LessonsConditions of Excellent Metaphor: Good Simile, Clarity, and Imaginative ForceQuiz

كُلُّ مَا يَتَأَتَّى فِيهِ الِاسْتِعَارَةُ يَتَأَتَّى فِيهِ التَّشْبِيهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ عَكْسٍ
Where metaphor can be made, simile is possible; the reverse does not necessarily hold.

An explicit comparison can register a limited likeness even when the subject cannot convincingly be treated as belonging to the very kind represented by the image. Metaphor makes the stronger rhetorical claim by suppressing open comparison.

This principle concerns the effectiveness of metaphor. Deleting a comparative particle from any possible simile does not automatically yield a strong, successful metaphor.

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Not every simile is suitable for metaphor

Conditions of Excellent Metaphor: Good Simile, Clarity, and Imaginative Force

كُلُّ مَا يَتَأَتَّى فِيهِ الِاسْتِعَارَةُ يَتَأَتَّى فِيهِ التَّشْبِيهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ عَكْسٍ
Where metaphor can be made, simile is possible; the reverse does not necessarily hold.

An explicit comparison can register a limited likeness even when the subject cannot convincingly be treated as belonging to the very kind represented by the image. Metaphor makes the stronger rhetorical claim by suppressing open comparison.

This principle concerns the effectiveness of metaphor. Deleting a comparative particle from any possible simile does not automatically yield a strong, successful metaphor.