Locus a simili: l’allegoria metaforica tra modelli analogici e pragmatica del linguaggio

This article aims to explain the wide diffusion of the simile (similitudo) in texts with psychagogic purposes, be they literary, political, etc. Given that similes can be non-metaphoric, this article only focuses on the metaphoric similes which represent animals in fables. It is argued that the abovementioned diffusion is a consequence of the great efficacy of the simile in affecting reasoning based on analogical models as well as the cognitive components of attitudes and stereotypes.