Setting the Stage
The opening selection titled “Trouble” provides insight into the kind of usage of metaphor and simile which will dominate the rest of the text as the speaker ponders and muses on the subject of courage:
=“In between insurance jobs
I’ve been watching
rock climbers
like game little spiders
on my local cliff”
Metaphor as Self-Description
In the selection titled “My Car” the speaker describes their car directly as place for everything from peace to action. Then the speaker turns to metaphor to indirectly self-describe character by providing insight into the kind of music she enjoys. For the record: Patsy Cline is one of the legendary figures of country music.
“Patsy Cline twining round me
Like a clove cigarette”
Metaphor as Imagery
“Mrs. Bill McDonald” features an excellent example of how to use metaphorical language to quickly delineate a situation and character reaction as imagery.
“her voice comes
as a surprise
loud
much tougher
than her eyes”
Poetic Metaphor
This is a “novel” told in verse, after all, so it should not be unexpected to run into some metaphorical language that exists as pure imagery; a comparison written in fancy language. This can be an annoying trait of poets, no question, but in this case the effect is simple and elegant and though poetic, immediately understandable:
“luck leaps on the floor
like a glob of mercury.”
This content is not completely understandable, but easy enough to get the gist.
Allusion as Metaphor
Some metaphorical images are created out of an allusion. These metaphors and similes are most effective, of course, when the referent is widely understood. Which means this particular example should not be too far over the heads of most readers; the speaker is conversational and living in our world where certain rules and expectations apply. The allusion informs the reader that the object of the quote is trafficking in the weird:
“Cut the Twilight Zone crap.”
