In ka-aḥmari ʿĀd, the comparative kāf openly introduces a simile: the disastrous “offspring” are likened to an ill-omened figure. By contrast, the words talqaḥ, tuntaj, turḍiʿ apply the actions of a she-camel directly to war; this is an extended metaphor or personifying depiction.
ʿArka al-raḥā expressly compares the process of crushing to a mill. Distinguishing these devices helps explain how the poet intensifies a single argument through several kinds of image.
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Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā: War, the Grinding Mill, and the She-Camel Metaphors (Verses 28–32)
In ka-aḥmari ʿĀd, the comparative kāf openly introduces a simile: the disastrous “offspring” are likened to an ill-omened figure. By contrast, the words talqaḥ, tuntaj, turḍiʿ apply the actions of a she-camel directly to war; this is an extended metaphor or personifying depiction.
ʿArka al-raḥā expressly compares the process of crushing to a mill. Distinguishing these devices helps explain how the poet intensifies a single argument through several kinds of image.