Hi Cat,
As simile is just one thing I haven't compiled examples, but re:
Pharmakós the name you scratch inside
or this:
memory of starlight wink of a one-eyed dog as it sneezes
These weren't deliberately created as simile, and without what I feel is an almost childlike (no pun intended)
something is like a something exercise, I'd say that the first one can be read as a simile.
re Pharmakós monostichWe have many self-harming young people in Britain, and those who see themselves martyrs to a cause, be it religion or civic, or purely within an abusive family relationship.
The memory of starlight on one amusing level, comes from a star that will blink out like a dog as it sneezes closing one eye. Due to travel conditions re lightyears, we still see the memory of the star before it blinks out. ;-)
Comparision also could become a simile by default of course, by accident and not necessarily by design.
As there have been so many attempts at English-language haiku since at least the mid-1950s, there is always the need to always to look to techniques old and new, fresh rather than stale or clichéd.
Mainstream poets almost always look for a fresh metaphor and avoid now clichéd metaphors as they know they are lazy attempts to get an audience to connect; and a discerning audience certainly wouldn't.
Alan
p.s.
Cat said:
even though she calls it "the technique of simile", it could more accurately be called "the technique of effaced simile", as the simile is no longer there once "like" or "as" is taken away.Could you cite a weblink for effaced simile, as I could only find links to a discussion about Buddha for some bizarre reason.
Also, I find
like or
as clumsy in any poetry unless it's for children. But there could be some fine examples of adult poetry where
like or
as is used successfully?
Perhaps metaphor is the way to go, as weak signposting words such as
like or
as aren't prerequisite then?
Hello, Nu and Alan,
Alan, I have a question.
Since a simile by definition is an explicit comparison using "like" or "as", how can you call this:
Pharmakós the name you scratch inside
or this:
memory of starlight wink of a one-eyed dog as it sneezes
or this:
a long journey
some cherry petals
begin to fall
a simile?
Your examples show relationships between dissimilar things but are not, strictly speaking, similes. Metaphors, perhaps, juxtapositions, yes, but not similes by definition.
I would suggest that Jane's advice actually moves the comparison away from simile by dropping the "like" or "as", so even though she calls it "the technique of simile", it could more accurately be called "the technique of effaced simile", as the simile is no longer there once "like" or "as" is taken away.
Maybe someone who has Japanese can answer this: Are the cited haiku overt similes in the original? Or is this a translator's way of structuring a haiku because the original uses some other technique that doesn't lend itself to English?
It is extremely rare to see overt similes in ELH anthologies or journals. It would seem there are other techniques that are more effective, or we'd see more simile in ELH.
cat
New edit reasons: improve syntax and semantics and add p.s. section.
