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Irony
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
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Well of Science:
In this passage, the author employs a metaphor to explain Otto Lidenbrock’s reluctance to share his vast stores of knowledge:
He was a selfish savant—a well of science, and nothing could be drawn up from it without the grinding noise of the pulleys: in a word, he was a miser.
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Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—A Shrew:
In Chapter 14, the author employs a metaphor and an idiom to unfavorably characterize the Icelandic pastor’s wife. As he sees her for the first time, Axel immediately ascribes unpleasant and animalistic traits to her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+A tall vixenish-looking shrew instantly made her appearance.
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Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Gilding the Island:
In this passage, the author utilizes both metaphor and personification to depict the sun casting its light over the volcano. This poignant moment happens shortly before the Professor, his nephew, and Hans go underground. Axel feels a sense of serenity, experiencing a moment of calm before the approaching intensity of the underground adventure:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The sun at his lowest point gilding the sleeping island at my feet with his pale rays.
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Chapter 33
Explanation and Analysis—The Sea A Desert:
In this excerpt, Verne uses metaphor and oxymoron to convey Axel’s despair at the stark emptiness of the underground sea. He, Lidenbrock, and Hans have been stuck in one place for some time, with no way to propel themselves forward or back:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I take the glass and scan the sea. It is a desert. Perhaps we are still too near the shore. I turn to the air. Why do we see none of the birds reconstructed by the immortal Cuvier, flapping their great wings in this dense atmosphere: these fish would supply them with stores of food. I gaze into space, but the air is as lonely as the waters.
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