A comparison that is made directly (for example, John Keats’s “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” from “Ode on a Grecian Urn”) or less directly, but in any case without pointing out a similarity by using words such as “like,” “as,” or “than.” See Sylvia Plath’s description of her dead father as “Marble-heavy, a bag full of God” in “Daddy" or Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers— / That perches in the soul—" as examples.
Glossary of Poetic Terms
Looking to Learn More About Poetry?
Check out our Education area, where we have separate offerings for children, teens, adults, and educators.