2.5 Figurative Language: Simile and Metaphor
Figurative language shifts meaning away from the purely literal. In poetry, similes and metaphors create meaning by comparing, representing, or associating one thing with another.
The AP Literature CED asks you to identify similes and metaphors and explain how they function. Identification is only the first step. The score comes from explaining what the comparison does.
Simile
A simile makes an explicit comparison using words such as "like" or "as" to liken one thing to another. A simile can clarify an image, intensify emotion, create contrast, or reveal a speaker's perspective.
A simile likens two different things in order to transfer the traits or qualities of one to the other. In a simile, the main subject is the thing being described, and the comparison subject is the thing it is compared to. For example, in "her voice is like velvet," "voice" is the main subject and "velvet" is the comparison subject. The simile transfers the softness and smoothness associated with velvet to the voice.
When analyzing a simile, ask:
- What two things are being compared?
- Which is the main subject and which is the comparison subject?
- What qualities are transferred from the comparison subject to the main subject?
- How does the comparison affect tone, imagery, or meaning?
Metaphor
A metaphor makes an implicit comparison by saying or suggesting that one thing is another. A metaphor implies similarities between two usually unrelated concepts or objects in order to reveal or emphasize something about one of them, though the differences between the two may also be revealing. Metaphors can be local, extended, or structural. They may shape a single image or organize an entire poem.
In a metaphor, just as in a simile, the main subject is the thing being described, and the comparison subject is the thing it is identified with. For example, in "time is a thief," "time" is the main subject and "thief" is the comparison subject. The metaphor transfers qualities like stealth and loss from "thief" to "time."
Metaphors draw on the associations readers already have with the comparison subject. If a poet compares hope to a flame, readers bring ideas such as warmth, light, fragility, and the possibility of being extinguished. These pre-existing associations are what give metaphors their power—they tap into shared human experience to make meaning feel immediate and intuitive.
The meaning of a metaphor depends on context. A comparison may suggest different qualities depending on what is happening in the poem, who is speaking, and what tone the surrounding lines create. For instance, calling someone a "rock" in a love poem suggests reliability and strength, but in a poem about emotional distance, it might suggest coldness or immovability. What is transferred in a metaphor is shaped by the situation the text presents.
Metaphors can make abstract ideas concrete. They can also create tension when the comparison feels surprising, unstable, or contradictory.
Writing About Function
Avoid writing only that a poet "uses a simile to create imagery." Be more precise. Explain the effect of the comparison.
A stronger sentence looks like this: "By comparing the speaker's memory to a locked room, the poem presents memory as private, enclosed, and difficult to access."
AP Practice Move
In a paragraph, quote the figurative phrase, name the comparison, and explain how it develops the poem's meaning. Always connect the device to a claim about the poem as a whole.