Analogy Definition



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 life

We use analogy in our everyday conversation. Some common analogy examples are given below:

  • Life is like a race. The one who keeps running wins the race and the one who stops to catch a breath loses.
  • You are as annoying as nails on a chalkboard.

Analogy Examples in Literature

Below are a few examples of analogy in literature:

Examples #1

The given lines are from Amy Lowell’s poem “Night Clouds”.

“The white mares of the moon rush along the sky
Beating their golden hoofs upon the glass Heavens.”

The poetess constructs the analogy between clouds and mares. She compares the movement of the white clouds in the sky at night with that of the white mares on the ground.

Examples #2

The lines below were taken from George Orwell’s narrative essayA Hanging” where it exhibits an analogy between a prisoner and a fish.



Examples #3

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow uses analogy in the below lines taken from his poem “The Day Is Done”.

“Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start.”

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 #4

These lines are taken from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Act II, Scene II.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,”

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.

Examples #5

John Donne in his poem “The Flea” uses analogy of a flea to describe his love with his beloved.

“This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is”

In the quoted lines, he tells his darling that as a flea has sucked blood from both of them and their blood has mingled in its gut, so the flea has become their “wedding bed”.

Function of Analogy in Literature

Writers use analogies to link an unfamiliar or a new idea with common and familiar objects. It is easier for readers to comprehend a new idea, which may have been difficult for them to understand otherwise. Their comprehension of a new idea picks up the pace when they observe its similarity to something that is familiar to them. In addition, by employing this literary tool, writers catch the attention of their readers. Analogies help increase readers’ interest as analogies help them relate what they read to their life.

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1 comment for “Analogy

  1. Jamie GG
    January 30, 2014 at 5:54 pm

    “Poetess” isn’t really used anymore, and in some circles is so outdated that it’s offensive.

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