A lesson in reading between the lines…

Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. Unlike simile, you don't use "like" or "as" in the comparison. Unlike simile, you don't use "like" or "as" in the comparison.

Sometimes the speaker says something IS something else. Sometimes the speaker says something IS something else. – The clouds are marshmallows in the sky Sometimes the speaker IMPLIES that something is something else Sometimes the speaker IMPLIES that something is something else – Marshmallows float through the air

Explicit metaphor – explicitly stated or obvious Implicit metaphor – not explicitly stated or obvious When something is subtly compared to another thing. Can slip by readers who aren’t paying CLOSE attention to language

For example, You want to describe a stubborn man, unwilling to leave – He was a mule, standing his ground. This is a fairly explicit metaphor The man is being compared to a mule.

For example, You want to describe a stubborn man, unwilling to leave For example, You want to describe a stubborn man, unwilling to leave – the man "brayed his refusal to leave" – the subject (the man) is never overtly identified as a mule. – Braying is associated with the mule, a notoriously stubborn creature, and so the comparison between the stubborn man and the mule is sustained.

I am a rainbow I am a rainbow – It is comparing two nouns, a person, and a rainbow, but does not use like or as.

I am not Anger I am not Anger – it is contrasting two nouns.

My life is a dream, like a tiger waking up from her deep sleep. My life is like a dream, it's all up to me, the trees are purple, the stars talk away the night, the moaning moon lights up the sky. By Autumn

I am Las Vegas growing by the infinite awake morning by night, or day. I am Las Vegas My hand is the sand. By Rachel

I am a sword, Sharper than a tongue Nobody can defeat me, Because I am a sword, I can not be hurt by what people say About me, I will not show my anger Against Someone else. By Alex

Math is the career for kids. If you don't know math you won't make any money. you won't get a job. you won't get a house. By Jake

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd: And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But they eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. By William Shakespeare

Can you identify examples of metaphor? Check to see if you know what Metaphor is. Click only on the examples of metaphor.

Crash, bang, boom! goes the car. Over the tree over the hill. Books are dreams Well done! You are a star! Swoosh! goes the flag The pizza said, "Eat me!" Cats camp in California. The sand is a golden blanket War cries. Red crackles. The moon is a white balloon