Metaphor and Extended Metaphor

Interpret metaphors and follow a single comparison that a writer extends through a passage.

A metaphor describes one thing as if it were another, without 'like' or 'as', to reveal something about it. 'The classroom was a beehive' suggests busy, buzzing, crowded activity. To interpret a metaphor, list what you associate with the second thing, then ask which of those qualities the writer wants you to see in the first. An extended metaphor carries one comparison through several sentences or a whole passage. Read: 'Her mind was a library.

Each memory had its own shelf, and when she needed a fact she wandered the aisles until she found it. Lately, though, some books had been checked out and never returned. ' The library comparison builds from organization (shelves) to searching (aisles) to loss (books never returned), suggesting she is starting to forget things. A writer who extends a metaphor wants you to keep using the comparison, so each new detail adds meaning to the first image.

• 1A metaphor describes one thing as another, without like or as.
• 2List associations, then pick the ones the writer means.
• 3An extended metaphor develops one comparison across a passage.