What figurative language is used in this line?

"I wandered lonely as a cloud"

BL610

Question

What figurative language is used in this line?

"I wandered lonely as a cloud"

BL610

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The task presents a line and asks us to identify the figure of speech used.
First, notice the phrase: "I wandered lonely as a cloud." The speaker makes a comparison between the speaker's wandering and a cloud using the word as.
This explicit comparison using as is characteristic of a simile, which compares two unlike things to highlight a shared quality.
To consider alternatives: a metaphor would state that one thing is another (e.g., "I am a cloud"), which this line does not; personification would attribute human qualities to a non-human thing (e.g., "the cloud wandered"), which is not present here; alliteration or rhythm devices might appear as repeated consonant sounds but do not constitute the core figure of speech in this line.
Because the comparison is clear, direct, and introduced with a comparative word, the line fits the textbook definition of a simile.
The absence of other comparative markers or personified attributes reinforces that the central device is the simile rather than alternative figures of speech.

British Unit 6 Homework

What figurative language is used in this line? "I wandered lonely as a cloud" BL610

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