Sur les convergences et les divergences de la métaphore et de la similitude
On the Convergences and Divergences Between Metaphor and Simile

Summary/Abstract: My essay intends to outline the linguistic and rhetorical foundations of simile and metaphor in order to distinguish these two figures. They are indeed too often assimilated to each other because of the kind of relation on which they are grounded, i. e. the analogy between elements that belong to different semantico-referential fields. From classical theories to the investigations of Nouvelle Rhétorique, scholars do not show a clear distinction between simile and metaphor but tend to consider metaphor as an elliptical comparison. Nevertheless, from Interaction Theories onwards (Richards, Black), the new conception of metaphor as «conceptual conflict» (Prandi) – no longer intended as an exception to the rule but as interaction – brings about a sharp separation between the two figures. In particular, studies by Henry, Le Guern, and Prandi clearly distinguish the fields of investigation on simile and metaphor and begin to notice the creative potentialities of simile. The latter can create, to my mind, projective analogies just as metaphor does, although through quite different mechanisms.

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