Simile
A direct comparison between two unlike things using the words 'like' or 'as', acknowledging similarity rather than asserting identity. Simile creates a bridge of understanding between a complex concept and something more familiar.
Real World
In Owen Sheers's 'Mametz Wood', soldiers' bones are described 'like a wound working a foreign body to the surface', a simile linking the earth to a healing body that makes the landscape feel disturbingly alive decades after battle.
Exam Focus
Analyse why the poet chose simile over metaphor — the deliberate distance of 'like' or 'as' can itself be a meaningful stylistic decision.
How well did you know this?