Simile


 * __SIMILE:__** A simile is a figure of speech characterized by the expression of similarities between two objects. The way to tell a difference between a simile and a metaphor is a simile's near-exclusive use of "like" and "as" where a metaphor uses "is".

For example, “Melissa is as cool as the Nawab” or “my puppy is needy like Harry”

Similes are used throughout poetry. For example, in Philip Larkin's work, "The Whitsun Weddings." The first few lines of the sixth stanza follow as such: "Success so huge and wholly farcial;/The women shared/The secret **like** a happy funeral." Here, Larkin does not mean that the women are also sharing "a happy funeral," but that "the secret" they do share is one similar to "a happy funeral".

Another example of simile in the same poem is in the last line of the second last stanza. It reads "I thought of London spread out in the sun/Its postal districts packed **like** squares of wheat." The postal districts are not squares of wheat. Larkin is simply comparing them.

To spot a simile, simply look for the word "like" or the word "as."

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 * __PLOCE (pronounced "ploh-see" or "ploh-chay", depending on who you ask):__** A ploce is the repetition of a word or phrase to get special meaning. The first use of the word is generally a different meaning than the second use of the word.

For example, the IBM slogan "computers help people help people." Also, an advertisement for //Vogue// magazine: "If it wasn't in //Vogue//, it wasn't in vogue." Alternately, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." It's a little hard to describe.

One example of its use in Larkin's work (shockingly difficult to find), is in "An Arundel Tomb." In the last stanza, Larkin uses the phrase "our **almost** instinct **almost** true."

To watch for a ploce, look for two significant words (not words like "the" or "it" or "my", although they could be) that are placed in the same line, or spaced closely together. That's pretty much the only way you can find one.