definition of comparison in literature

What is a Comparison?

Comparison definition.

A comparison is a consideration of the similarities or differences between two things. Comparisons can be made between people, places, ideas, or other entities. Making a comparison can highlight how two things are alike or unalike, creating meaningful and/or innovative perspectives for the reader.

Use of Comparison in Literature

Writers use comparisons for description and imagery to enhance a reader’s understanding and/or enjoyment of the material. Many literary devices utilize this form of figurative language , such as:

Poetry is often constructed by using comparison, such as “She walks in beauty , like the night .”

Examples of Comparison in Literature

In the following comparison examples, we will try to analyze literary devices used to show comparisons.

A metaphor makes a hidden comparison between two things or objects that are dissimilar to each other, but have some characteristics common between them. Unlike simile , we do not use “like” or “as” to develop a comparison in a metaphor. Consider the following examples:

Example #1: When I Have Fears (By John Keats)

These lines are from When I Have Fears , by John Keats .

“Before high-pil’d books, in charact’ry Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain,”

John Keats compares writing poetry with reaping and sowing, and both these acts stand for the insignificance of a life and dissatisfied creativity.

Example #2: As You Like It (By William Shakespeare)

This line is from As You Like It , by William Shakespeare .

“All the world’s a stage and men and women merely players…”

Shakespeare uses a metaphor of a stage to describe the world, and compares men and women living in the world with players (actors).

A simile is an open comparison between two things or objects to show similarities between them. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the help of words “like” or “as.”

Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)

This line is from the short story Lolita , by Vladimir Nabokov.

“Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.”

In this line, Vladimir Nabokov compares old women leaning on their sticks to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Here the comparison made between two contrasting things creates a hilarious effect.

An analogy aims at explaining an unfamiliar idea or thing, by comparing it to something that is familiar.

Example #4: The Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman)

These lines are from Walt Whitman ’s poem The Noiseless Patient Spider “:

“And you O my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold, Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.”

Walt Whitman uses an analogy to show similarity between a spider spinning a web and his soul.

Example #5: Night Clouds (By Amy Lowell)

These lines are from Night Clouds , written by Amy Lowell:

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

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

An allegory uses symbols to compare persons or things, to represent abstract ideas or events. The comparison in allegory is implicit.

Example #6: Animal Farm (By George Orwell)

Animal Farm , written by George Orwell , is an allegory that compares animals on a farm to the Communist Revolution in Russia before WW II. The actions of the animals on the farm can be compared with the greed and corruption after the revolution. The animals on the farm represent different sections of Russian society after the revolution.

For instance, “Pigs” can be compared to those who became the authority after the revolution;”Mr. Jones,” the owner of the farm, is likened to the overthrown Tsar Nicholas II; and “Boxer,” the horse, stands for the laborer class.

Example #7: Faerie Queen (By Edmund Spenser)

Faerie Queen is an allegory by Edmund Spenser, in which the good characters of the book can be compared to the various virtues , while the bad characters can be compared to vices. For example, “The Red- Cross Knight” represents Holiness, and “Lady Una” Truth, Wisdom, and Goodness. Her parents symbolize the Human Race, and the “Dragon,” which has imprisoned them, stands for Evil.

Function of Comparison

The above examples of comparison help us realize that, in general, writers utilize different kinds of comparison to link an unfamiliar or a new idea to common and familiar objects. It helps readers to comprehend a new idea, which may have been difficult for them to understand otherwise. The understanding of a new idea turns out to be simpler when viewed with a comparison to something that is familiar to them.

In addition, by making use of various literary tools for comparison, writers increase their chances of catching the attention and interest of their readers, as comparisons help them identify what they are reading to their lives.

Comparison and Contrast Essay

Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, definition of comparison.

As a literary device, comparison is a broad term for any act of describing the relationship between two things or more things. These things (whether people, actions, intangible concepts, places, etc) may be alike or different to any degree. Through comparison, an author may show new connections that the reader may not have thought of, or may make an unfamiliar thing more familiar. There are many more specific types of comparison, as we will see below.

The word comparison comes from the Latin word comparare , which means “to pair, match.”

Types of Comparisons

Analogy —Another umbrella term, similar to the definition of comparison, referring to any comparison that explores the similarities or differences between two things.
Juxtaposition —Placing two concepts, characters, ideas, etc., near each other so that the reader makes comparisons between them and perhaps contrasts them as well.
Metaphor —Comparing two things without the use of “like” or “as;” asserting that one thing is another, such as “My love is an ocean.”
Simile —Comparing two things with the conjunction “like” or “as,” such as “My love was like an ocean.”
Pun —Using comparison to creative cognitive links in a humorous way, for example, “I’m glad I know sign language, it’s pretty handy.”
Allegory —An extended metaphor that carries throughout an entire piece of literature that compares the situation in the story to a real-life situation.

Common Examples of Comparison

We use comparisons all the time in the real world and in everyday speech. Comparisons help us understand the world around us because we can either explain unfamiliar things through already known entities, or complicate familiar things by describing them in new ways that thus creates cognitive links. Examples of comparison abound, and are found in each of the following cases:

“Have you met my friend Janet? She’s exactly like your sister, except more dramatic.”
“This new young adult novel is like Harry Potter meets Titanic.”
“Come on now, quick as a bunny.”
“The little red dress is the new little black dress this season when it comes to Hollywood glamour.”
“Wearing white after Labor Day would be a sin of epic proportions.”

Significance of Comparison in Literature

Comparisons play an important role in just about any work of literature imaginable, as they are a primary function of the brain. It is through comparisons that we learn and map out the world. Even the simple act of naming things requires comparison in the brain—we refer, for example, to many different-looking objects as “chair” because we can compare them in our minds and realize they all have the same general function. Comparisons are especially important in literature because authors are creating a new world for the reader to understand and become interested in, and authors must show how this new, fictive world is similar and dissimilar from the one the reader lives in (even if the work of literature is completely realistic). Writers also may use comparisons to make their lines more poetic.

Examples of Comparison in Literature

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

(“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” includes one of the famous examples of comparison in literature. The speaker asks explicitly if he should compare his beloved to “a summer’s day,” and goes on to do so. He finds the summer’s day inadequate as a comparison for his beloved, insisting that “thou art more lovely and more temperate.” This comparison works to show the speaker’s all-encompassing love.

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That wants it down.’ I could say ‘Elves’ to him, But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather He said it for himself. I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.

(“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost)

Robert Frost uses many examples of comparisons in his poetry in order to create stronger imagery. In this excerpt from “Mending Wall,” the speaker and his neighbor walk along the wall that divides them, trying to put it back together. While the neighbor likes this wall, and affirms that “good fences make good neighbors,” the speaker is suspicious of this premise. The speaker uses the simile of his neighbor looking like “an old-stone savage armed,” which creates a sense that the neighbor is more like a caveman than a modern human, and that his opinions are similarly outdated.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

( The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

This excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby comprises the final few lines of the novel. There is a strong sense of nostalgia that Fitzgerald relates through this ending. He does this by creating the metaphor of the characters trying to travel into the future against a current that pulls them back into reflections on their past. This example of comparison is an excellent metaphor in that in describes the familiar relationship of trying to row against the current with a more intangible experience.

