Recap
- A simile compares two unlike things (usually “like” or “as”). Its function relies on the selection of the objects and their traits.
- Personification crosses the human and non-human divide. The course emphasises that assigning the qualities of a non-human object, entity or idea to a person or character communicates an attitude about that person. Giving human qualities to things is the more familiar direction.
Five steps for a simile
- Parts: what is compared with what?
- Trait: what quality links them?
- Connotations: what else does the comparison bring?
- Attitude: what tone results?
- Function: what does it do here?
Two directions of personification
| Direction | Example | Attitude or effect |
|---|---|---|
| Things given human qualities | “The house sulked” | Mood, will, atmosphere; wry or gloomy tone |
| People given non-human qualities | “A handsome clock in her day” | Mockery, affection, dehumanising or admiring view |
Examples (public domain)
- The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane, 1895): “The red sun was pasted in the sky like a wafer.” The sun is flattened and made ordinary.
- Hard Times (Charles Dickens, 1854): the piston “like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness”; Mr Gradgrind as “a kind of cannon loaded to the muzzle with facts”; the children as “little vessels”.
Weak versus strong
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| “The simile paints a picture.” | “Comparing the sun to a pasted wafer makes it flat and artificial, so the scene loses its grandeur.” |
| “The house is personified.” | “The house ‘refuses’ to notice the rain, which gives it a stubborn will and a wry, gloomy mood.” |
Assumptions
- Interpret the comparison in its passage. The same simile can mean different things in different texts.
- Name the specific trait; avoid “paints a picture”.
- Consider what the comparison leaves out.
Mistakes to avoid
- Naming the device only.
- Ignoring the specific trait that links the two things.
- Treating personification as only a decoration of things.
- Overloading a simple comparison with a complicated meaning.
- Forgetting the attitude conveyed.
Quick self-check
1. “His promises were like soap bubbles.” Give the trait and the attitude.
2. “The fog crept along the street.” Which direction of personification is this?
3. “She was a ledger in a bonnet.” What attitude might the narrator be conveying?
4. True or false: a simile always praises its subject.
Answers.
- Trait: fragility and emptiness; they look bright and burst at a touch. Attitude: scornful or sceptical.
- A thing given a human-like action (creeping): it gives the fog a stealthy will and sets a mood of menace.
- A critical or amused view of a woman reduced to accounting and orderliness; the object quality (a ledger) conveys a lack of warmth.
- False. Similes can criticise, mock, unsettle or praise.
Return to the Topic 7.6 study guide for worked examples, then try the practice questions.