Metaphors

A metaphor says one thing is another, with no like or as: Time is a thief. The test was a breeze. It isn't meant literally: it gives a picture that helps us feel or understand something. An extended metaphor carries the same picture on through several sentences.

Key facts

  • Metaphor: Time is a thief. The test was a breeze. (no like, no as).
  • The effect: a strong picture in a few words. The playground was an oven makes us feel the heat more than it was very hot.
  • An extended metaphor keeps the same comparison going: The classroom was a zoo: monkeys swung from chairs and parrots shrieked.

Worked examples

Example 1

Simile or metaphor? Her words were daggers.

  1. It says her words were daggers, without like or as.
  2. So it is a metaphor: her words were sharp and hurtful.

Answer: metaphor

Example 2

What does The test was a breeze. mean?

  1. A breeze is light and gentle: it takes no effort.
  2. So the test was very easy.

Answer: The test was very easy.

Example 3

Find the metaphor: The classroom was a fridge this morning.

  1. The classroom is not really a fridge, and there is no like or as.
  2. It says the classroom was a fridge: the room was very cold.

Answer: The classroom was a fridge: the room was very cold.

Example 4

Explain the effect of the metaphor: The playground was an oven.

  1. An oven is shut in and very hot.
  2. Calling the playground an oven makes the reader feel the heat.

Answer: It makes us feel how hot it was, more strongly than it was very hot.

Example 5

Explain the extended metaphor: The classroom was a zoo: monkeys swung from chairs, parrots shrieked, and the teacher was a weary keeper.

  1. Find the main comparison: the classroom is a zoo.
  2. Each detail (monkeys, parrots, keeper) continues it, building a picture of wild noise and a tired adult.

Answer: The class is a zoo all the way through: noisy children are animals and the teacher looks after them, which shows chaos.

Example 6

Extend this metaphor over two more sentences: Her mind was a busy station.

  1. List things that belong to a station: trains, platforms, delays.
  2. Match each to part of the mind: thoughts are trains, worries wait on the platform.

Answer: Thoughts arrived and departed every minute. Worries waited on the platform, delayed.

Example 7

Which comparison works better, and why? A The sea was like water. B The sea was a grey wolf, snapping at the rocks.

  1. A good comparison links two different things that share a quality.
  2. B links the sea to a wolf: both are wild and dangerous, so we see the waves biting the rocks.

Answer: B: it compares the sea to something unexpected and fierce, so we picture its danger; A tells us nothing new.