DimensionFocusQuestion
Representative metaphorResemblance of complete situationsWhy does the original scene suit the new one?
Non-reporting use of a declarativeWhat the whole utterance accomplishesIs the speaker informing, lamenting or complaining?
These dimensions may coexist in one passage. A rhetorical image should therefore not be confused with the speech act or purpose served by the complete sentence. Literary utterances can contain internal tropes while simultaneously conveying an emotional purpose that goes beyond plain assertion.