Previous
Logos
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Wholesome Berries:
The Bishop of Ely uses a series of closely related botanical metaphors to describe the manner in which King Henry V was able to conceal his personal development and maturity during his otherwise rebellious youth. Speaking with the Archbishop of Canterbury prior to their meeting with the King, the Bishop states:
The strawberry grows underneath the nettle,
And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best
Neighbored by fruit of baser quality;
And so the Prince obscured his contemplation
Under the veil of wildness, which, no doubt,
Grew like the summer grass, fastest by night,
Unseen yet crescive in his faculty
Related Themes:
Act 3, Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis—A Few Sprays of Us:
The French Dauphin uses botanical metaphors in his mocking dismissal of the English nobility and troops. Speaking in court before other French nobles and the King of France, he says:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ô Dieu vivant, shall a few sprays of us,
The emptying of our fathers’ luxury,
Our scions, put in wild and savage stock,
Spurt up so suddenly into the clouds
And overlook their grafters?
Related Themes:
