In the first part, we examined what a metaphor, an analogy, and a simile are; now we need to understand the difference between them.

Metaphor vs Simile

Actually, that title isn’t really correct; we can’t have a metaphor vs a simile because a simile is a type of metaphor. Technically, every simile is a metaphor but it doesn’t work the other way around because we can’t say that all metaphors are similes.

There is one fundamental thing that determines which one we use – the fact that the simile uses “like” or “as” to compare two things or people.

Similes EXPLICITLY make a comparison while the metaphor does it IMPLICITLY – in essence, the metaphor identifies one thing as another as a way of highlighting what they have in common.

Analogy vs Metaphor

While the metaphor compares thing implicitly, i.e. it equates one thing with another because they share something common, the analogy places two things parallel to one another to display similarities between them.

It could be said that the metaphor will create a relationship between things and the metaphor will use the relationship created by the simile or metaphor as a way of explaining a complicated or delicate idea.

Metaphors are nothing more than simple instructions, often requiring just one sentence to express them whereas the analogy may need several sentences, depending on how fully it is developed.

Analogy vs Simile

Analogies are a type of argument while similes are figures of speech. The words “like” and “as” are used with similes for comparison and to create relationships between things, bringing them together as a way of showing the similarities they share.

Analogies use that relationship to describe one thing in a more easily understandable way. Like the metaphor, the simile is much shorter than the analogy, usually needing just one sentence while, again, the analogy can take several.

Has that cleared things up for you?

Now you know what the difference is between metaphors, similes, and analogies, you won’t be floored or confused the next time they come up in conversation. And when some clever clogs wrongly tell you, “that isn’t a metaphor, it is a simile” you can calmly but a little smugly, if you like, tell them that a simile is a kind of metaphor.

Oh and just in case someone tries to catch you out and use the word “allegory,” you might as well know that an allegory is a picture, a poem or a story used to deliver some kind of message, usually political or moral and is generally a complete story where the others tend to be just words. Perhaps one of the more famous examples of an allegory is Gorge Orwell’s Animal Farm, a political allegory that uses animals to outline different classes in society and pertains to the 1917 Russian Revolution and the rise of communism.

Words are one of the most important tools an author has, but perhaps one of the most powerful tools is the way those words are used. You can bet your life on this – if you get your metaphors, similes or analogies wrong, there’ll be an eagle-eyed reader out there just waiting to point it out to you.