The Californian’s Tale
by Mark Twain
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The Californian’s Tale: Metaphors 1 key example

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 The Californian’s Tale

Metaphors
Explanation and Analysis—Henry’s Wife’s Portrait:

When the narrator is looking around Henry’s cottage after being invited in, he notices a photograph of Henry’s wife. He uses a pair of hyperboles and a metaphor to capture his and Henry’s experience while looking at the photo:

I went to the little black-walnut bracket on the farther wall, and did find there what I had not yet noticed—a daguerreotype-case. It contained the sweetest girlish face, and the most beautiful, as it seemed to me, that I had ever seen. The man drank the admiration from my face, and was fully satisfied.