| |
|
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity. (Doug's paraphrase: it's a simile without "like" or "as").
In the following poem, I describe the sun as though it is a knife. I don't say it is "like a knife"; the reader is left to assume that this is a figure of speech, and the sun is not literally a knife.
Cadillac Mountain Sunrise
Rows
Of
Silent
Silhouettes
Awaiting the sun -
A golden knife, slicing the gloom
(Copyright 2007 by Douglas Twitchell)
The reader recognizes that the sun is not really a knife, but that the way a knife cuts food is similar to the way that the sun breaks the darkness.
See Also
Simile
Personification
Copyright 2010 Douglas. All rights reserved. FifteenMinutesOfFiction.com has been granted non-exclusive rights to display this work. For permission to reprint this item, please contact the author.
|
|
|
|
