Introduction
Poets use similes as part of their arsenal of figures of speech to paint vivid pictures with their words and inspire readers to feel emotion. A simile is a type of figurative language that is used to compare two different elements to one another, typically using like or as. This type of figurative speech has been used in poetry since the time of Homer and has been continued to be used through the present day. Similes have the ability to articulate ideas clearly, and bring to life a poetic style and rhythm that can influence readers.
How Similes Bridge the Gap Between Emotion and Understanding
When comparing two elements with a simile, readers are able to quickly understand the emotion and idea behind the poetic journey. For example, in “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, the speaker is desperate for any sort of reprieve from the sound of the raven and thinks of himself “as a lone struggling in a stormy sea of thought.” By using this simile, readers are able to recognize the despair and pain of the speaker and begin to sympathize with him. Similies can bridge the gap between expressing emotion and understanding because they quickly show profound feelings that would otherwise remain hidden or unclear.
Similes Help Balance metrical feet and Rhythm
Metrical feet are the units of rhythmic structure used in poetry. In English, these units are comprised of two syllables, and popular structures include Tetrameter and Pentameter. Similes help to give balance to these structures, allowing writers to break up lines and move beyond the same words being repeated over and over. For example, Ezra Pound’s poem “The Multitude” makes use of Pentameter and employs a simile in the fourth line to “As chaff that flutter scatter’d roads before the storm”. Here, the metaphor adds variation and dimension to the poem’s rhythmic structure, balancing out the length of the lines.
Similes Create Picture for Readers
By expressing unusual subject matter or a unique perspective, similes can create vivid pictures for readers. For example, in her poem “I Will Not Gloat at my Nation’s Passing”, Mary Oliver uses the simile “Like an old, vacant chair between two hills” to express the lack of emotion she has over her nation’s passing. By comparing her nation to an old and vacant chair between two hills, Oliver is able to capture the beauty of her nation’s death while also conveying the indifference of its citizens.
Similes Help Add Meaning and Context to Poetic Lyrics
The addition of similes in poems can help provide greater context and meaning to the words, especially in lyrical poetry. In “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron, the analogy “Like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies” helps readers to understand that the subject of the poem is beautiful, but it also conjures images of a night sky filled with stars and brilliant colors. Similes like this provide readers with a vivid imagery that can help bring all the facets of the poem together, helping them to understand the message and experience the emotion of the song .
Conclusion
Similes have long been used in poetry to express emotions, create vivid pictures in the minds of readers, and provide balance to the poem’s lyrical structure. They are used to bridge the gap between emotion and understanding, so it is easy for readers to relate to and sympathize with the poet’s perspective. Similes also help add context to the poem, offering a distinctive form of imagery that can help readers to comprehend the message and the emotion of the song.
Why Are Metaphors Used in Poetry?
Metaphors are used in poetry to evoke emotion, create vivid images and stimulate the reader’s imagination. By comparing one object or concept to another, poets are able to quickly capture a reader’s attention and express their ideas in interesting and evocative ways. While similes use the words “like” or “as” to make comparisons, metaphors do not need these words and instead draw similarities between two disparate elements. In this way, metaphors are less direct than similes, making them more powerful and allowing them to capture the nuances of emotion.
How Metaphors Help Evoke an Emotional Response
The use of metaphors in poetry helps to evoke an emotional response from readers. Subsequently, they can help to create a deeper understanding of the poem’s themes. For example, in “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, he paints a picture of a darkly playful waltz between a father and his son, utilizing a metaphor of a “palm caked hard by dirt” to illustrate this. Through this comparison, readers are able to experience the seemingly chaotic, yet endearing connection between the two characters and the idea of a “passing waltz” becomes much more meaningful.
Metaphors Help Stimulate the Imagination
Metaphors can help to open up the imagination of readers, creating a pathway for them to experience the poem in an entirely new light. In “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, her abstract imagery of the fish being “washed with a rage” of the ocean and its “five fi nger leaves” helps to create an image of the dramatic and unpredictable nature of ocean life. This metaphor also provides readers with access to the complex emotions and beauty of the poem in ways that direct depictions of the ocean could not have.
Metaphors Help to Connect Disparate Subjects
The main benefit of using metaphors in poetry is that they allow poets to connect two disparate elements and make the unfamiliar familiar. In this way, metaphors help readers to explore new perspectives and ideas, sparking new ideas in their imagination. For example, in “On Death Without Exaggeration” by W.S. Merwin, he uses the metaphor of “the hours sliding past like land” to illustrate how days and years of life seem to have gone by in the blink of an eye. Through this comparison, the idea of time passing quickly is celebrated rather than feared, allowing readers to experience life more authentically.
Conclusion
Metaphors are an essential part of poetry, as they help to evoke an emotional response, stimulate the imagination and create a pathway for readers to explore new perspectives. By connecting two disparate elements, metaphors can help readers to bridge the gap between understanding and experiencing the poem’s themes. As a result, metaphors create powerful connections between two or more concepts, giving the poem unique depth and complexity.
