How does simile make a poem effective?

In order for us to understand anything, we must draw upon at least one of our five senses, to have a concrete image in our minds. A simile is one device that poets use to provide a concrete image, a comparison of something with something else, so the reader has a sensory image to hold in his or her mind, a way of understanding that something that might not be concrete is like something that...

In order for us to understand anything, we must draw upon at least one of our five senses, to have a concrete image in our minds. A simile is one device that poets use to provide a concrete image, a comparison of something with something else, so the reader has a sensory image to hold in his or her mind, a way of understanding that something that might not be concrete is like something that is concrete.

My favorite examples of this are in a poem by Robert Burns:

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune (lines 1-4). 

Burns cannot describe love without giving us an image of some sort in our minds. Love is a concept. How can we possibly say what it is?  Now, though, we have a comparison with two sensory details, a rose and a melody. Thus we know that love to Burns is beautiful, sweet-smelling, and fresh, and that it is as melodic as an air played in tune.  These are images that we have all had some experience of, and we understand that Burns is making a comparison with the positive attributes of roses and melodies. Within the context of this lighthearted poem, we realize that he is not focusing on the thorns of a rose or a song that is discordant.  That would make for a very different kind of poem.

The way to identify a simile is to look for words of comparison, such as "like" or "as." There are other kinds of literary elements used in poetry to provide concrete, sensory images, and I have included a link to our guide to literary terms, which includes these, for example, metaphor.  You should be able to practice your simile-spotting skills now and notice all of the similes that are used in poetry and what it is they contribute to your understanding and analysis of poetry.