TOM: But the wonderfullest trick of all was the coffin trick. We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without removing one nail. . . . There is a trick that would come in handy for me—get me out of this two-by-four situation! . . . You know it don’t take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?

( The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams)

In this excerpt from Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie , the protagonist Tom compares his own life to the magician’s trick of getting out of a nailed-up coffin. This is a particularly striking example of comparison because from the outside Tom’s life might not look so terrible. Clearly, however, he views it as a prison that is nearly impossible to escape.

So Gen should have said something more, and Carmen should have listened more, but instead she kissed him, because the important thing was to forget. That kiss was like a lake, deep and clear, and they swam into it forgetting.

( Bel Canto by Ann Patchett)

This evocative comparison example comes from the contemporary author Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto . In it, she compares a kiss between two characters to a lake. This is an interesting comparison because it is unusual, and perhaps not one that the reader will have thought of before. Patchett justifies this comparison with the beautiful idea of the characters swimming into the kiss, as they might have done into a lake, forgetting the dangerous situation they are in.

Test Your Knowledge of Comparison in Literature

1. Which of the following statements is the best comparison definition? A. Describing two or more things in relation to each other. B. Showing that one thing is better than another. C. Showing how two things are dissimilar. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #1″] Answer: A is the correct answer. While B and C may be examples of comparison, they are not the sole definitions of comparison.[/spoiler]

2. Which type of comparison can be found in the following quote from William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello?

Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.

A. Pun B. Allegory C. Metaphor [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #2″] Answer: C is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

3. Which of the following lines from Robert Frost poetry contains a comparison example? A.

For I have had too much Of apple-picking: I am overtired Of the great harvest I myself desired.

(“After Apple Picking”) B.

You may see their trunks arching in the woods Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.

(“Birches”) C.

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.

(“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”) [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #3″] Answer: B is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

Comparison Definition

Comparison is a rhetorical or literary device in which a writer compares or contrasts two people, places, things, or ideas. In our everyday life, we compare people and things to express ourselves vividly. So when we say, someone is “as lazy as a snail,” you compare two different entities to show similarity i.e. someone’s laziness to the slow pace of a snail.

Comparisons occur in literary works frequently. Writers and poets use comparison in order to link their feelings about a thing to something readers can understand. There are numerous devices in literature that compare two different things to show the similarity between them, such as simile , metaphor , and analogy .

Examples of Comparison in Literature

In the following comparison examples, we will try to analyze literary devices used to show comparisons.

Example #1: When I Have Fears (By John Keats)

These lines are from When I Have Fears , by John Keats.

“Before high-pil’d books, in charact’ry Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain,”

John Keats compares writing poetry with reaping and sowing, and both these acts stand for the insignificance of a life and dissatisfied creativity.

Example #2: As You Like It (By William Shakespeare)

This line is from As You Like It , by William Shakespeare.

“All the world’s a stage and men and women merely players…”

Shakespeare uses a metaphor of a stage to describe the world, and compares men and women living in the world with players (actors).

A simile is an open comparison between two things or objects to show similarities between them. Unlike a metaphor , a simile draws resemblance with the help of words “like” or “as.”

Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)

This line is from the short story Lolita , by Vladimir Nabokov.

“Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.”

In this line, Vladimir Nabokov compares old women leaning on their sticks to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Here the comparison made between two contrasting things creates a hilarious effect.

An analogy aims at explaining an unfamiliar idea or thing, by comparing it to something that is familiar.

Example #4: The Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman)

These lines are from Walt Whitman’s poem The Noiseless Patient Spider “:

“And you O my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold, Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.”

Walt Whitman uses an analogy to show similarity between a spider spinning a web and his soul.

Example #5: Night Clouds (By Amy Lowell)

These lines are from Night Clouds , written by Amy Lowell:

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

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

An allegory uses symbols to compare persons or things, to represent abstract ideas or events. The comparison in allegory is implicit.

Example #6: Animal Farm (By George Orwell)

Animal Farm , written by George Orwell, is an allegory that compares animals on a farm to the Communist Revolution in Russia before WW II. The actions of the animals on the farm can be compared with the greed and corruption after the revolution. The animals on the farm represent different sections of Russian society after the revolution.

Example #7: Faerie Queen (By Edmund Spenser)

Faerie Queen is an allegory by Edmund Spenser, in which the good characters of the book can be compared to the various virtues, while the bad characters can be compared to vices. For example, “The Red-Cross Knight” represents Holiness, and “Lady Una” Truth, Wisdom, and Goodness. Her parents symbolize the Human Race, and the “Dragon,” which has imprisoned them, stands for Evil.

Function of Comparison

English Studies

This website is dedicated to English Literature, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory, English Language and its teaching and learning.

The term “comparison” originated from the Latin word comparatio, which means a comparison. It is a derivativeof the verb comparare, which means to compare.

Etymology of Comparison

Table of Contents

The term “comparison” originated from the Latin word comparatio , which means a comparison. It is a derivativeof the verb comparare , which means to compare. The prefix “com-” means “together,” and “parare” means “to make ready.” Thus, the word “comparison” literally means “together making ready,” which suggests the act of bringing two things together to examine them side by side.

Meanings of Comparison

Comparison literally means finding similarities and differences between two or more things, ideas, or concepts. It is often used to create vivid images in the readers’minds to help them understand complex ideas

Comparison in Grammar

Comparison is a singular noun with its plural form comparisons. When using the word ‘comparison’ as a subject of a sentence, the verb following it should be singular. For example;

“The comparison between the two books is interesting. (Singular)
“The comparisons between the two books are interesting.” (Plural)

Definition of Comparison

Comparison as a literary device shows similarities and differences between two or more things, ideas, or concepts. The writers use it to make their descriptions more clear and relatable to the readers by creating a connection between familiar objects and abstract ideas.

Types of Comparison

There are several types of comparisons writers use to explore similarities and differences between two or more things, ideas, or concepts. Some of the literary devices that fall under this category are as follows.

Common Examples of Comparison

Comparison is not only a literary device, but it is also commonly used in everyday language and communication to express similarities and differences between two or more things. Here are some examples of common non-literary comparisons:

Comparing prices of different products.
Comparing the nutritional values of different types of food.
Comparing the pros and cons of different options.
Comparing the attributes of different jobs.
Comparing the performance of different sports teams.
Comparing the similarities and differences between two historical events or figures.

Putting it briefly, comparison is a ubiquitous aspect of communication and decision-making in everyday life. It helps us to make informed choices and understand the world around us better. However, in literature, it is a specific literary device as shown through examples below taken from different literary works below.

Literary Examples of Comparison

Here are a few examples of comparison as a literary device in various works of literature, along with an explanation and reference to the context:

“She walks in beauty like the night”

– Lord Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty”

Explanation: This line from Lord Byron’s poem compares the woman’s beauty to the night. The poet uses a simile to describe how the woman’s grace and elegance resemble the serene and captivating qualities of the night. By contrasting the light and darkness, Byron emphasizes the woman’s attractiveness and creates a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”

– William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”

Explanation: In this famous metaphor from Shakespeare’s play, the world is compared to a stage and people to actors. The metaphor suggests that life is like a theatrical performance, with individuals assuming different roles and playing their parts. It implies that people are merely transient beings, performing their roles before eventually exiting the stage of life.

