"Metaphor and simile reach all possibility..."
Ideas are like clouds. We say that they are nebulous (which means cloud-like, vague or indistinct). That's a simile. I'm saying that there are certain qualities that are shared by both ideas and clouds, to draw attention to those qualities, and hopefully contribute to your perspective on ideas (and possibly, clouds).
The idea was a cloud, billowy and seeming to stretch all the way to infinity, but impossible to touch. That's a metaphor. The description of the idea comes in the form of a visual representation. It's less instructional than a simile, but it generally gives a stronger visual impression to the reader.
The idea was a thundercloud, raking my nerves with an impulse to act, like lightning bolts cascading across what was once a quiet countryside. Here, metaphor is combined with simile. First, the figurative connection between a particular idea and a thundercloud. The reason for the comparison is clarified (it is giving me an impulse), and then, the simile of lightning bolts across a countryside adds another layer of comparison, expanding on the idea.
Writers use metaphor and simile to make their writing more visually stimulating. It helps readers make a stronger connection with a text. But that's only scratching the surface. If we examine the construction of the word metaphor, it may provide us with a deeper understanding of its purpose. This type of study is called etymology.
metaphorá (μεταφορά) is an ancient Greek word comprised of two parts:
meta- (μετά) meaning 'beyond' or 'across'
and
pherein (φέρω) meaning 'to carry'
Together, we can see that a metaphor is a device to carry meaning across to the reader, or as I prefer to think of it, to carry the reader beyond the text.
So, we see that the word, metaphor is itself a metaphor. It doesn't literally pick up the reader and walk it across a gap of meaning. But it can. By activating the imagination, it can prompt a reader to travel to places they would never go otherwise. The universe is vast, and vast within, as well. A clever word might issue us to heaven- or to hell.
When a metaphor continues to be developed for more than a few sentences, we call it an extended metaphor. As you read the following short stories, consider how the author develops a central metaphor over the course of the entire literary work. Think about the ideas which the extended metaphors can connect us with.
All Summer in a Day (1954) by Ray Bradbury
The Scarlet Ibis (1950) by James Hurst
Back to literary terms.