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Extended metaphor

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A metaphor that extends over several lines, an entire stanza, or throughout the whole poem; it creates sustained comparison, deepens symbolic meaning, and weaves imagery across the poetic surface.

Detailed Definition
Extended metaphor is a sustained figurative comparison that unfolds across multiple lines or stanzas, developing a central analogy in layered detail; it allows complex ideas to be explored through a single, evolving image, as in Donne’s compass conceit.
Example
Example in poetry:
Extended metaphor: In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?"), the beloved is sustained as a "summer’s day" across multiple lines to explore beauty and immortality.
Additional Notes
Extended metaphor develops a single metaphor throughout a poem, structuring imagery and argument; it creates coherence and depth, as in Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (compasses as lovers).
Also Known As
Sustained comparison Elaborate metaphor Developed analogy Prolonged figurative image Allegory Conceit elaborate comparison Metaphysical conceit Extended comparison Sustained image Extended simile Carried metaphor Conceit Metaphor
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