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul”

– Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”

Explanation: In this metaphorical comparison, Emily Dickinson likens hope to a bird with feathers that resides within the soul. By using this imagery, Dickinson conveys the delicate and ethereal nature of hope. The bird metaphor emphasizes the notion that hope brings comfort, uplifts the spirit, and is capable of soaring even in the face of adversity.

“My love is like a red, red rose”

– Robert Burns’ “A Red, Red Rose”

Explanation: This simile from Robert Burns’ poem compares the poet’s love to a red rose. By using this comparison, Burns conveys the beauty, freshness, and intensity of his affection. The vivid imagery of a blooming rose evokes a sense of passion, fragility, and emotional depth, capturing the essence of the poet’s love for his beloved.

These examples illustrate how comparison proves effective in literature to create vivid imagery and convey complex emotions and ideas.

Definition of Comparison

The word comparison comes from the Latin word comparare , which means “to pair, match.”

Types of Comparisons

—Another umbrella term, similar to the definition of comparison, referring to any comparison that explores the similarities or differences between two things.
—Placing two concepts, characters, ideas, etc., near each other so that the reader makes comparisons between them and perhaps contrasts them as well.
—Comparing two things without the use of “like” or “as;” asserting that one thing is another, such as “My love is an ocean.”
—Comparing two things with the conjunction “like” or “as,” such as “My love was like an ocean.”
Pun —Using comparison to creative cognitive links in a humorous way, for example, “I’m glad I know sign language, it’s pretty handy.”
—An that carries throughout an entire piece of literature that compares the situation in the story to a real-life situation.

Common Examples of Comparison

“Have you met my friend Janet? She’s exactly like your sister, except more dramatic.”
“This new young adult novel is like Harry Potter meets Titanic.”
“Come on now, quick as a bunny.”
“The little red dress is the new little black dress this season when it comes to Hollywood glamour.”
“Wearing white after Labor Day would be a sin of epic proportions.”

Significance of Comparison in Literature

Examples of Comparison in Literature

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

(“ 18” by William Shakespeare)

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That wants it down.’ I could say ‘Elves’ to him, But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather He said it for himself. I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.

(“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost)

Robert Frost uses many examples of comparisons in his poetry in order to create stronger . In this excerpt from “Mending Wall,” the speaker and his neighbor walk along the wall that divides them, trying to put it back together. While the neighbor likes this wall, and affirms that “good fences make good neighbors,” the speaker is suspicious of this premise. The speaker uses the simile of his neighbor looking like “an old-stone savage armed,” which creates a sense that the neighbor is more like a caveman than a modern human, and that his opinions are similarly outdated.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

( The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

TOM: But the wonderfullest trick of all was the coffin trick. We nailed him into a coffin and he got out of the coffin without removing one nail. . . . There is a trick that would come in handy for me—get me out of this two-by-four situation! . . . You know it don’t take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?

( The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams)

In this excerpt from Tennessee Williams’s play The Glass Menagerie , the Tom compares his own life to the magician’s trick of getting out of a nailed-up coffin. This is a particularly striking example of comparison because from the outside Tom’s life might not look so terrible. Clearly, however, he views it as a prison that is nearly impossible to escape.

So Gen should have said something more, and Carmen should have listened more, but instead she kissed him, because the important thing was to forget. That kiss was like a lake, deep and clear, and they swam into it forgetting.

( Bel Canto by Ann Patchett)

Comparison Definition Comparison is a rhetorical or literary tool wherein a author compares or contrasts two humans, places, things, or ideas. In our ordinary existence, we compare people and matters to express ourselves vividly. So while we say, someone is “as lazy as a snail,” you examine exclusive entities to show similarity i.E. someone’s laziness to the sluggish tempo of a snail. Comparisons occur in literary works frequently. Writers and poets use contrast as a way to hyperlink their emotions approximately a component to something readers can apprehend. There are numerous gadgets in literature that examine two different matters to reveal the similarity between them, together with simile, metaphor, and analogy. Examples of Comparison in Literature In the following comparison examples, we are able to try to analyze literary gadgets used to expose comparisons. Metaphor A metaphor makes a hidden assessment between two matters or items which can be distinct to every other, however have a few characteristics commonplace between them. Unlike simile, we do not use “like” or “as” to broaden a contrast in a metaphor. Consider the subsequent examples: Example #1: When I Have Fears (By John Keats) These strains are from When I Have Fears, by using John Keats. “Before high-pil’d books, in charact’ry Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain,” John Keats compares writing poetry with reaping and sowing, and each those acts stand for the insignificance of a lifestyles and dissatisfied creativity. Example #2: As You Like It (By William Shakespeare) This line is from As You Like It, by using William Shakespeare. “All the global’s a level and ladies and men simply players…” Shakespeare uses a metaphor of a level to describe the international, and compares males and females living inside the global with players (actors). Simile A simile is an open contrast among things or items to show similarities between them. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the assist of words “like” or “as.” Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov) This line is from the quick story Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. “Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed towards me like towers of Pisa.” In this line, Vladimir Nabokov compares old ladies leaning on their sticks to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Here the contrast made between two contrasting things creates a hilarious effect. Analogy An analogy goals at explaining an unusual idea or thing, by means of evaluating it to something this is acquainted. Example #4: The Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman) These traces are from Walt Whitman’s poem The Noiseless Patient Spider“: “And you O my soul wherein you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, searching for the spheres to connect them, Till the bridge you will want be form’d, until the ductile anchor hold, Till the gossamer thread you fling seize somewhere, O my soul.” Walt Whitman uses an analogy to expose similarity between a spider spinning a web and his soul. Example #5: Night Clouds (By Amy Lowell) These strains are from Night Clouds, written by Amy Lowell: “The white mares of the moon rush alongside the sky Beating their golden hoofs upon the glass Heavens.” Amy constructs an analogy between clouds and mares. She compares the motion of the white clouds inside the sky at night with the motion of white mares at the ground. Allegory An allegory makes use of symbols to evaluate folks or matters, to represent abstract thoughts or events. The evaluation in allegory is implicit. Example #6: Animal Farm (By George Orwell) Animal Farm, written by way of George Orwell, is an allegory that compares animals on a farm to the Communist Revolution in Russia earlier than WW II. The actions of the animals on the farm can be as compared with the greed and corruption after the revolution. The animals on the farm represent different sections of Russian society after the revolution. For instance, “Pigs” can be as compared to people who became the authority after the revolution;”Mr. Jones,” the owner of the farm, is likened to the overthrown Tsar Nicholas II; and “Boxer,” the horse, stands for the laborer class. Example #7: Faerie Queen (By Edmund Spenser) Faerie Queen is an allegory with the aid of Edmund Spenser, in which the coolest characters of the book can be in comparison to the various virtues, even as the horrific characters can be in comparison to vices. For example, “The Red-Cross Knight” represents Holiness, and “Lady Una” Truth, Wisdom, and Goodness. Her mother and father signify the Human Race, and the “Dragon,” which has imprisoned them, stands for Evil. Function of Comparison The above examples of contrast help us recognise that, in general, writers utilize different sorts of assessment to hyperlink an strange or a new idea to not unusual and familiar items. It helps readers to realise a new concept, which might also have been tough for them to understand otherwise. The expertise of a new idea turns out to be less complicated when viewed with a contrast to something this is familiar to them. In addition, by means of making use of numerous literary equipment for assessment, writers boom their chances of catching the attention and hobby in their readers, as comparisons help them perceive what they're analyzing to their lives.

