Frost's line, 'I found a dimpled spider... holding up a moth like a white piece of rigid satin cloth' exploits simile. But how can a moth be like cloth? What does likening one material, the fragile, semi-transparent wing of a moth, to a woven fabric, stimulate in the reader's mind.
This is one of a number of examples that will be explored with a view to refining our understanding of similie.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-an...
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