Analogy Examples

An analogy is the figurative term for drawing a comparison between two things in order to better explain one of them. An analogy is different from a metaphor or simile in that it attempts to make a logical argument. While a metaphor or simile makes a short comparison between two things, an analogy makes an extended comparison, showing how the characteristics or features of one thing are like another.

Examples of Analogy:

1. Drawing a comparison between a heart and a pump

2. Drawing a comparison between a construction crew and a colony of ants

3. Drawing a comparison between analyzing a work of literature and a detective solving a crime

4. Drawing a comparison between an overprotective mother and a mother hen

5. Drawing a comparison between living life and running a race

6. Drawing a comparison between raising children or teaching children to growing and tending a garden.

Examples of Analogy in Literature:

1. Shakespeare's As You Like It includes a monologue where an analogy is drawn between life and a play: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players . . .".

2. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet draws an analogy between a sweet-smelling rose and Romeo (who will be just as "sweet" regardless of his name): "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

3. Walt Whitman's "O, Captain! My Captain!" draws an analogy between Abraham Lincoln and a captain of a ship. This is a common analogy-a leader of a nation to a captain of a ship.