Alliteration
Anachronism
Antimetabole
Aposiopesis
Characterization
Colloquialism
Connotation
Deus Ex Machina
Didacticism
Doppelganger
Double Entendre
Flash Forward
Foreshadowing
Internal Rhyme
Juxtaposition
Non Sequitur
Onomatopoeia
Parallelism
Pathetic Fallacy
Personification
Poetic Justice
Point of View
Portmanteau
Protagonist
Red Herring
Superlative
Synesthesia
Tragicomedy
Tragic Flaw
Verisimilitude

Comparison in Composition

An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

In composition , comparison is a rhetorical strategy and method of organization in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or things. Words and phrases that often signal a comparison include similarly, likewise, by comparison, by the same token, in like manner, in the same way , and in a similar fashion .

Comparison (often referred to as comparison and contrast ) is one of the classical rhetorical exercises known as the progymnasmata .

Comparison/Contrast Essays

"A Brother of St. Francis," by Grace Rhys
"The Lowest Animal," by Mark Twain
"Luxuries," by George Ade
"Of Youth and Age," by Francis Bacon
"On the Difference Between Wit and Humor," by Charles S. Brooks
"Red-Bloods and Mollycoddles," by G. Lowes Dickinson
"Two Ways of Seeing a River," by Mark Twain
"Watching Baseball, Playing Softball," by Lubby Juggins

Style Scrapbook

Comparison in Laurie Lee's "Appetite"
Comparison in Sarah Vowell's Place Description

From the Latin, "compare."

Examples and Observations

"A car is useless in New York, essential everywhere else. The same with good manners." (Mignon McLaughlin, The Complete Neurotic's Notebook . Castle Books, 1981)
"The truth of the matter was, the baby looked very much like a mouse in every way. He was only about two inches high; and he had a mouse's sharp nose, a mouse's tail, a mouse's whiskers, and the pleasant, shy manner of a mouse. Before he was many days old he was not only looking like a mouse but acting like one, too--wearing a gray hat and carrying a small cane." (E.B. White, Stuart Little . Harper, 1945)
"Must a powerful fairy like myself condescend to explain her doings to you who are no better than an ant by comparison , though you think yourself a great king?" (Andrew Lang, "The Wonderful Sheep." The Blue Fairy Book , 1889)
establish a clear basis for comparison;
make a thorough and specific presentation; and
provide an effective arrangement for the material.
Comparison and Contrast Essays To gain the most from your use of comparison and contrast , . . . you need to(W.J. Kelly, Strategy and Structure . Allyn and Bacon, 1999)
Arranging Details in Comparison and Contrast Essays "Ordering detail in a comparison-contrast essay requires some thought. One possible arrangement is the block pattern whereby all the points about one subject are made (in a block) then all the points about the other subject are made (in a second block). . . . "A second possible arrangement for the details of comparison-contrast is the alternating pattern , whereby a point is made for one subject, then for the other. A second point is made for the first subject, then for the other. This alternating pattern continues until all the points are made for both subjects. . . . "In general, the block method works better for essays with fewer points of comparison or contrast that are not extensively developed . . .. "An alternating pattern is usually a better choice for an essay with many points of comparison and contrast or an essay with extensively developed ideas." (Barbara Fine Clouse, Patterns for a Purpose . McGraw-Hill, 2003)
Complaining vs. Moaning "Visitors to Britain are rarely able to grasp--sometimes after decades of residency--the vital distinction its inhabitants make between complaining and moaning. The two activities seem similar, but there is a profound philosophical and practical difference. To complain about something is to express dissatisfaction to someone whom you hold responsible for an unsatisfactory state of affairs; to moan is to express the same thing to someone other than the person responsible. The British are powerfully embarrassed by complaining, and experience an almost physical recoil from people who do it in public. They do love to moan though. The background music of British life is a running aria of moaning about pretty much everything--our weather, our politics, our permanently under-performing national sports teams, our reality-TV-obsessed media, and so on. Moaning, a source of entertainment in its own right, is also an important psychic comfort blanket, a way of venting resentment without taking responsibility for effecting change." (John Lanchester, "Party Games." The New Yorker , June 7, 2010)
European Football vs. American Football "Although European football is the parent of American football, the two games show several major differences. European football, sometimes called association football or soccer, is played in more than 80 countries, making it the most widely played sport in the world. American football, on the other hand, is popular only in the United States and Canada. Soccer is played by 11 players with a round ball. Football, also played by 11 players in somewhat different positions on the field, uses an elongated round ball. Soccer has little body contact between players, and therefore requires no special protective equipment. Football, in which players make maximum use of body contact to block a running ball carrier and his teammates, requires special headgear and padding. In soccer, the ball is advanced toward the goal by kicking it or by butting it with the head. In football, on the other hand, the ball is passed from hand to hand across the opponent's goal. These are just a few of the features that distinguish association and American football." (student paragraph, "Football and Soccer")
A "Sexist Interlude" by Bill Bryson: Women vs. Men at the Checkout Counter "Although the store had only just opened, the food hall was busy and there were long queues at the tills. I took a place in a line behind eight other shoppers. They were all women and they all did the same mystifying thing: They acted surprised when it came time to pay. This is something that has been puzzling me for years. Women will stand there watching their items being rung up, and then when the till lady says, 'That's four pounds twenty, love,' or whatever, they suddenly look as if they've never done this sort of thing before. They go 'Oh!' and start rooting in a flustered fashion in their handbag for their purse or checkbook, as if no one had told them that this might happen. "Men, for all their many shortcomings, like washing large pieces of oily machinery in the kitchen sink or forgetting that a painted door stays wet for more than thirty seconds, are generally pretty good when it comes to paying. They spend their time in line doing a wallet inventory and sorting through their coins. When the till person announces the bill, they immediately hand over an approximately correct amount of money, keep their hands extended for the change however long it takes or however foolish they may begin to look if there is, say, a problem with the till roll, and then--mark this--pocket their change as they walk away instead of deciding that now is the time to search for the car keys and reorganize six months' worth of receipts." (Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island . William Morrow, 1995

Pronunciation: kom-PAR-eh-son

Also Known As: comparison and contrast

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8.6: Essay Type- Comparing and Contrasting Literature

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Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

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Compare and Contrast Essay Basics

The Compare and Contrast Essay is a literary analysis essay, but, instead of examining one work, it examines two or more works. These works must be united by a common theme or thesis statement. For example, while a literary analysis essay might explore the significance of ghosts in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, a compare/contrast essay might explore the significance of the supernatural in Hamlet and Macbeth .

