UGC-NET-English

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is directly described as another to highlight a resemblance, without using words like as or like.

Metaphor = direct identification
A is B (not like B)

The poet does not say the old man is like a tattered coat on a stick.

The poet directly calls the old man “a tattered coat upon a stick.”

This creates a vivid image of:
- extreme thinness
- physical decay
- lifelessness
- neglect or aging

Here, the old man’s entire being is equated with an object.
This direct substitution makes it a metaphor.