Meaning & use
overarching metaphor
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A single image or comparison that runs through and connects a whole work, argument, or period.
Grammar: Countable: an overarching metaphor, the overarching metaphor of the novel.
Patterns
- an overarching metaphor for something
- the overarching metaphor of a work
- use something as an overarching metaphor
The journey is an overarching metaphor for the character's growth.
Critics see the storm as the novel's overarching metaphor.
The director used light and darkness as an overarching metaphor.
Word forms
| plural | overarching metaphors |
|---|
Common combinations
- an overarching metaphor for
- The river is an overarching metaphor for the flow of time.
- the overarching metaphor of the play
- The overarching metaphor of the play is the stage as a prison.
- serve as an overarching metaphor
- The empty house serves as an overarching metaphor for loss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- central metaphor
- Similar, but central metaphor simply means the main one; overarching stresses that it covers and connects everything.
- extended metaphor
- An extended metaphor is developed at length; an overarching metaphor is the one that unifies the whole work.
Word family
- overarch verb
- To form an arch over or to include everything.
- metaphor noun
- A comparison that describes one thing as another.
Commonly confused: overarching metaphor or overreaching metaphor?
overarching metaphor vs overreaching metaphor
Overreaching means trying to do too much; overarching means covering everything.
Practice
What is an overarching metaphor?
Choose one answer.
An overarching metaphor is a unifying comparison that appears throughout a work, not just a single line or a difficult image.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overarching metaphor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.