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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
Key Examples in Song of Solomon
Part 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Volcano:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 1, the narrator examines the impact that toxic manifestations of masculinity (and femininity) have on the Foster-Dead family unit:
Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without prior notice, Macon kept each member of his family awkward with fear. His hatred of his wife glittered and sparked in every word he spoke to her. The disappointment he felt in his daughters sifted down on them like ash, dulling their buttery complexions and choking the lilt out of what should have been girlish voices.
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Snake:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 2, Macon Dead II reveals a great deal to readers about how he regards his sister, Pilate Dead:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Just listen to what I say. That woman’s no good. She’s a snake, and can charm you like a snake, but still a snake.”
"You talking about your own sister, the one you carried in your arms to the fields every morning."
“That was a long time ago. You seen her. What she look like to you? Somebody nice? Somebody normal?”
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Beer and Hagar:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 4, the narrator reveals a critical piece of psychological information, meditating on the nature of Hagar and Milkman's romantic relationship:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it’s there, because it can’t hurt, and because what difference does it make?
Related Themes:
Part 1, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Septic Sheets:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 8, Milkman ruminates on his memories of family and childhood, now tainted by revelations that he cannot unsee:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He’d always believed his childhood was sterile, but the knowledge Macon and Ruth had given him wrapped his memory of it in septic sheets, heavy with the odor of illness, misery, and unforgiving hearts.
Related Themes:
