How a Simile Works · Cómo funciona una comparación
| English | Español |
|---|---|
| simile/ˈsɪmɪlɪ/ | símil |
Like or as, and two subjects
- A simile 明喻 uses the words "like" or "as" to liken two objects or concepts to each other.
- That is the identification test, and it is the easy half.
- The analysis is what happens between the two things it links.
“Like” introduces two strangers; analysis asks why the poet invited them to the same table.
Like or as, and two subjects
- A simile 明喻 uses the words "like" or "as" to liken two objects or concepts to each other.
- That is the identification test, and it is the easy half.
- El análisis es lo que ocurre entre las dos cosas que vincula.
“Like” introduces two strangers; analysis asks why the poet invited them to the same table.
A simile uses the words like or ____ to liken two things. · Una comparación usa las palabras like (como) o ____ para asemejar dos cosas.
That is the identification test — and it is the easy half. · Esa es la prueba de identificación — y es la mitad fácil.
A simile transfers
- Similes liken two different things to transfer the traits or qualities of one to the other.
- So a simile has a direction: something is given, and something receives it.
- The question is always which quality moved? — and there is usually only one.
In her patience was like a rope, the comparison subject is... · En su paciencia era como una cuerda, el sujeto de la comparación es...
The thing being compared is the main subject; the thing compared to is the comparison subject. · La cosa que se compara es el sujeto principal; la cosa a la que se compara es el sujeto de la comparación.
Main subject and comparison subject
- In a simile, the thing being compared is the main subject; the thing to which it is being compared is the comparison subject.
- Naming both is what turns "there is a simile" into an analysis.
- Her patience was like a rope: patience is the main subject, rope the comparison subject.
Main subject and comparison subject
- En una metáfora, la cosa que se compara es el sujeto principal; la cosa a la que se compara es el sujeto de comparación.
- Naming both is what turns "there is a simile" into an analysis.
- Her patience was like a rope: patience is the main subject, rope the comparison subject.
Main subject, comparison subject, or transferred quality? · ¿Sujeto principal, sujeto de comparación o cualidad transferida?
Sort each element of her patience was like a rope, worn thin where it turned. · Ordenar cada elemento de su paciencia era como una cuerda, desgastada delgada donde se doblaba.
A comparison subject brings many qualities; a simile transfers only some. Deciding which is not free choice — the surrounding lines decide it. An answer that hands over every property of the compared object has stopped reading the poem and started listing facts about ropes.
Un sujeto de comparación aporta muchas cualidades; una metáfora transfiere solo algunas. Decidir cuál no es una elección libre: las líneas circundantes lo deciden. Una respuesta que entrega todas las propiedades del objeto comparado ha dejado de leer el poema y ha comenzado a listar hechos sobre cuerdas.
A simile transfers every quality of the comparison subject. · Una comparación transfiere todas las cualidades del sujeto de la comparación.
Only some transfer — and the surrounding lines decide which. · Solo algunas se transfieren — y son los versos circundantes los que deciden cuáles.
Read the quality, not the object
- A rope is long, coarse, strong — and it frays, and it can be cut.
- A simile transfers some of those and not the rest, and the surrounding lines tell you which.
- The commonest weak answer transfers the wrong one, or all of them at once.
Read the quality, not the object
- A rope is long, coarse, strong — and it frays, and it can be cut.
- Una metáfora transfiere algunas de esas cualidades, pero no todas, y son las líneas circundantes las que te dicen cuáles.
- The commonest weak answer transfers the wrong one, or all of them at once.
Select all · todos the steps of the simile pass. · Selecciona todos los pasos del paso a paso de la comparación.
Beauty is a judgement; the transfer is what the exam asks about. · La belleza es un juicio; la transferencia es lo que el examen pide.
Match each next line to the quality it transfers. · Empareja cada línea siguiente con la cualidad que transfiere.
Same simile, three different readings — and the poem chose, not the reader. · Misma comparación, tres lecturas diferentes — y el poema eligió, no el lector.
A simile pass
- Name the main subject. Name the comparison subject.
- List the qualities the comparison subject has; circle the one the context makes relevant.
- Say what the main subject now carries that it did not carry before.
A simile pass
- Name the main subject. Name the comparison subject.
- Lista las cualidades que tiene el sujeto de comparación; marca con un círculo la que el contexto hace relevante.
- Say what the main subject now carries that it did not carry before.
Her patience was like a rope. If the next line is "it held them all winter," the transferred quality is strength. If it is "it wore thin where it turned," the transferred quality is fraying. Same simile, opposite readings, and the poem — not the reader — chose.
Su paciencia era como una cuerda. Si la siguiente línea es "los mantuvo todo el invierno", la cualidad transferida es fuerza. Si es "se desgastó donde se doblaba", la cualidad transferida es desgaste. Misma metáfora, lecturas opuestas, y fue el poema —no el lector— quien eligió.
A simile uses like or as and transfers traits or qualities from one thing to another. The thing compared is the main subject; the thing it is compared to is the comparison subject. Only some qualities transfer — the surrounding lines decide which.
Una metáfora utiliza como o tan y transfiere rasgos o cualidades de una cosa a otra. La cosa comparada es el sujeto principal; la cosa con la que se compara es el sujeto de comparación. Solo algunas cualidades se transfieren: las líneas circundantes deciden cuáles.