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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Metaphor

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˈmetəfə/nounCore term

In literature, metaphor means: A figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were something else, without using 'like' or 'as', to show a hidden similarity.

In Turkish: metafor, eğretileme, istiare

How it is used

The most discussed figure of speech in analysis. Writers use, employ or extend metaphors; critics speak of a striking, extended or central metaphor and say a line is metaphorical. Everyday language is also full of metaphors (time is money).

Example sentences

  1. The city is a cage: the whole poem is built on this one metaphor.

  2. Can you find another metaphor for time in the second stanza?

Common collocations

  • extended metaphor
  • central metaphor
  • use a metaphor
  • mixed metaphor
  • a metaphor for
  • simileA figure of speech that compares two different things directly, usually with the words 'like' or 'as', for example 'as cold as ice'.
  • figure of speechA use of words in a non-literal or unusual way to create a special effect or meaning, such as a metaphor, simile, hyperbole or personification.
  • imageryDescriptive language that appeals to the senses, such as sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, so that readers can picture or feel what is described.
  • symbolAn object, person, place or event in a text that stands for a larger idea beyond its literal meaning, such as a journey that represents life.
  • personificationA figure of speech that gives human qualities, feelings or actions to animals, objects, places or ideas, as in 'the wind whispered'.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

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