• memfree@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      23 hours ago

      That is more of a definition.
      A simile might be:

      • The baby bird opened her mouth like an umbrella.
      • She’s stacked like bricks.

      A metaphor might be:

      • Faith is our umbrella.
      • She’s a brickhouse.
        • memfree@piefed.social
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          22 hours ago

          Still definitional. The point of umbrellas is to shield/protect from the weather. A standard construction is: “Umbrellas shield against rain,” or “The umbrella protects you from rain,” or “An umbrella keeps you dry when the weather is wet.”

          All the types of writing being discussed are about unrelated things where a common aspect is brought out. So “Faith is our umbrella” implies that belief in something (God/gods/karma/goodwill) acts as a shield against bad things in the same way an umbrella shields against rain. “She’s stacked like bricks” implies she is visually pleasing and ‘well built’ in the same way bricks are stacked to be both solidly built and visually pleasing. A defintional description would be, “She has the body of a beauty queen.”

          Technical writing is not supposed to use metaphors, similes, allegories or analogies except in very specific situations where the technical details must be further explained. Creative and descriptive writing may use all manner of devices to build vivid imagery.