A metaphor can be defined as a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance. It is very similar to a simile in the sense that it compares two things, but unlike a simile, it does not use the words "like", "as", etc. Instead, it blatantly states something. An example of a metaphor in Frankenstein is the quote, which can be seen to the right. This metaphor foreshadows the tragic events to come, and shows that Frankenstein was in fact a happy person before the series of unfortunate events in Frankenstein changed his life. It compares good thoughts and memories to depressive feelings of despair and woe.
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"I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self" (Shelley 24) |