English Literature / Unit 2 ENL 0101 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Simile and Metaphor: Tenor and Vehicle
Captions available
The idea
A metaphor compares two things to clarify or intensify one of them; a simile makes the comparison explicit with "like" or "as." The thing described is the tenor and the image borrowed is the vehicle. In Sonnet seventy-three the speaker's age is the tenor and autumn's bare boughs the vehicle.
In practice
Tenor described, vehicle borrowed.
Where people slip
Name the tenor before judging the comparison.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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