Metaphor & Simile Test

After you have learned the difference between metaphor and simile, take this test to see how well you can identify these popular parts of figurative language in context.

 

Each line below is from a song. Underlined is a word that is being used as either a metaphor or a simile; decide which it is, and explain why. Answers can be found here.

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1) Love is like oxygen: you get too much, it gets you high; not enough and you're gonna' die. 

(from the song "Love Is Like Oxygen", by ***Sweet.) 

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2) I say love, it is a flower, and you its only seed.

(from the song "The Rose" by Bette Midler)

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3) Television, the drug of the nation...

(from the song of the same name, by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy)

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4) Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs, that just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care...

(from the song "Unanswered Prayers", by Garth Brooks.)

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5) See how they run - like pigs from a gun...

(from the song "I Am The Walrus", by The Beatles)

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6) Have you come here to play Jesus, to the lepers in your head?

(from the song "One", by U2)

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Bonus Questions!

 

a) Identify any similes or metaphors that you can find in the following sentence, taken from an interview with Edge, member of the band U2:

 

"A great song is like a salad dressing: you need just the right amount of sweet, sour and salt to get it right and when you do you only notice the balance of flavours, not the ingredients."

b) Compare the following two lines, and determine which - if either - is a metaphor. Explain your reasoning.

 

"You are the sunshine of my life..." (from the song of the same name, by Stevie Wonder)

"A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine." (Florida Citrus Commission slogan)

Answers to this Test

***Note: Corrected from common misconception "Electric Light Orchestra", with thanks to visitor Bill M.

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