Literary Analysis Thesis Statement:

While Horatio seems to think the ghost of Old Hamlet is a demon trying to lead Hamlet to death, and Gertrude and Claudius think it is a figment of Hamlet's insanity, Hamlet's status as an unreliable narrator and the ghost actually symbolizes the oppression of Catholics during Shakespeare's time period.

Compare and Contrast Thesis Statement:

The unreliable narrators paired with the ghosts in both Hamlet and Macbeth symbolize the oppression of Catholics in Shakespeare's time period.

Essay Genre Expectations

Use first-person pronouns sparingly (you, me, we, our)
Avoid colloquialisms
Spell out contractions
Use subject-specific terminology, such as naming literary devices
Texts: two or more
Avoid summary. Aim for analysis and interpretation
MLA formatting and citations

Organization

While the literary analysis essay follows a fairly simple argumentative essay structure, the compare and contrast essay is slightly more complicated. It might be arranged by:

Literary work (the block method)
Topics/subtopics (the point-by-point method)

In general, ensure each paragraph supports the thesis statement and that both literary works receive equal attention. Include as many body paragraphs as needed to build your argument.

First Option for Organization: The Block Method

In this first option for organization, you will need to discuss both literary works in the introduction and thesis statement, but then the body of the paper will be divided in half. The first half of the body paragraphs should focus on one literary work, while the second half of the body paragraphs should focus on the other literary work.

Background of topic
Background of works related to topic
Thesis Statement
Topic sentence
Introduction of evidence
Evidence from the first literary work
Explanation of evidence
Analysis of evidence
Evidence from the second literary work
Restatement of thesis in new words
Summary of essay arguments

Second Option for Organization: The Point-by-Point Method

With this second option for organization, you may decide to write about both literary works within the same body paragraph every time, or you may choose to consistently alternate back and forth between the literary works in separate body paragraphs.

Evidence from both literary works

Simile Definition

What is simile? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also use other words that indicate an explicit comparison. Eleanor Roosevelt's line, " A woman is like a teabag —you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water," is an example of simile. Roosevelt compares two unlike things, women and teabags, to describe how women reveal the full extent of their strength in tough situations.

Some additional key details about simile:

Because the comparison established by a simile is not literal (a woman isn't literally like a teabag), similes are a form of figurative language .
While most similes use the connecting words "like" or "as" to establish the comparison they're making, similes can use other words that create a direct comparison, including other connecting words (such as, "so" or "than") or verbs of comparison (such as, "compare" and "resemble").
Some similes have become such a common part of everyday speech that we barely notice them, for instance, when we say "I slept like a log" or "The news hit me like a ton of bricks."

How to Pronounce Simile

Here's how to pronounce simile: sim -ih-lee

Simile vs. Metaphor

Similes and metaphors are both figures of speech that involve the comparison of unlike things. They are also both types of figurative language, because they both create meaning beyond the literal sense of their words. However, simile and metaphor do not make a comparison in the same way. Some people may explain the difference between simile and metaphor by discussing the structure of the language used in each one:

Similes use the words "like" or "as" to establish their comparison: "The world is like your oyster."
Metaphors state the comparison without such connecting words: "The world is your oyster."

While the presence of a connecting word, such as "like" or "as," is generally a good rule of thumb to identify similes versus metaphors, it doesn't really get at the root of the difference between the two figures of speech. A deeper way to understand the difference is through the nature of the comparison each one makes:

A simile makes an explicit comparison by asserting that two different things are similar . A simile sets thing A and thing B side by side to compare them. In the sentence "The world is like your oyster," the listener is asked to mentally visualize and compare "the world" and "an oyster"—as though he or she were holding one in each hand—and draw a comparison between the two.
A metaphor asserts an implicit comparison by stating that one thing is the other thing . Instead of setting two entities A and B side by side through the use of connecting words, metaphor superimposes them. The metaphor "The world is your oyster" asks the reader to imagine his or her relationship to the world as being the relationship of an oyster to the space inside its shell.

This isn't to say that either a simile or metaphor is stronger or better than the other, just that they are subtly different in the sort of comparison they create, and this difference affects how a reader imaginatively interacts with the text.

Is a Simile a Type of Metaphor?

There is also some debate about whether similes and metaphors are similar but different things, or whether simile is actually a specialized form of metaphor. Arguments on the topic can become surprisingly heated, but all you need to know is that there are competing definitions of metaphor, and whether a simile is a type of metaphor depends on the definition of metaphor you're using. For instance, the Oxford Companion to English Language gives two definitions of metaphor:

Metaphor: All figures of speech that achieve their effect through association, comparison, and resemblance. Figures like antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy, simile are all species of metaphor.
Metaphor: A figure of speech which concisely compares two things by saying that one is the other.

Under the first, broad definition of a metaphor, a simile is a type of metaphor. Under the second, narrower definition, it isn't.

Simile Examples

Similes appear in all sorts of writing, from prose literature, to poetry, to music lyrics, and beyond.

Examples of Simile in Literature

Writers use simile to add color and feeling to their writing and to allow readers to see something in a new way through the comparison that the simile creates. Simile can be used to render the familiar strange and unusual, to make the strange seem familiar, or to draw a surprising association between things that don't seem to belong together.

Simile in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

In this example from The Great Gatsby , Nick Carraway describes Tom and Daisy Buchanan's mansion in Long Island. Nick is from the midwest and has never encountered the level of luxury he discovers on his first visit to the Buchanans' home:

A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags , twisting them up toward the frosted wedding cake of the ceiling—and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea. The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor.

Not only does Fitzgerald's use of simile convey Nick's astonishment at the extent of the Buchanans' wealth, but it also enlivens what might otherwise have been an unremarkable description. Without simile, the passage would read something like, "The wind blew through the room. It ruffled the women's clothing. Tom shut the window and the wind stopped." Fitzgerald's similes bring the room to life.

Simile in Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, Sonnet 97, and Sonnet 130

No discussion of simile would be complete without a reference to Shakespeare's sonnets. One of his most well-known similes is the opening line of Sonnet 18, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (That simile is also a good example of a simile that contains a word other than "like" or "as" to establish its comparison.)

In Sonnet 97, the narrator compares his separation from his beloved to a barren winter, even though the couple was actually separated during the summer. (The narrator admits this in the line, "And yet this time removed was summer's time"):

How like a winter hath my absence been From thee , the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have a I felt, what dark days seen! What old December's bareness everywhere! And yet this time removed was summer's time The teeming autumn big with rich increase, Bearing the wanton burthen of the prime, Like widowed wombs after their lords' decease.

In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare challenges the traditional function of similes and the conventions of love poetry:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare

In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare actually comments on the way similes function within conventional sonnets about love by turning all of the would-be similes into negative similes. Instead of writing that his mistress' eyes are like the sun, that her lips are red as coral, her breasts as white as snow, and so on, Shakespeare says that her eyes are "nothing like the sun," and that, "coral is far more red" than her lips. It's as though the he's acknowledging the fact that many similes have become hackneyed or clichéd, and he's instead proposing to pay a more meaningful tribute to his love by inverting those similes and treating her like a real-life woman.

