Analogy DefinitionAn analogy is a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar. Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. Therefore, analogy is more extensive and elaborate than either a simile or a metaphor. Consider the following example:
Here an atomic structure is compared to a solar system by using “like”. Therefore, it is a simile. Metaphor is used to relate the nucleus to the sun and the electrons to the planets without using words “like” or “as’. Hence, similes and metaphors are employed to develop an analogy. Examples of Analogy from Everyday lifeWe use analogy in our everyday conversation. Some common analogy examples are given below:
Analogy Examples in LiteratureExamples #1The lines below were taken from George Orwell’s narrative essay “A Hanging” where it exhibits an analogy between a prisoner and a fish.
The people are taking a prisoner to the gallows to be hanged. They are holding him firmly as if he were a fish which might slip and escape. Examples #2Henry Wadsworth Longfellow uses analogy in the below lines taken from his poem “The Day Is Done”.
He relates his poems to the summer showers and tears from the eyes. He develops the similarity to show spontaneity of art when it directly comes out from the heart of an artist. Examples #3These lines are taken from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Act II, Scene II.
Juliet is indirectly saying that just like a rose that will always smell sweet by whichever name it is called; she will like Romeo even if he changes his name. |