Explaining a condition makes the nature of a previously unclear quality known. Explaining its degree assumes the broad quality is understood but specifies its intensity.
Examples:
“His face is radiant like the moon” can explain the kind of radiance intended.
“Its darkness is like the deepest night” can emphasize how dark it is.
The linguistic structures may resemble one another, but the informative purposes differ. The context identifies which purpose dominates.
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Purposes, Classifications, and Rhetorical Degrees of Simile
Explaining a condition makes the nature of a previously unclear quality known. Explaining its degree assumes the broad quality is understood but specifies its intensity.
Examples:
“His face is radiant like the moon” can explain the kind of radiance intended.
“Its darkness is like the deepest night” can emphasize how dark it is.
The linguistic structures may resemble one another, but the informative purposes differ. The context identifies which purpose dominates.