The poem "A Simile" by N. Scott Momaday consists of mostly precisely that, a simile. There are eight lines in the poem, and seven of the lines make up the simile. The first line reads, "What did we say to each other..." This immediately helps the reader understand that something important was said between two people. The rest of the lines tell the reader that whatever was said caused a conflict. The people that the poem refers to are now "as the deer," whose limbs are full of "latent flight." After what was said in the first line, the people are now flighty towards each other, perhaps frightened of what may come.
The image of deer walking through the woods, always watchful and ready to flee at the slightest signal, is powerful and does all the work for N. Scott Momaday in this poem as the best example of a simile.
A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison. It shows similarities between two different things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws similarity with the help of the words “like” or “as.” As a result, it is a direct comparison.
To directly answer the question, the types of figurative language and imagery used in the poem "a simile" are:
Figurative language: Similes
Imagery: The image of deer walking through the woods, always watchful and ready to flee at the slightest signal.
