Take the 2-minute tour ×  What makes an individual metaphor a
good illustration of a complex idea as opposed to a "bad"
metaphor that doesn't do the job of painting a picture with
alternate words?  share|improve this question add comment  3
Answers  up vote 5 down vote accepted  Well, first off, it
should be a metaphor, not a simile. :) Ahem...  A great metaphor
recasts the familiar or mundane as something strikingly
different yet truly parallel. It gives a startlingly vivid
picture or brings a surprising insight. A bad metaphor fails to
achieve the parallel, or the fresh insight, or both. The element
of surprise is an important part of a great metaphor. If we saw
it coming from a paragraph away, it is far less effective; a
metaphor can be bad merely because it is a cliche.  Some
personal favorites:  "The wind was a torrent of darkness among
the gusty trees/The moon was a ghostly galleon, tossed upon
cloudy seas" (Noyes)  "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon
the window-panes" (T.S. Eliot)  "Life's but a wa