The Power of Metaphor

A metaphor says A is B without "like" or "as." It's bolder than simile—it demands readers accept the equation and find truth in it. Plath's "Daddy, I have had to kill you" uses murder to describe emotional separation. The metaphor IS the meaning.

The best metaphors reveal something hidden. Dylan Thomas compares death to rage, not sleep. Find unexpected similarities. What is grief like? A weight, a hole, a fog? Each metaphor reveals different truth. "My thoughts are a flock of birds" extends into your whole poem, creating a world.

Your job is finding the metaphor others haven't found yet.