LessonsPurposes, Classifications, and Rhetorical Degrees of SimileQuiz

Not every comparison explicitly lists its terms and a marker such as “like.” A speaker may make a claim and then offer another case that supports or illustrates it; the comparison is inferred from the relation between the two statements.

For example: “Great merit can appear at an early age; some plants bear abundant fruit quickly.” The second proposition functions as an analogy for the first.

This implicit simile is more than simply deleting the comparison marker: the likeness arises from the argumentative or explanatory relation between clauses.

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An implicit simile supporting a claim

Purposes, Classifications, and Rhetorical Degrees of Simile

Not every comparison explicitly lists its terms and a marker such as “like.” A speaker may make a claim and then offer another case that supports or illustrates it; the comparison is inferred from the relation between the two statements.

For example: “Great merit can appear at an early age; some plants bear abundant fruit quickly.” The second proposition functions as an analogy for the first.

This implicit simile is more than simply deleting the comparison marker: the likeness arises from the argumentative or explanatory relation between clauses.