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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Epic simile

Meaning in literature, with examples

phraseAdvanced term

In literature, epic simile means: A long, detailed simile in epic poetry or elevated narrative that develops a comparison across several lines for dramatic effect.

In Turkish: epik benzetme

How it is used

Common in epics and mock epics. It slows the action, enlarges the scene, and connects heroic events to vivid everyday or natural images.

Example sentences

  1. During seminar, we marked the battlefield passage as an epic simile because the fighters are compared to storm-driven waves for eight full lines.

    The phrase refers to an extended comparison, not a brief one, and its length gives the scene grandeur and momentum.

  2. The editor kept the hunting image, arguing that the epic simile helps modern readers picture the hero's patience before the duel.

    Here the term names a comparison that expands the reader's understanding by adding a separate but illuminating scene.

Common collocations

  • extended epic simile
  • epic simile in Homer
  • use an epic simile
  • simileA figure of speech that compares two different things directly, usually with the words 'like' or 'as', for example 'as cold as ice'.
  • imageryDescriptive language that appeals to the senses, such as sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, so that readers can picture or feel what is described.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

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