Analogy: A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between

two things (events, ideas, people, etc.) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an
inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

1. 1. Analogies
2. 2. Analogies are two sets of words that have something in common. Example: grass//green
& sky//????
3. 3. The clue is to discover why and how the first pair go together. What makes grass and
The color of green go grass is together? green.
4. 4. Sky is to ______. What color is Blue! the sky?
5. 5. Milk is to glass as soup is to ____. bowl
6. 6. Dog is to fur as bird is to ________.
7. 7. feather
8. 8. Tomato is to red as lemon is to _________.
9. 9. yellow
10. 10. Train is to tracks as boat is to _________.
11. 11. water
12. 12. Elephant is to large as mouse is to __________.
13. 13. small
14. 14. Winter is to cold as summer is to ________.
15. 15. hot
16. 16. Fish is to swim as rabbit is to _________.
17. 17. hop
18. 18. Analogies for the Day 1. Train: track :: car:__________ 2. Nose: face ::
hand:__________
19. 19. Analogies for the Day-answer 1. Train : track :: car: road 2. Nose: face :: hand: arm
20. 20. Analogies for the Day 1. Milk: bottle :: crayon________ 2. Duck is to waddle as frog is
to___________
21. 21. Analogies for the Day-answer 1. Milk: bottle :: crayon: box 2. Duck is to waddle as frog
is to hop
22. 22. Analogies for the Day 1. Mitt : catch :: bat :__________ 2. Ball : round :: box:__________
23. 23. Analogies for the Day-answer 1 Mitt : catch :: bat : hit 2. Ball : round :: box : square
24. 24. Analogies for the Day 1. Lost : found :: wet :__________ 2. Shower is to bathroom as
dishwasher is to _______________
25. 25. Analogies for the Day-answer 1 Lost : found :: wet : dry 2. Shower is to bathroom as
dishwasher is to kitchen
26. 26. Analogies for the Day 1. Food : eat :: water :_________ 2. Five : ten :: two : _________
27. 27. Analogies for the Day-answer 1 Food : eat :: water :drink 2. Five : ten :: two : four

What Is an Analogy? (with Examples)

An analogy is the comparison of two similar ideas in order to explain one.

Examples of Analogies
Here are some examples of analogies:

This is not considered a good course of action; it would be like throwing the pilot out to make
the plane lighter.
Selling lucky heather in these hills is like trying to sell sand to the Arabs.

Analogy Definition

An analogy is a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to

another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or
thing by comparing it to something that is familiar.

Metaphors and similes are tools used to draw an analogy. Therefore, analogy
is more extensive and elaborate than either a simile or a metaphor. Consider
the following example:

Structure of an atom is like a solar system. Nucleus is the sun and electrons
are the planets revolving around their sun.

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.
Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a
writer.
How a doctor diagnoses diseases is like how a detective investigates
crimes.
Just as a caterpillar comes out of its cocoon, so we must come out of
our comfort zone.
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 Lowells 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 Orwells narrative essay A Hanging
where it exhibits an analogy between a prisoner and a fish.

They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a
careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he
was there. It was like men handling a fish which is still alive and may jump
back into the water.

The people are taking a prisoner to the gallows to be hanged. They are
holding him firmly as if he were a fish which might slip and escape.

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 Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene
II.

Whats 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.