Simile in Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio

"Hands," one of the short stories in Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, tells the tale of Winesburg resident Wing Biddlebaum. Biddlebaum is a shy old man who keeps to himself, yet becomes animated and talkative in the presence of his only friend, a reporter named George Willard:

The story of Wing Biddlebaum is a story of hands. Their restless activity, like unto the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird , had given him his name. Some obscure poet of the town had thought of it. The hands alarmed their owner. He wanted to keep them hidden away and looked with amazement at the quiet inexpressive hands of other men who worked beside him in the fields, or passed, driving sleepy teams on country roads.

The "obscure poet's" simile, which likens the "restless activity" of Wing's hands "unto the beating of the wings of an imprisoned bird" is also the source of the character's nickname. Further, Wing Biddlebaum's social role in the community is similar to that of an imprisoned bird, in the sense that he lives apart from the rest of the town, shut off from companionship.

Simile in Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance , the narrator undertakes a cross-country motorcycle trip with his son Chris, his friend Sylvia, and her husband John. The motorists pride themselves on taking scenic backroads that prolong their journey, but better suit their solitary, contemplative style of traveling. When they cross a main road one Monday morning, Sylvia makes the following observation about the grim-looking commuters:

"It was all those people in the cars coming the other way...The first one looked so sad. And then the next one looked exactly the same way, and then the next one and the next one, they were all the same...Its just that they looked so lost... Like they were all dead. Like a funeral procession. "

Sylvia compares the drivers to members of a funeral procession because she feels that, in rushing from point A to point B, the commuters are missing out the pleasure of life and travel.

Simile in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

In this example from Slaughterhouse-Five , Billy Pilgrim emerges from an underground slaughterhouse where he has been held prisoner by the Germans during the deadly World War II firebombing of Dresden:

It wasn't safe to come out of the shelter until noon the next day. When the Americans and their guards did come out, the sky was black with smoke. The sun was an angry little pinhead. Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals . The stones were hot. Everybody else in the neighborhood was dead.

Vonnegut compares the bombed city of Dresden to the moon in order to capture the totality of the devastation—the city is so lifeless that it is like the barren moon.

Note that Vonnegut also emphasizes the destruction of the city by exaggerating the air pollution created by the bombs ("the sky was black with smoke"). This type of exaggeration for literary or rhetorical purposes is called hyperbole, which can sometimes overlap with simile. To read more about the relationship between the two figures of speech, please see our page on hyperbole .

Examples of Simile in Music

Simile can create vivid images, making language more memorable and emotional. For this reason, musicians across genres regularly use simile in their song lyrics.

Simile in "Gone" by Kanye West

In "Gone," Kanye west compares disloyal aspiring MCs to Anakin Skywalker of Star Wars , who went bad and became Darth Vader.

I'ma open up a store for aspiring MCs Won't sell em no dream, but the inspiration is free But if they ever flip sides like Anakin You'll sell everything including the mannequin

Simile in "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John

"Candle in the Wind" is Elton John's tribute to Marylin Monroe. In referring to Marylin as a "candle in the wind," John portrays her as a vulnerable and fragile person who was often preyed upon by those who made her famous.

And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind Never knowing who to cling to When the rain set in And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid Your candle burned out long before Your legend ever did

Simile in "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is many great things but "nice" is not one of them. In his most commercially successful release of all time, Dylan compares the song's addressee—presumably, an ex-girlfriend who is going through tough times—to a rolling stone:

Once upon a time you dressed so fine Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you? People call say 'beware doll, you're bound to fall' You thought they were all kidding you You used to laugh about Everybody that was hanging out Now you don't talk so loud Now you don't seem so proud About having to be scrounging your next meal How does it feel, how does it feel? To be without a home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone

Why Do Writers Use Simile?

Writers, and people in general, use simile to create memorable images with language, which allow them to vividly recount experiences and emotions. Poets often use simile to make concepts or ideas that are difficult to grasp more concrete, as in Langston Hughes' "A Dream Deferred":

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun ? Or fester like a sore — And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load . Or does it explode?

"A Dream Deferred" was published in Langston Hughes' collection Harlem, in which Hughes meditates on the experience of black Americans. Through the use of simile in this particular poem, Hughes gives physical heft to the dreams of black people living in Harlem and across the country—dreams which are often destroyed, postponed and ignored as a result of racial prejudice. By comparing dreams to material things, such as "raisins" and "rotten meat," Hughes implies that dreams are a concrete part of reality not to be brushed aside, and that there are very real consequences to not pursuing them.

In addition, by using similes to compare one thing or idea to a completely different thing, writers can make readers see the world in a new way. Put another way, writers can use the comparison created by a simile to reveal a figurative truth beyond the literal truth.

Other Helpful Simile Resources

The Wikipedia Page on Simile: A very brief explanation of the term.
The Dictionary Definition of simile: A basic definition and etymology of the term, which comes from Latin word for "image, likeness, or comparison."
Simile vs. Metaphor: An interesting compendium of thoughts on the differences between simile and metaphor.
A video in which "Old Spice Guy" Isaiah Mustafa shares a simile with his followers.
A scene built around simile from Disney's Shrek .

The printed PDF version of the LitCharts literary term guide on Simile

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compare and contrast essay

What is compare and contrast essay definition, usage, and literary examples, compare and contrast essay definition.

A compare and contrast essay (kuhm-PAIR and kuhn-TRAST ESS-ey) is a composition that points out the similarities and differences of two or more things.

In academia, educators assign compare and contrast essays to evaluate students’ knowledge of the subjects and encourage critical thinking. Outside of academia, compare and contrast essays or articles compare things like products and forms of media to assist in the reader’s decision-making process.

Compare and Contrast Essay Criteria

It’s important that a compare and contrast essay’s subjects are somewhat alike. Like the adage about apples to oranges, there’s no logical point in comparing two things that are obviously dissimilar. Instead, a compare and contrast essay should consider two subjects whose similarities and differences aren’t immediately evident. For example, it’s better to compare two breeds of dogs (like a Labrador vs. a German Shepherd) rather than a giraffe and a dog, as the former serves the logical purpose of offering insight into the best option for a family pet.

Then, essayists must compare the subjects based on similar criteria. For example, a sentence like “The Labrador never barks; however, a German Shepherd is expensive” isn’t comparing the dogs with the same criteria. Instead, the essayist would say “The Labrador never barks; however, German Shepherds are a more vocal breed.”

Compare and Contrast Essay Structure

The style of essay begins with a thesis statement that identifies the two or more subjects to be discussed. Using the Labrador vs. German Shepherd example, the thesis statement might be “While Labradors are often considered the quintessential family dog, German Shepherds are just as trainable and have many qualities that make them a more desirable family pet.”

Body of the Essay

From the thesis statement, there are two ways to organize a compare and contrast essay: the subject method or the point-by-point method.

