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How does 'Metaphors, Similies, Analogies' Work?

The Metaphors, Similes, Analogies technique requires some preliminary explanation and definition.

1. A metaphor is something
2. A simile is like something
3. An analogy explains how one thing being like another helps explain them both.

For example, in the following extract from Macbeth: -

‘That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor Heaven peep through the blanket of the dark.’

1. The Metaphor being used is: The dark is a blanket
2. The Simile being use is: The dark is like a blanket
3. The Analogy being use is: The dark is like a blanket in that a blanket covers and conceals objects and the dark covers and conceals actions

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Illustration: Metaphors, Similies, Analogies

The following illustrates how the Metaphors, Similes, Analogies technique has been used in the construction of The Tailor.

Metaphor, Simile or Analogy:

Anjali is the river in that she is an unstoppable force that changes unpredictably and uncontrollably.

Section of text constructed:

"Anjali you remind me of the river that flows beyond our factory wall. One day there is the calm sound of water flowing smoothly to the sea. The next moment we are rushing to get the expensive fabrics to the high floors in case that same river decides to flow right through our workshop, destroying everything it touches."

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Metaphor, Simile or Analogy:

Most stars - like most people - will leave only iron at the end of their lives. Only the largest and brightest of stars – like the brightest of people – have the ability to transform themselves into gold through their creative weight and consuming energy: and they have a universal duty to do so.

Section of text constructed:

"Did you know that most stars in the universe just turn into iron towards the end of their lives? It is only the greatest stars that make more precious materials than iron. And only the very largest and brightest of the stars of the sky that will come to weave gold at the end. I know you will weave gold, Anjali."

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