What is a comparison in the literature, its types and examples of use

When asked what a comparison is in literature, it can be briefly answered that this is a path, that is, a special technique in fiction. This method is based on the display of certain properties of the described object or phenomenon by comparing these characteristics with others, based on how they are seen or perceived by the surrounding or individually the author himself.

Components of comparisons

This trail is characterized by the presence of three components: the described object or phenomenon, the object with which it is compared, and the basis for analogy, that is, a common feature. It is interesting that the very name, an indication of this common feature, can be omitted in the text. But the reader or listener is still perfectly aware and feels that he wanted to convey to the interlocutor or the reader the author of the statement.

However, the very understanding of the definition that explains what a comparison is in literature does not yet give a complete picture without examples. And here immediately there is a clarification: with what parts of speech and in what forms do authors form these tracks?

Types of comparisons in the literature for nouns

Several types of comparisons can be distinguished.

1. Comparative turnover, formed by the use of unions "how", "like", "like", "exactly" - this comparison in the literature. Examples: "A hill covered with snow - just like a huge cake, abundantly sprinkled with powdered sugar." It is possible to replace these unions with the word "what" in the same sense: "A hypocritical man, that a wolf in sheep's clothing: speaks kindly and thoughtfully, and in his thoughts prepares a plan for your death."
2. Widespread use in the literature of all-union comparisons, for example: "Everyone was struck by the scientist's room - a museum with exhibits, whose appointments were not clear to any of those who came."
3. Often, the very sign that prompted the author to be compared is omitted. In this case, the name of the object or phenomenon with which the comparison takes place is used either in the nominative or in the instrumental case. Here are examples of comparisons from fiction, in which there is no sign: "The soul of a loved one is a cat, abandoned in a cold forest, homeless and unhappy"; "And then suddenly the little puppies-mongues bristled and snarled at the malicious wild wolf cubs."
4. Negative comparisons also take place in the literature, for example: "Hunger is not a sister, you'll get up and catch a sturgeon."
5. Often in comparisons, noun forms are used in the genitive case: "Tanechka combed Pulechka, made her tails like a girl's."
6. The composition of this trail, as the literature calls comparison, often includes the words "similar", "reminded" instead of unions "how", "if", "as if", "exactly": "Oh, how our dog Arthur looks like in glasses and Papa scarf to the doctor of mathematical sciences from the second floor! "Or" The cake baked by Marinka was strangely reminiscent of the long-chewed "Orbit", richly greased with jam. "
7. In literature, and in the ordinary speech of people, there are not only simple comparisons, but also unfolded, when the attention of the interlocutor or the reader, listener, or spectator is drawn to several signs. For example: "First lie is sweet as honey, and then hine is bitter" or "The tail of a rooster that the tail of a peacock: is beautiful and bright, and useless, even harmful - at any time the hostess will catch him and put the soup in a soup." In revealing the essence of the question, what is a comparison in the literature, one should not forget that it is possible to compare not only the attributes of objects or phenomena expressed by nouns. At least in people there is a need to compare actions in the image, time, place.

Comparisons of the mode of action in the literature

Usually in such constructions verbs and adverbs, nouns or whole turns and subordinate clauses are involved .

1. Comparisons of actions in the image are more often expressed in adverbs with a particle, for example: "Savushkin laughed something like an owl, loudly echoing and whistling on a sigh."
2. Often, in the comparison of actions, a noun is used that indicates an object that performs such an action. In them, like constructions with nouns, the same unions are used. "Laugh like an owl," "jump like a lion," "I slept like a gopher."
3. The comparison-negation of the mode of action also takes place in the literature. "It's good to joke - do not bring down the trees."
4. Comparisons of the mode of action with respect to time are one of the most important and often used. "He taught the paragraph for as long as he was building a huge wall a kilometer in height" - an example of a detailed comparison.
5. Comparisons on the place of commission of action are also often found in the speech: "Traveling in a crowded city is like in the desert: no one answers questions, no matter how much you ask."
6. Sometimes the action of an object or phenomenon itself is omitted, and only a comparison is used in the expression-it is necessary to guess the action itself. "The rain seemed to have gone wild: it lashed the silver plaque all by itself, puddled puddles, was choked with the strongest wind."

Why comparisons are needed in the literature

Having dealt with the question of what a comparison is in literature, it is necessary to understand: are they necessary? For this, a small study should be carried out.

Here is an artistic text, in which comparisons are used: "The dark forest stood, as if after a fire. The moon hid behind the clouds as a shy girl covers her face with a black kerchief. The wind seemed to fall asleep in the bushes. "

But the same text, in which all the comparisons were removed. "The dark forest was standing. The moon hid behind the clouds. Wind". In principle, the meaning itself is conveyed in the text. But how much more imaginative is the picture of the night forest in the first variant than in the second!

Do you need comparisons in ordinary speech

Some may think that comparisons are necessary only for writers and poets. But ordinary people in their ordinary life they do not need. This statement is absolutely wrong!

At the doctor's reception, the patient, describing his feelings, will necessarily resort to comparisons: "The heart hurts ... It's as if he cuts with a knife, and then - as if a fist squeezes it ..." Grandmother, explaining to her granddaughter how to make dough for pancakes, is also forced to compare : "You add water until the dough looks like thick sour cream." Mom tired weary not in moderation cheerful baby: "Enough already to gallop like a hare!"

Probably, many will object that the article is devoted to comparisons in the literature. Where does our everyday speech? Be proud, philistines: many people talk using literary speech. Therefore, even common speech is one of the layers of literature.

Comparisons in the highly specialized literature

Even technical texts can not do without comparisons. For example, in order not to repeat the above-described process in the recipe for cooking fried fish, for reduction, the author often writes: "Fish should be fried the same way as cutlets."

Or in the manual for people who master the basics of construction from plywood or wood, you can find the phrase: "Drills are screwed screws as well as twisted. Just before work, you need to set the desired mode on it. "

Comparisons are a necessary method in the literature of the most diverse directions. The ability to properly use them distinguishes a cultural person.