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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 12: The Stranger in the Field
Explanation and Analysis—Hopelessness:
In the following passage from Chapter 12, the narrator uses an extended metaphor to characterize the alternating fluctuations of hope and hopelessness plaguing Hazel's travelers:
The bitter winter had all the country in its grip. The hares on the down, stupid and torpid with cold, were resigned to sinking further and further into the freezing heart of snow and silence. But now—who would have dreamed it?—the thaw is trickling, the great tit is ringing his bell from the top of a bare lime tree, the earth is scented; and the hares bound and skip in the warm wind. Hopelessness and reluctance are blown away like a fog and the dumb solitude where they crept, a place desolate as a crack in the ground, opens like a rose and stretches to the hills and the sky.
Explanation and Analysis—Flood:
In an example of metaphor from Chapter 12, the narrator relays Hazel's internal thoughts to the audience, reflecting on the more comforting aspects of uniformity inherent to a rabbit's existence:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The holes and tunnels of an old warren become smooth, reassuring and comfortable with use. There are no snags or rough corners. Every length smells of rabbit—of that great, indestructible flood of Rabbitry in which each one is carried along, surefooted and safe.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Class Hierarchy:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 12, the narrator describes Hazel's initial impression of Cowslip:
Unlock with LitCharts A+It gave Hazel an impression of good feeding, of health and of a certain indolence, as though the other came from some rich, prosperous country where he himself had never been. He had the air of an aristocrat and as he turned to gaze at Blackberry from his great brown eyes, Hazel began to see himself as a ragged wanderer, leader of a gang of vagabonds. He had not meant to be the first to speak, but something in the other's silence compelled him.
Related Themes:
Chapter 14: “Like Trees in November”
Explanation and Analysis—Roof of Bones:
In Chapter 14, Fiver first begins displaying behaviors that foreshadow the grim truth eventually revealed about Cowslip's warren. The warren is a death trap, one Fiver refuses to enter—as can be seen in the following excerpt:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place," said Fiver. "As for going underground, I'd rather go back over the heather. The roof of that hall is made of bones."
"No, no—tree roots. But, after all, you were underground all night."
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Through the Wire:
In another example of foreshadowing from Chapter 14, Fiver attempts to describe the ephemeral feeling of danger and unease that pervades Cowslip's warren. He employs metaphor to do so:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"Hazel—dear old Hazel—it's simply that I know there's something unnatural and evil twisted all round this place. I don't know what it is, so no wonder I can't talk about it. I keep getting near it, though. You know how you poke your nose against wire netting and push it up against an apple tree, but you still can't bite the bark because of the wire. I'm close to this--whatever it is--but I can't grip it. If I sit here alone I may reach it yet."
Related Themes:
Chapter 17: The Shining Wire
Explanation and Analysis—Larder:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 17, Fiver compares the warren Hazel's group has discovered to a "larder," or pantry.
Unlock with LitCharts A+"The warren? You're going to the warren? You fools! That warren's nothing but a death hole! The whole place is one foul elil's larder! It's snared—everywhere, every day! That explains everything: everything that's happened since we came here."
