Reflection simile
The narrator uses a simile to describe how ineffective tears and fears are:
"In vain were all her sighs and tears,
In vain were all his anxious fears:
All, insubstantial, doomed to pass,
As moonlight mirrored in the water,
Or flowers reflected in a glass."
He compares them to the images of moonlight in the water and flowers reflected in glass, to show how fleeting and unsubstantial they are.
Happiness simile
The narrator uses a simile to describe the demise of happiness, comparing it to the fall of a building, or the burning of a candle:
"Like a great building's tottering crash,
Like flickering lampwick burned to ash,
Your scene of happiness concludes in grief:
For worldly bliss is always insecure and brief."
Pearl simile
The narrator uses a simile to describe a woman aging, comparing her to a pearl in youth and a fish eye in old age: “A girl before she marries is like a priceless pearl, but once she marries the pearl loses its luster and develops all sorts of disagreeable flaws, and by the time she's an old woman, she's no longer like a pearl at all, more like a boiled fish's eye.”
Wilting flower simile
Here, a simile is used to describe how youth fades. The narrator compares the fading of youth to how flowers wilt and spring passes:
"As petals drop and spring begins to fail,
The bloom of youth, too, sickens and turns pale.
One day, when spring has gone and youth has fled,
The Maiden and the flowers will both be dead."
