In literature, what is a "metaphor"?

Prepare for the Whittier Competition Academic Team Test. Enhance your knowledge with flashcards, multiple choice questions, and detailed explanations. Get ready for success!

A metaphor is indeed a figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using "like" or "as." This comparison implies that one thing is another, enriching the meaning and providing deeper insight or understanding. For example, saying "Time is a thief" suggests that time can stealthily take away moments from our lives, much like a thief would steal possessions.

This figurative language enhances the reader's experience by creating vivid imagery and provoking thought, making the abstract more tangible.

The other options do not encapsulate the essence of a metaphor. A rhetorical question seeks to make a point rather than elicit an answer, a rhyme scheme pertains to the pattern of sounds at the end of lines in poetry, and exaggeration, known as hyperbole, serves a different purpose by emphasizing an idea rather than comparing dissimilar entities.

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