Subject Method

With the subject method, the essayist focuses on each subject individually. They would fully examine the first subject’s negatives and positives in the first few paragraphs, the second subject’s negatives and positives in the next few paragraphs, and then reexamine their thesis in a concluding paragraph. If the essay comparing Labradors and German Shepherds was written with the subject method, it would analyze the traits of Labradors, then the traits of German Shepherds, and conclude with the essayist’s findings.

Point-by-Point Method

When using the point-by-point method, the essayist examines the subjects by each individual similarity or difference before reaching a conclusion. For example, the first paragraph might compare the price of purebred Labradors vs. purebred German Shepherds, and the second paragraph might compare the two breeds’ temperaments when in a family environment.

The conclusion of an essay readdresses the thesis and outlines the essayist’s main arguments. A conclusion to the Labradors vs. German Shepherds essay might be: “While both Labradors and German Shepherds have their positive qualities, a German Shepherd’s trainability and exceptional health outweigh the issue of costliness, making it the superior choice for a family.”

Transition Signals

Throughout this style of essay, the essayist uses certain phrases, called transition signals, to indicate they’re making a comparison. Comparison signals are phrases like similarly , also , both , and likewise ; contrast signals are phrases like conversely , in contrast , and unlike .

Compare and Contrast Essay Usage

Compare and contrast essays are used largely in academia to assess the student’s knowledge of two subjects. An educator might have a student compare works of literature, authors, genres, time periods, characters, or ideological concepts.

Some semblance of the form also appears in print and online, usually to aid in the decision-making process. In the workplace, for example, a presentation might compare two strategies to help the company decide on a certain direction. Many periodicals feature articles that compare products, movies, and literature so that consumers can make better buying decisions.

Examples of Compare and Contrast Essays

1. Timandra Harkness, “Nature and Nurture, Then and Now”

Harkness compares the treatment of the nature vs. nurture question in two films: the 2011 documentary Project Nim, which is about a chimpanzee learning sign language, and the 1970 feature film L’Enfant Sauvage , about a doctor’s encounters with a feral child. Here, she points out similarities between the films’ subjects:

At first, there are many parallels in the behaviour of the boy, whom the doctor names “Victor,” and that of Nim. Both show instinctive fear and resistance, bite their captors, and have to be restrained with a rope from running away. Both learn table manners and to ask for food and drink.

Harkness uses transition signals in her essay ( parallels , both ) and chooses a point-by-point structure to compare the two characters.

2. Nicholas Klacsanzky, “Parenting Styles”

In this essay, Nicholas Klacsanzky compares four different parenting styles: authoritarian, permissive, uninvolved, and authoritative:

Not too different from the authoritarian style, authoritative parenting combines responsiveness with demands. It is commonly the most recommended parenting style, as it sets limits for children, while offering them support.

Klacsanzky organized his essay by subject and spends a paragraph on each of the different styles. In this excerpt, he transitions into the authoritative style paragraph by comparing it to the authoritarian style. Unlike Harkness’s essay, Klacsanzky clearly favors one of his subjects over the others.

Further Resources on Compare and Contrast Essays

The Academic Help website offers several complete compare and contrast essay examples.

The University of Minnesota website has compare and contrast essay writing exercises.

Related Terms

Argumentative Essay
Expository Essay

Department of Comparative Literature >

What is Comparative Literature?

Comparative Literature is traditionally known as the study of two or more literatures in comparison (English and German, for example) and their multi-dimensional components which may encompass aspects such as the historical, gender, economic, cultural, social, philosophical, religious, and linguistic factors of the distinct cultures being analyzed.

Non-traditional study may include other forms of readable expression such as film, gender studies, ethnicity, politics, graffiti or television.

Student Testimonials

"Comparative Literature to me isn't really just about literature. It's about paying attention to the ways in which we read, understand, and engage with the world and with meaning-making."

- Bess Rose, Program Alumna (MA, 2001)

"Comp Lit was interdisciplinary before interdisciplinarity became a trend."

- Program Alumnus

"For me comparative literature is simply an education in critical consciousness."

- Heidi Bohn, Program Alumna (PhD, 2010)

"To me Comparative Literature is a chance pursue interdisciplinary work and a way to challenge canonized approaches to theory and literature. It calls for constant dialogue between languages and fields both within and outside of academia."

-Mairéad Farinacci, MA Student

"As a discipline, I believe Comparative Literature sets itself apart in methodology and praxis. Unlike other Humanities departments, Comparative Literature lends itself to a more experimental, cross cultural, and critical approach to knowledge and its production."

-Hunter Capps, PhD Student

"Comparative Literature offers a unique opportunity within contemporary academic practices to explore texts and ideas across barriers of language, temporality and discipline. While doing this, this program also allows us to reflect more deeply upon the nature of those barriers and how they gain their validation. "

-Rachit Anand, PhD Student

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Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction

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Comparative literature is both the past and the future of literary studies. Its history is intimately linked to the political upheavals of modernity: from colonial empire-building in the 19th century to the postcolonial culture wars of the 21st century. But what is comparative literature? Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction tells the story of comparative literature as an agent of international relations, from the point of view both of scholarship and of cultural history. Outlining the complex history and competing theories of comparative literature, it offers an accessible means of entry into a notoriously slippery subject, and shows the value and importance of encountering literature from outside one’s own culture.

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Comparing the Literatures

Literary studies in a global age.

David Damrosch
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Language: English
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Main content: 392
Other: 14 b/w illus.
Keywords: Literature ; Comparative literature ; World literature ; Poetry ; Writer ; Close reading ; Writing ; Modernity ; Literary theory ; Novelist ; Cosmopolitanism ; Paul de Man ; Literary criticism ; Translation studies ; Criticism ; Romanticism ; Northrop Frye ; Novel ; Genre ; Murasaki Shikibu ; Narrative ; Philosopher ; Herder ; Philology ; Edward Said ; Anatomy of Criticism ; Politics ; Jacques Derrida ; Franco Moretti ; Erich Auerbach ; Hu Shih ; Postmodernism ; Lin Yutang ; Vladimir Nabokov ; Western culture ; Philosophy ; Murasaki (novel) ; Newspaper ; Georg Brandes ; Western literature ; Virginia Woolf ; Sanskrit ; Satire ; Allegory ; Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak ; Essay ; Fiction ; Irony ; Rhetoric ; Petrarch ; Short story ; The Europeans ; Chinese literature ; Autobiography ; Orientalism ; Scientism ; Salman Rushdie ; Modernism ; Linguistics ; Lu Xun ; Joseph Conrad ; Hegemony ; Classroom ; Benedict Anderson ; Poet ; T. S. Eliot ; Paperback ; Lecture ; Jews ; Finnegans Wake
Published: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 9780691201283

IMAGES

Compare and Contrast Essay: Definition, Outline and Useful Examples • 7ESL
Metaphors: Making Vivid Comparisons
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[Solved] Compare and contrast these modern literary genres using the
English Chart: T38044 Genres of Literature Learning Chart, 17
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what is literature? /meaning of literature/ Definition of literature
definition of literature, scope of literature, and types of literature
What is literature? Definition of literature....#English literature #english #facts #shorts #shorts
Compare Meaning
What Is Literature? l Definition Of Literature l Jyotigupta English Teacher
Analogy In English Literature

