Wart in Sir Ector's Castle (Simile)
As depicted in The Sword in the Stone, Arthur's childhood is frequently joyous and carefree. White's choices of simile are carefully coordinated to set the tone of ease and comfort that Wart feels, especially in familiar settings such as Sir Ector's castle: "The Wart ran about it like a rabbit in its own complicated labyrinth. He knew everything, everywhere, all the special smells, good climbs, soft lairs" (42). Here, Wart is seen as a peaceable yet energetic animal, as a creature in tune with its settings and unbothered by human vices and ambitions. Like a rabbit, Wart inhabits a state of innocence in which finding "good climbs" or "soft lairs" is the toughest challenge that a typical day offers.
The Ant's Labor (Simile)
When Wart first enters the society of the ants, he observes one of these insects arranging ant corpses, and generally doing a poor job of the work. The ant "knew that a certain arrangement had to be made, but it could not figure how to make it. It was like a man with a tea-cup in one hand and a sandwich in the other, who wants to light a cigarette with a match" (123). Though orderly as a whole, the society of the ants is haphazard and undignified on an individual level: work proceeds in a robotic manner and the ants themselves are characterized by trite thoughts and predictable labor. But even this predictable labor is performed without coordination or grace (as established by the simile) and thus becomes another sign of how deeply unappealing the lifestyle of the ants is.
The Thunder of Battle (Simile)
In his descriptions of the battle between Arthur and King Lot, White resorts to language that construes the clash of armies almost as a clash of natural forces. Consider his description of one of the later stages of the hostilities: "There was a moment of intermingling with a noise like thunder, the spectacle of broken lances sailing in the air while horses pawed that element before they went down backward" (302). Comparing a movement of the battle to "thunder" underscores the overall dynamism and seriousness of the action, yet such a broad sense of battle is complemented by smaller observations: the lances sailing (in a metaphorical turn) are a minute detail that helps White move from a panoramic to a close-up view of the discord.
Turquine's Trove (Simile)
Sir Turquine, as depicted in The Ill-Made Knight, keeps on display the armor and shields of the knights he has defeated. White uses a revealing comparison both to describe the "rusty helms and melancholy shields" in Turquine's exhibition and to suggest a major point of Turquine's character: "It looked like a gamekeeper's gallows" (351). For a knight as far from the ideals of the Round Table as Turquine, other knights are not his fellow men. They are instead a form of especially interesting "game" that he can hunt, and whose bodies and belongings are not treated with any real respect.
Lancelot's Visage (Simile)
When he makes an early appearance in the narrative of The Ill-Made Knight, Lancelot is compared to "an African ape" (317). Later, however, White explains the famed knight's visage with a different comparison: "Like the bull-dog, which is one of the most betrayed of dogs, Lancelot had grown a face which people could trust" (540). By shifting from simile to simile, White indicates the shifting significance of Lancelot's (consistently ugly) face. At first, Lancelot's beautiful deeds as a knight form a strange contrast with his rather unappealing physical appearance; eventually, that appearance itself becomes a feature that is respected and endearing.
