XIII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2021

The word simile is derived from the Latin word ‘Simile’, meaning ‘resemblance and likenesses’, technically it means the comparison of two objects with some similarities. Shamisa (1383) has said simile is the claim of likeness of two things in one or two attributes "Simile is fundamentally a figure of speech requiring overt reference to source and target entities, and an explicit construction connecting them" (Gibbs, 1994: 40).

In English, for this comparison some similarity markers such as, "like", "as". Mr. Smith is as changeable as a weathercock. He eats like a hoarse. In literary texts, simile is used with metaphors to enhance the effect and beauty of the text. As metaphor is a covert comparison, simile is an overt one which explicitly and precisely explains the object and it is the first and simplest method for conveying the beauty of message which is used in poetry, prose and also usual conversations. Even children talking about their desires, use simile as a means of comparison.

Simile is much less investigated than metaphor, although it occurs as frequently in discourse. "Like metaphor, it is a semantic figure, a mental process playing a central role in the way we think and talk about the world, which often associates different spheres" (Bredin, 1998: 68). It can have an affirmative or a negative form: the affirmative form asserts likeness between the entities compared, as 'the sun is like an orange' and the negative one denies likeness, as 'the sun is not like an orange'.

According to Fromilhague (1995), Similes has various functions: First, they serve to communicate concisely and efficiently: They are one of a set of linguistic devices which extend the linguistic resources available. Secondly, they can function as cognitive tools for thought in that they enable us to think of the world in novel, alternative ways. In discourse, they can also fulfill more specific functions depending on the textual genre in which they occur. In scientific texts, comparison and analogical reasoning play an important role (pp. 88-94).

Simile also differs from analogy, intended in its narrower sense, as former involves two entities, while the latter involves four. Unlike metaphors, similes require individuation of both source and target concepts, and an evaluation of what they have in common, but unlike literal comparisons, they are figurative, comparing things normally felt to be incomparable, typically using vivid or startling images to suggest unexpected connections between source and target.

Similes have different types and classifications, too. Bredin (1998) remarked about a scale going from the most stereotyped to the most creative similes. At one extreme are situated the conventionalized and fixed similes, and at the other extreme are the creative similes. Between the two extremes, standard (ordinary) and original (fresh, but not totally unexpected) similes can be settled.

Ortony (1993) offered a semantic distinction between literal and non-literal similes. In non-literal similes, topic and vehicle are not symmetrical and the similarity markers can be dropped, but in literal similes, the terms can be reversed and the similarity markers can not be dropped.

Another classification by Fromilhague (1995) has offered a distinction between objective similes, originating from concrete physical experience, and subjective similes, stemming from individual association mechanisms.

He also explains explicit and implicit similes which are the basis of this article. In explicit simile, sense or point of similarity is stated directly. Most of the sentences with 'as…as' structures are of this kind: 'as light as feather', 'as hot as fire'.

Implicit simile, however, is the one whose sense is not stated directly and leave the onus of interpretation to the reader. Most words with 'like' are of this types: 'eat like a bird: Eat very little', 'live like a pig: Live very untidily', 'swim like a fish: Swim very well'.

References:

Bredin H (1998). Comparisons and Similes. Lingua, 105: 68.

Fromilhague C (1995). Les Figures de Style. Paris: Nathan.

Gibbs RW (1994). The Poetics of Mind. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Galperin I. R., «ENGLISH STYLISTICS», Moscow, 1981, 333.