Sustained comparison is an extended metaphor or simile that unfolds across multiple lines or stanzas, maintaining a single analogical framework to explore complex ideas or emotions in depth; unlike fleeting figurative language, sustained comparison builds cumulative resonance, allowing the poet to map intricate correspondences between tenor and vehicle, as in John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” where lovers are likened to the legs of a compass, or in Sylvia Plath’s “Metaphors” where pregnancy is rendered through a series of interlocking images.

Sustained comparison develops an extended metaphor or analogy across multiple lines or stanzas. Contrast with brief simile. Requires consistency—track how each new detail enriches or complicates the initial comparison.