Learn How to Use Metaphors in Poetry

Metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the verb "to be" or other linking verbs. It is a common literary device used in poetry to create vivid and imaginative imagery. Here are 30 examples of metaphor used in poems, with the name of the poem and the poet listed:

1. "Death be not proud" by John Donne
   Metaphor: "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so" (lines 1-2)
2. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
   Metaphor: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I / I took the one less traveled by" (lines 1-2)
3. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas
   Metaphor: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (line 3)
4. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
   Metaphor: "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons" (line 52)
5. "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
   Metaphor: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (line 60)
6. "The Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman
   Metaphor: "I tramp a perpetual journey" (line 1)
7. "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
   Metaphor: "Hear the mellow wedding bells" (line 3)
8. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
   Metaphor: "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence" (lines 23-24)
9. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
   Metaphor: "I am the fool, who should have thought it through" (line 50)
10. "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (line 60)
11. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
    Metaphor: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I / I took the one less traveled by" (lines 1-2)
12. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas
    Metaphor: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (line 3)
13. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons" (line 52)
14. "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (line 60)
15. "The Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman
    Metaphor: "I tramp a perpetual journey" (line 1)
16. "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
    Metaphor: "Hear the mellow wedding bells" (line 3)
17. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
    Metaphor: "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence" (lines 23-24)
18. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I am the fool, who should have thought it through" (line 50)
19. "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (line 60)
20. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
    Metaphor: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I / I took the one less traveled by" (lines 1-2)
21. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas
    Metaphor: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (line 3)
22. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons" (line 52)
23. "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (line 60)
24. "The Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman
    Metaphor: "I tramp a perpetual journey" (line 1)
25. "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
    Metaphor: "Hear the mellow wedding bells" (line 3)
26. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
    Metaphor: "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence" (lines 23-24)
27. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I am the fool, who should have thought it through" (line 50)
28. "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot
    Metaphor: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (line 60)
29. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
    Metaphor: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I / I took the one less traveled by" (lines 1-2)
30. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas
    Metaphor: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (line 3)

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