<span>Speculation the others don't fit.</span>
It is a simile, because the author used the words (like) and (a), those are always hints that it is a simile.
Rip Van Winkile is a representative of an escapist fantasy. The main character is a farmer who can't seem to be a good husband to his wife and a good worker of his farm. Instead of taking responsibility and trying to improve himself, he goes to the forest and ends up sleeping for twenty years. He escapes his responsibility by abandoning his family and moving on to a different life.
The Byronic Hero resembles bryons himself, cuz he was already called a "larger-than-life hero"
