The present-day friars
The present-day priests’ behavior, specifically how they hold themselves in high esteem, wearing the finest of fabrics and walking pompously, is emphasized through similes. The writer compares their pompous styles to those of peacocks, a simile that enhances their imagery while also alluding to their preference for ample habits.
The writer notes: “…present-day friars prefer ample habits, generously cut and smooth of texture, and made from the finest of fabrics. Indeed, they now have elegant and pontifical habits, in which they strut like peacocks through the churches and the city squares without compunction, just as though they were members of the laity showing off their robes.” This priests' emphasis on having an extravagant life is thus conceived.
Ghismonda’s flowing tears
After the death of her lover, Ghismonda weeps for him. The writer enhances the imagery of her flowing tears through the employment of a simile in which he compares them to the flow of water from a fountain.
The writer notes: “She said no more, but leaned over the chalice, suppressing all sound of womanly grief, and began to cry in a fashion wondrous to behold, her tears gushing forth like water from a fountain; and she implanted countless kisses upon the lifeless heart.”
Pasquino’s swollen body
The narrator enhances the reader’s conception of Pasquino’s swollen body through the use of a simile. In particular, his swollen appearance is conceivable through the comparison to a barrel. The narrator notes: “Without creating any disturbance, he, therefore, had her conveyed to the spot where Pasquino’s body lay, still swollen up like a barrel, and shortly afterward, he went there himself.”
Ruggieri’s sleep
The narrator enhances the conception of how deep Ruggieri’s sleep was when he uses a simile to present how he slept like a log. In this way, the simile emphasizes Ruggieri’s deep sleep. The narrator notes: “The lady was rather frightened, and she began to try and raise him, then shook him more vigorously and tweaked his nose and pulled his beard. But it was all to no purpose: he was sleeping like a log.”
The news of Ruggieri burgling the money-lenders’ house
The narrator uses a simile to emphasize how the news of Ruggieri burgling the money-lenders’ house spread quickly. The narrator notes: “During the course of the morning, the news that Ruggieri had been caught red-handed burgling the money-lenders’ house spread like wildfire through the whole of Salerno.” The simile thus enhances the reader’s understanding of how quickly and rapidly the news spread throughout the town.
