What is a Metaphor?

What is a metaphor?

A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares one thing to another unrelated thing. It is an example of figurative language, which can help a writer attribute additional or non-literal meaning to the person or thing being described. Unlike a simile — which compares things together using the words “like” or “as” — metaphors make a direct comparison, which can add immediacy to the description. Consider the following example:

"Anita worked so fast; sometimes, she really was a machine."

Anita is being described as a machine, but she isn’t really a non-human mechanical apparatus that is used to perform a task (the literal meaning of machine)! Instead, by using a metaphor, the writer has conveyed the figurative meaning that Anita shares some of the qualities of a machine: that she is dedicated, not easily distracted and is able to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently.

Etymology of the word metaphor

The word “metaphor” originates from the Ancient Greek words μετά (metá, "across") and φέρω (phérō, "I carry, bring"). So, the word “metaphor” means “to carry across or beyond”, and so is a metaphor itself!

Why do writers use metaphors?

A metaphor is a type of language device that is used to describe someone or something. Writers use metaphors to enrich their description or to create a particular effect. They are frequently used in poetry or other fiction to enable a writer to add meaning to their description, or to help create vivid imagery in a piece of writing. This can help a reader get a better sense of the thematic or emotional quality of whatever is being described: its essence. Consider the following example:

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!” — Act 2, Scene 2, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

In these lines, Shakespeare employs a metaphor and has Romeo directly describe Juliet as the “sun”. This allows Shakespeare to describe more than just Juliet’s outward human characteristics (the colour of her hair, for example, or other physical descriptions of her). The metaphor gives us a much clearer understanding of how Romeo views Juliet: to him, she is not just brilliant, but someone who has given him warmth and light when he was previously in a dark emotional state. But there are further connotations too: getting too close to the “sun” — here, a girl from a rival family — could be dangerous, even fatal, foreshadowing the play’s tragic ending. 

The joy in analysing metaphors is that they can communicate many meanings, and be interpreted in many ways: an ostensibly simple metaphor can convey some very complex ideas!

Extended metaphor

The extended metaphor can be brilliant to analyse or use in your own creative writing.

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is developed across a whole section of text: perhaps a whole paragraph or even a whole play or novel.

In Romeo’s Act 2, Scene 2 speech, he describes Juliet as the “sun”. However, Shakespeare extends this metaphor throughout the rest of Romeo’s speech, imploring Juliet to “arise” so that he can see her, and imploring the sun to “kill the envious moon”, suggesting that Juliet’s beauty surpasses all other women, even celestial bodies.

The extended metaphor allows Shakespeare to emphasise and repeatedly highlight Romeo’s instant devotion and love for Juliet.

Types of metaphor

Other types of metaphor include:

While it is interesting to know what each of these terms means, you won’t need to know them when sitting your exams. 

Examples of metaphors and how to analyse them

Like analysis of other language techniques, it is always important to comment on the effects of the metaphors you find in your texts, not simply to spot them. Comment on the additional meaning a writer is trying to convey when they use the metaphor: can you interpret those deeper layers of meaning and their connotations?

Further reading

For study guides on how to analyse metaphors in literary texts, and how best to include metaphors in your own creative writing, check out our comprehensive revision notes below. All our notes are course-specific, so everything you’ll need to ace your exams is in one neat place!

GCSE English Literature revision notes 

GCSE English Language revision notes

IGCSE English Literature revision notes

IGCSE English Language revision notes

A Level English Literature revision notes 

For a comprehensive glossary covering all the best literary techniques you could ever need (including alliteration, assonance, hyperbole, juxtaposition, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, pathetic fallacy, personification and more than a hundred more), check out our list of Top literary devices, complete with student-friendly definitions and examples.