A reading of the Aeneid leaves the impression that Vergilian similes are deftly woven into their contexts, often looking both forward and backward into the surrounding passages. Yet it has been suggested that the similes are late insertions, added ornatus causa, and that in some instances they are incomplete and not fully integrated into the text. Through an examination of the vocabulary of the similes and their contexts in Books 1 - 6 , and with the use of the Concordance for the frequency of subjectively chosen 'key' words, this thesis assesses to what extent verbal repetition is used by Vergil in those books to connect the similes and the narrative. This assessment, conducted against the background of modern and ancient views of simile and the use of similes by earlier epic poets, leads to a fuller understanding of this aspect of Vergil's literary technique.