COMMENTS

Comparison
Comparison Definition. A comparison is a consideration of the similarities or differences between two things. Comparisons can be made between people, places, ideas, or other entities. Making a comparison can highlight how two things are alike or unalike, creating meaningful and/or innovative perspectives for the reader.
Comparison Examples and Definition
Definition of Comparison. As a literary device, comparison is a broad term for any act of describing the relationship between two things or more things. These things (whether people, actions, intangible concepts, places, etc) may be alike or different to any degree. Through comparison, an author may show new connections that the reader may not ...
Comparison definition and example literary device
Comparison Definition. Comparison is a rhetorical or literary device in which a writer compares or contrasts two people, places, things, or ideas. In our everyday life, we compare people and things to express ourselves vividly.
Comparison
Definition of Comparison. Comparison as a literary device shows similarities and differences between two or more things, ideas, or concepts. The writers use it to make their descriptions more clear and relatable to the readers by creating a connection between familiar objects and abstract ideas.
Comparison
Definition of Comparison. As a literary device, comparison is a broad term for any act of describing the relationship between two things or more things. These things (whether people, actions, intangible concepts, places, etc) may be alike or different to any degree. Through comparison, an author may show new connections that the reader may not ...
Comparison
Comparison. Comparison Definition. Comparison is a rhetorical or literary tool wherein a author compares or contrasts two humans, places, things, or ideas. In our ordinary existence, we compare people and matters to express ourselves vividly. So while we say, someone is "as lazy as a snail," you examine exclusive entities to show similarity ...
Comparison
Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and to what degree. Where characteristics are different, the differences may then be evaluated to determine ...
Definition and Examples of Comparison in Composition
Comparison in Composition. In composition, comparison is a rhetorical strategy and method of organization in which a writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or things. Words and phrases that often signal a comparison include similarly, likewise, by comparison, by the same token, in like manner, in the ...
8.6: Essay Type- Comparing and Contrasting Literature
Compare and Contrast Essay Basics. The Compare and Contrast Essay is a literary analysis essay, but, instead of examining one work, it examines two or more works. These works must be united by a common theme or thesis statement. For example, while a literary analysis essay might explore the significance of ghosts in William Shakespeare's Hamlet ...
Simile
Here's a quick and simple definition: A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also use other words that indicate an explicit comparison. Eleanor Roosevelt's line, " A woman is like a teabag —you never know how strong ...
Compare and Contrast Essay in Literature: Definition & Examples
A compare and contrast essay (kuhm-PAIR and kuhn-TRAST ESS-ey) is a composition that points out the similarities and differences of two or more things. In academia, educators assign compare and contrast essays to evaluate students' knowledge of the subjects and encourage critical thinking. Outside of academia, compare and contrast essays or ...
Comparative Literature Definition, Theory & Examples
Comparative literature is a field that examines literature from different countries, periods, languages, and genres. Scholars in this discipline study various works in comparison to each other to ...
What is Comparative Literature?
Comparative Literature is traditionally known as the study of two or more literatures in comparison (English and German, for example) and their multi-dimensional components which may encompass aspects such as the historical, gender, economic, cultural, social, philosophical, religious, and linguistic factors of the distinct cultures being analyzed.
Comparative literature
Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study of international relations but works with languages and artistic traditions, so as to understand cultures 'from the inside'".
What is Comparative Literature?
"Comparative Literature is the laboratory or workshop of literary studies, and through them, of the humanities. Comparative Literature compares literatures, not only as accumulations of primary works, but as the languages, cultures, histories, traditions, theories, and practices with which those works come." Roland Greene, "Their Generation," C...
PDF WHAT IS 'COMPARATIVE' LITERATURE?i
This might be the most useful, and grammatically cogent, application of the term comparative literature. A comparison of novels as comparative works of literature is a second-order comparison similar to the comparison of ratios. This kind of comparison possesses the advantage of confessing the variable of context.
Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction
Comparative Literature: A Very Short Introduction tells the story of comparative literature as an agent of international relations, from the point of view both of scholarship and of cultural history. Outlining the complex history and competing theories of comparative literature, it offers an accessible means of entry into a notoriously slippery ...
Comparing the Literatures
In Comparing the Literatures, David Damrosch integrates comparative, postcolonial, and world-literary perspectives to offer a comprehensive overview of comparative studies and its prospects in a time of great upheaval and great opportunity. Comparing the Literatures looks both at institutional forces and at key episodes in the life and work of ...
PDF Comparison Literature
Comparison literature fits uneas-ily within methodologies, comparative and national, that assign unique locations or unique substance to literary artifacts. It asks us to imagine new geographies of literary production and requires methodologies that understand the history of a book to include its many editions and translations.

What is a Comparison?

Use of Comparison in Literature

Examples of Comparison in Literature

Example #1: When I Have Fears (By John Keats)

Example #2: As You Like It (By William Shakespeare)

Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)

Example #4: The Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman)

Example #5: Night Clouds (By Amy Lowell)

Example #6: Animal Farm (By George Orwell)

Example #7: Faerie Queen (By Edmund Spenser)

Function of Comparison

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Literary Devices

Types of Comparisons

Common Examples of Comparison

Significance of Comparison in Literature

Examples of Comparison in Literature

Test Your Knowledge of Comparison in Literature

Comparison Definition

Examples of Comparison in Literature

Example #1: When I Have Fears (By John Keats)

Example #2: As You Like It (By William Shakespeare)

Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)

Example #4: The Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman)

Example #5: Night Clouds (By Amy Lowell)

Example #6: Animal Farm (By George Orwell)

Example #7: Faerie Queen (By Edmund Spenser)

Function of Comparison

Etymology of Comparison

Meanings of Comparison

Comparison in Grammar

Definition of Comparison

Types of Comparison

Common Examples of Comparison

Literary Examples of Comparison

Suggested Readings

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Definition of Comparison

Types of Comparisons

Common Examples of Comparison

Significance of Comparison in Literature

Examples of Comparison in Literature

Comparison in Composition

Comparison/Contrast Essays

Style Scrapbook

Examples and Observations

8.6: Essay Type- Comparing and Contrasting Literature

Compare and Contrast Essay Basics

Literary Analysis Thesis Statement:

Compare and Contrast Thesis Statement:

Essay Genre Expectations

Organization

First Option for Organization: The Block Method

Second Option for Organization: The Point-by-Point Method

Simile Definition

How to Pronounce Simile

Simile vs. Metaphor

Is a Simile a Type of Metaphor?

Simile Examples

Examples of Simile in Literature

Simile in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Simile in Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, Sonnet 97, and Sonnet 130

Simile in Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio

Simile in Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Simile in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

Examples of Simile in Music

Simile in "Gone" by Kanye West

Simile in "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John

Simile in "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan

Why Do Writers Use Simile?

Other Helpful Simile Resources

compare and contrast essay

Compare and Contrast Essay Criteria

Compare and Contrast Essay Structure

Compare and Contrast Essay Usage

Examples of Compare and Contrast Essays

Further Resources on Compare and Contrast Essays

Related Terms