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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
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—Like the Incoming Sea:
Book 3, Chapter 7 follows the major battle between the mustered forces of the Rohirrim against the Orcs at Helm's Deep. In a series of similes, Tolkien repeatedly describes the army of the Uruk-hai like the sea, their forces coming in waves that crash against the tall stone walls of the citadel of Hornburg.
The movements of the Orc companies emulate the waves, shown in a simile: "They wavered, broke, and fled back; and then charged again, broke and charged again; and each time, like the incoming sea, they halted at a higher point." Another simile describes how the Orcs sound like the ocean as well: "Against the Deeping Wall the hosts of Isengard roared like a sea." And the endless perseverance of the Orcs also resembles the sea's constant churning: "Over the wall and under the wall the last assault came sweeping like a dark wave upon a hill of sand." Over and over, similes compare the Orcs to the sea, forming a motif throughout the chapter.
Similarly, the citadel is repeatedly compared to the shore, immovable against the power of the sea. The narrator describes the citadel in a simile that specifically references a rocky shore: "in front it was smooth, and the great stones of it were set with such skill that no foothold could be found at their joints, and at the top they hung over like a sea-delved cliff." The citadel is also compared to an island: "Away on the left the crash and clamour of the battle on the Rock rose loud again. But the Hornburg still held fast, like an island in the sea." (There are several important islands in the mythical history of Tolkien's world, most prominently Númenor, to which this simile refers.) Gimli proposes that he and his dwarvish kin could make even stronger embankments, still using the sea as simile: "Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water." These similes expand the motif so that the entire battle, rather than just the Orcs, resembles the sea. These comparisons to the sea form a naturalistic motif in the violent field of battle, fitting with Tolkien's style of description throughout the series.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Boromir at Rest:
The Two Towers begins as Aragorn finds Boromir dying after fighting a company of Orcs. In Chapter 1 Aragorn sees Boromir from afar sitting against a tree, which is described with a simple simile:
A mile, maybe, from Parth Galen in a little glade not far from the lake he found Boromir. He was sitting with his back to a great tree, as if he was resting. But Aragorn saw that he was pierced with many black-feathered arrows; his sword was still in his hand, but it was broken near the hilt; his horn cloven in two was at his side. Many Orcs lay slain, piled all about him and at his feet.
Boromir, pierced with arrows, sits "as if he was resting." This simile is meant to contrast with Boromir's character throughout the story, as a strong, indefatigable warrior. Only once he is near death does he seem to rest. These traits of strength and perseverance are emblematic of the race of Men in Tolkien's fantasy. Boromir does not appear bloody or gored, but his broken sword and horn serve to show his defeat at the hand of the Orcs. These ruined objects represent his valor in fighting for his home country of Gondor (as the horn was given to the heir apparent to the throne). Thus the simile, and this entire scene, reflects Boromir's character in life, emphasizing the tragedy of his death.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Trough-like Dale:
One of the most famous and memorable features of Tolkien's novels are his rich descriptions of nature. These descriptions are often highly detailed but use rather little figurative language, preferring simple, straightforward similes with comparisons to objects one might find in the pre-industrial societies depicted in the book. Note that, in the frame narrative for The Lord of the Rings, the books were originally memoirs written by Bilbo Baggins and edited by Frodo and Samwise, so it makes sense that the Hobbits would use images familiar to them. Take one such simile from Book 3, Chapter 2, describing a dale through which Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pass from the Emyn Muil into Rohan:
The dale ran like a stony trough between the ridged hills, and a trickling stream flowed among the boulders at the bottom. A cliff frowned upon their right; to their left rose grey slopes, dim and shadowy in the late night.
The dale is like a "stony trough," a channel meant to funnel water in a certain direction. This simile not only describes the surrounding landscape but continues to depict the overall imagery of Tolkien's fictional world by using a rustic object one might find in the Shire.
The simile, though, has figurative meaning as well. A trough constrains the flow of water, moving it from one place to another. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli enter this dale unsure of where to go as they attempt to follow the Orc company that captured Merry and Pippin. So, like water in a trough, the remaining Fellowship feels they are funneled forward toward Rohan and the next adventure.
