Sophie's Knuckles Simile
Sophie states that her knuckles looked like knobs. After the Witch enchanted her and turned her into an old woman her knuckles became visibly arthritic and became enlarged and had perceptibly rounded bones that looked like door knobs.
Sophie As An Old Woman Metaphor
The Witch turning Sophie into an old woman is actually a metaphor for how Sophie really is on the inside; she barely gets out of the shop, she works long hours and has been out socially so rarely that she is almost scared of the crowds of young people that she should be a part of. She is mentally far older than her years md her outward appearance is now a metaphor for this.
Maypole Simile
The King's emissary is said to be holding a "little staff decorated with ribbons like an infant maypole." The staff was a small replica of a maypole as if it was a maypole as a child and the ribbons must have fallen loosely from the top of the staff like a maypole on the village green.
Howl's Reputation As A Stealer Of Actual Hearts
In the magical lands, Howl was said to physically take the hearts of young girls and keep them at the castle. This is actually a metaphor for the way in which he would steal girls' hearts by making them fall in love with him, and then break their hearts by losing interest immediately.
Sophie As A Natural Disaster Metaphor
Michael accepts Sophie as if she is a kind of natural disaster, such as a hurricane or a flood; he doesn't like her or welcome her and he feels she blows through and caused havoc but he accepts her as something he can do nothing about.
