Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like" or "as"... "if" or "than" are also used though less commonly. A simile differs from a metaphor in that the latter compares two unlike things by saying that the one thing is the other thing.
Using 'like'
A simile can explicitly provide the basis of a comparison or leave this basis implicit. In the implicit case, characterized by the use of 'like' to connect the two ideas, the simile leaves an audience to determine for themselves which features of the target are being predicated: it is also a kind of sentence that uses as or like to connect the words being compared it can be an idioms seldom ex: * She is like a candy so sweet. * For He is like a refiner's fire. * Her eyes twinkled like stars. * He fights like a lion. * He runs like a cheetah. * She is cute like a rose. * Gwen is like a lion when she gets angry.
Using 'as'
The use of as makes the simile explicit, by clearly stating the feature predicated of the target: * She walks as gracefully as a cat. * He was as hungry as a lion. * He was as mean as a bull. * She wasn't as smart as Vanessa. * Spider was fat as an elephant
Metaphor: Metaphor is when you use two nouns and compare or contrast them to one another. Unlike simile, you don't use "like" or "as" in the comparison. * I am a rainbow
"I am a rainbow" is a example of metaphor because it is comparing two nouns, a person, and a rainbow, but does not use like or as. * I am not Anger
"I am not anger" is an example of metaphor because it is contrasting two nouns. * "Life is a journey. Enjoy the Ride." * Personification: In writing, personification means giving an inanimate (non-living) object human traits and qualities, such as emotions, desires, sensations, physical gestures and speech. Examples are 'the leaves swayed in