Book 3, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—As For My Name!:
In Book 3, Chapter 5, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli encounter an old man passing through the woods in Rohan. Fearing that the man is Saruman in disguise, they draw their weapons and ask the man to reveal his identity. The man, in fact, is Gandalf, returned at last from his seeming death in Moria. Gandalf refuses to give his name immediately, which results in a moment of dramatic irony:
‘As for what I wished to say, I have said it: What may you be doing, and what tale can you tell of yourselves? As for my name!’ He broke off, laughing long and softly. Aragorn felt a shudder run through him at the sound, a strange cold thrill; and yet it was not fear or terror that he felt: rather it was like the sudden bite of a keen air, or the slap of a cold rain that wakes an uneasy sleeper.
Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas do not know that the man in front of them is their friend Gandalf. This creates dramatic irony, as the tension in the scene comes from the fact that one character knows something that the others do not. Gandalf laughs "long and softly" once he realizes this irony, that his old friends do not know who he is. As often throughout the story, Gandalf finds the humor in a moment of conflict, reacting with joy to this unexpected reunion.
Aragorn, in contrast, reacts to this moment with sudden understanding and shock. This understanding is described in a simile, that "it was like the sudden bite of a keen air, or the slap of a cold rain that wakes an uneasy sleeper." Aragorn reacts to the dramatic irony like a ranger, suddenly realizing the truth of this man's identity before his fellow travelers. The simile contrasts Gandalf's and Aragorn's characters by showing their distinct reactions to the ironic moment.
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Explanation and Analysis—Like An Old Beggar-Man:
In Book 3, Chapter 5, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas follow a disheveled old man walking through the woods. Fearful that the man might be Saruman in disguise, they treat him warily. In a simile, the narrator compares him to an "old beggar-man":
Aragorn looked and beheld a bent figure moving slowly. It was not far away. It looked like an old beggar-man, walking wearily, leaning on a rough staff. His head was bowed, and he did not look towards them. In other lands they would have greeted him with kind words; but now they stood silent, each feeling a strange expectancy: something was approaching that held a hidden power – or menace.
The simile describes this man as clearly poor, seemingly without possessions, wandering through mostly empty wildnerness. This man, of course, is Gandalf in disguise, returned miraculously from his seeming death in the fight with the Balrog in Moria in Book 2. Gandalf's depiction as a beggar is an important image, showing him as a divine figure reborn. Gandalf returns as a humble, weary man seemingly approaching a natural death, emphasizing his sense of duty to walk among the mortal world aiding those in need.
Gandalf's depiction as a beggar also calls on religious tropes from multiple traditions. Tolkien alludes to beggars who serve as parables, such as the blind Bartimaeus healed by Jesus shortly before his Passion, or the old man encountered by Siddhartha before his renunciation of worldly pleasures. Perhaps Gandalf most closely resembles Odin, the Norse god who often wandered the world as an old beggar. These implied allusions emphasize how Gandalf's divine power is always balanced by his worldly humility.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Plink!:
In Book 3, Chapter 8, Gimli describes to Legolas the beautiful caverns beneath Helm's Deep, first designed by Dwarves generations before. Specifically, he describes how pools of water reflect the tall, white columns, using a simile:
There are columns of white and saffron and dawn-rose, Legolas, fluted and twisted into dreamlike forms [...] Still lakes mirror them: a glimmering world looks up from dark pools covered with clear glass; cities, such as the mind of Durin could scarce have imagined in his sleep, stretch on through avenues and pillared courts, on into the dark recesses where no light can come. And plink! a silver drop falls, and the round wrinkles in the glass make all the towers bend and waver like weeds and corals in a grotto of the sea.
Gimli paints a picture of the elaborate caves in beautiful language. He focuses on the images of the columns "in dreamlike forms" reflecting in the water of glass pools; in the ripples caused by a "silver drop"; the towers that seem to move "like weeds and corals in a grotto of the sea." Gimli draws on an image he has likely never seen as a cave-dwelling Dwarf, seafloor flora, to describe this unusual and stirring sight. He is especially enamored with the ingenuity of the Dwarves: while water dripping into a pool is a normal feature of any natural cave, the Dwarves incorporate that geological effect intentionally into their architecture. Gimli's love for caves and finely-worked stone turns his dialogue into poetic, flowing speech, resulting in this simile.
Related Themes:
