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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Like the Grass:
Although Walpole explicitly says that The Castle of Otranto does not employ "similes, flowers, [...] or unnecessary descriptions" in the First Edition Preface, one or two do appear in the novel. Their scarcity makes their powerful ability to create likenesses in the mind of the reader even more potent. In Chapter 4, when Manfred proclaims his desire to have Theodore thrown out of Otranto, Father Jerome replies by saying:
"They start up [...] who are suddenly beheld in the seat of lawful princes; but they wither away like the grass, and their place knows them no more.”
The friar here compares the position Theodore has been put in to that of a blade of grass: he can put on grand airs all he likes, the reader is told, but he will eventually "wither away like the grass" and be gone without a trace. Manfred knows that the wise friar is probably really talking about him with this expression, so he goes on to cast a "look of scorn" at him. This simile also forms another link between Theodore and the natural world, which "supports" his position as the heir to Otranto. In comparison to Theodore's green, living youth, Manfred's age and his association with the gloomy castle are even less appealing to the reader.
Related Themes:
