othello (By William Shakespeare)
“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,—
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!
It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood;
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.”
7. Will There Really Be a Morning? (By Emily
Dickinson)
“Will there really be a morning?
Is there such a thing as day?
Could I see it from the mountains
If I were as tall as they?
Has it feet like water-lilies?
Has it feathers like a bird?
Is it brought from famous countries.”
8. Romeo and Juliet (by William
Shakespeare)
"Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too
rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn."

20. Production
Construct similes with the topics below:
1. Online learning
2. COVID-19
3. University life
4. Studying English
5. Your crush
6. Students
7. Exam
8. Teachers

21. Practice 2: Identify the two things that are being compared in each
simile and explain what the simile is expressing in literal language.
u Example: Fame is fleeting as the wind.
u Fame (is / are) being compared to the wind.
u In literal language this means...
u This means that fame can come and go very quickly.

22. 1. Bright were his eyes like live coals, as he gave me a sideways glance.
2. They were standing where a brook, bending like a shepherd's crook, Flashed its silver, and thick
ranks of willow fringed its mossy banks;
3. A year has gone, as the tortoise goes, heavy and plodding;
4. There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart, in a fellowless firmament;
5. One self-denying act, one word that eased the heart of him that heard; One glance most kind, which
felt like sunshine where it went,
6. The mellow glow of the twilight shone like a jeweled crown,
7. The skies in the darkness stoop nearer and nearer, a cluster of stars hangs like fruit in the tree,
8. What shall we do when hope is gone? The words leapt like a leaping sword; "Sail on! sail on! sail
on! and on!“
9. Turn from blotted archives of the past and find the future's pages white as snow!
10. Why should the spirit of mortal be proud! Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud, A flash of
the lightning, a break of the wave, he passes from life to his rest in the grave.

24. Similes in Media

25. Similes in Movies

26. Similes in Advertisements

27. Simile in Songs
Task 1:
u Listen to Katy Perry’s song “Firework”
u Note as many similes as you can.
Task 2:
u Listen again to the song and fill in the gaps.
u Underline the similes.
u Pair-share.

28. Firework
Katy Perry
Do you ever feel like a 1.)___________ 2.)____________
Drifting thought the wind
Wanting to start again
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a 3.)_______ of 4.)____________
One blow from caving in
Do you ever feel already 5.)_________ 6.) ____________
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a 7.)___________
Do you know that there's still a 8.)___________ for you
'Cause there's a 9.) _________ in you
You just gotta 10.)___________ the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the 11.)__________ of 12.)___________
You just gotta 10.)___________ the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the 11.)__________ of 12.)___________
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your 13.)_______________
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you 14.___________ across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your 15.)____________ 16.)_____________
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down down down
You don't have to 17.) ___________ like a 18.)_______________
You're original, cannot be 19.)______________
If you…

29. Firework
Katy Perry
Do you ever feel like a 1.)plastic 2.) bag
Drifting thought the wind
Wanting to start again
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a 3.)house of 4.)_cards
One blow from caving in
Do you ever feel already 5.)buried 6.) deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a 7.)thing
Do you know that there's still a 8.)chance for you
'Cause there's a 9.) _________ in you
You just gotta 10.)ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the 11.)fourth of 12.) July
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your 13) worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you 14.shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your 15.)colors 16) burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down down down
You don't have to 17.) feel like a 18.) waste of space
You're original, cannot be 19) replaced
If you…

30. Similes in Songs

31. Find the lyrics of these songs. Identify the
similes.
1. Exes and Ohs, Elle King
2. Shape of You, Ed Sheeran
3. Hozier, Take me to Church
4. Candle in the Wind, Elton John
5. Halo, Beyonce
6. Shawn Mendes – Stitches

32. More examples of songs with similes
Explain the similes and their meaning
u Exes and Ohs, Elle King
Ex’s and the oh, oh, oh’s they haunt me
Like ghosts they want me to make ’em all
They won’t let go
u Shape of You, Ed Sheeran
I’m in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
u Hozier, Take me to Church
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
u Candle in the Wind, Elton John
"And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in“
u Halo, Beyonce
Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You’re the only one that I want
Think I’m addicted to your light
u Shawn Mendes – Stitches
Just like a moth drawn to a flame
Oh, you lured me in, I couldn’t sense the pain
Your bitter heart cold to the touch
Now I’m gonna reap what I sow
I’m left seeing red on my own

33. Week 2 Forum
u Present ONE example each of simile and imagery in media (e.g. movie, song,
advertisement).
u Post in JPEG format and explain briefly the meaning.
u Comment to TWO other posts to get a full mark.