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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
Part 2: The Marquesa de Montemayor
Explanation and Analysis—The Abbess:
The book uses a metaphor to describe the Abbess's efforts to reform her flawed and unjust society:
She resembled the swallow in the fable who once every thousand years transferred a grain of wheat, in the hope of rearing a mountain to reach the moon. Such persons are raised up in every age; they obstinately insist on transporting their grains of wheat and they derive a certain exhilaration from the sneers of the bystanders.
Related Themes:
Part 3: Esteban
Explanation and Analysis—The Love of Women:
In The Bridge of San Luis Rey, twin brothers Manuel and Esteban have an unshakably close bond until Manuel falls in love with the Perichole. The novel uses a metaphor to describe the threat this new love poses to their relationship:
Unlock with LitCharts A+At last the first shadow fell across this unity and the shadow was cast by the love of women.
Related Themes:
Part 5: Perhaps an Intention
Explanation and Analysis—The Ritual of the Church:
Actress Camilla Perichole loses her young son Jaime in the bridge collapse. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Wilder uses simile and metaphor to express the Perichole's feelings about the funeral service held for victims, which she does not attend:
Unlock with LitCharts A+She thought of the vast ritual of the church, like a chasm into which the beloved falls, and of the storm of the dies irae where the individual is lost among the millions of the dead, features grow dim and traits fade.
Related Themes:
