My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,
So flew’d, so sanded, and their heads are hung
With ears that sweep away the morning dew;
Crook-kneed, and dewlapped like Thessalian bulls;
Slow in pursuit, but matched in mouth like bells,
Each under each. A cry more tunable
Was never holloed to.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 4, Scene 1. Theseus brags about his marvelous hunting hounds to Hippolyta. He gives a very vivid description of the animals, using various figures of speech. A metaphor tells us that their flopping ears hang so long that they brush the morning dew from the grass. Similes compare them in appearance to bulls from Thessaly and their barks to bells with different notes but perfectly in tune.