Analogies, Similes, Allegories, and Metaphors

Question

These four literary devices are often mistaken for one another, and it can be easy to confuse any of these terms because they all generally draw comparisons to something. However, it's important to understand that though they are similar, each term has its own significance.

So what are the differences between analogies, similes, allegories, and metaphors?

Answer 1

A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by "like" or "as." "She is as innocent as an angel"

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another. While a simile says A is like B, a metaphor says A is B. "She is an angel"

An analogy is a similarity between like features of two (otherwise dissimilar) things, on which a comparison may be based. "She is as quiet as a mouse"

An allegory is the representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. Animal Farm by George Orwell is a political allegory pertaining to the Russian revolution of 1917 and the rise of communism.

Answer 2

A simile is like making a comparison, a metaphor is when you express something is like something else poetically, you use an analogy to express a point of view and you give an example of how something is like something else and an allegory is a story that can be interpreted usually is to give moral or ethic meaning.