The Marriage of Figaro

The Marriage of Figaro Metaphors and Similes

"It’s a little Serpent that glides into every crevice" (Metaphor)

When the count discovers Hannibal in Susan's bedroom, he uses the metaphor of a serpent that can glide "into every crevice" to describe the youth. This metaphor is a rather derogatory one, but also has markedly sexual connotations as well.

"Men, I perceive, are poor Politicians—Women make Children of us" (Metaphor)

This is another metaphor uttered by the count, this time in Act 2, after he discovers Susan in the dressing room. He is embarrassed to have gotten so jealous of the countess and says that he has been turned into a child by the whole affair.

"As wild and incongruous as a Dream" (Simile)

In Act 3, Count Almaviva says, “When once the Passions have obtained the Mastery, there is no Mind, however consistent, but becomes as wild and incongruous as a Dream." He uses a simile to compare the experience of having a passionate and jealous mind to being in a dreamworld, out of touch with actual reality.

“I may truly be called both a Chance Child” (Metaphor)

After discovering his true parentage, Figaro ruminates on the nature of chance, and all the ways that it has affected his life. He calls himself a "Chance Child," a metaphor that suggests that every element of his life has been especially marked by the randomness of chance.

“Jealousy is the foolish Child of Pride” (Metaphor)

In Act 4, Figaro tells Marcelina, his mother, that "Jealousy is the foolish Child of Pride." He suggests that jealousy results from being proud, by using a metaphor of family and parentage to illustrate how closely linked the two emotions are.