13. Figure of speech - Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated, but which share some common characteristics. 

 

Metaphors are used to dramatize thoughts to emphasize and elevate the expression to a higher intensity. Recorded from the late 15th century, the word comes via French and Latin from Greek metaphora, from metapherein ‘to transfer’

 

Metaphors have comparison which is indirect. For instance, the sentence, "Riya is like a tigress" is a simile and the sentence "Riya is a tigress" is a metaphor. While both the sentences mean the same, we can easily understand that "Riya" is compared to a tigress in a more prominent and direct tone in the first sentence. In the second sentence, it looks as if the speaker is saying that Riya is a tigress rather than she looks or behaves like one.