Question

Read this poem:

Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
she can ill afford the chances she must take
in rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging
a packing-case places, and almost any slope
defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,
she's often stuck up to the axle on her way
to something edible. With everything optimal,
she skirts the ditch which would convert
her shell into a serving dish. She lives
below luck-level, never imagining some lottery
will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
the sport of truly chastened things.

Kay Ryan, "Turtle"
Which words from the poem are an example of a metaphor?
A. will change her load of pottery to wings
B. almost any slope / defeats her modest hopes
C. she can ill afford the chances she must take
D. With everything optimal, / she skirts the ditch

Answer 1

a) will change her load of pottery to wings

Answer 2

Answer: A) will change her load of pottery to wings.

Explanation: a metaphor is a figure of speech that consists in making a direct comparison between elements that aren't obviously related, in order to create an image in the reader's mind. In the given lines from the poem "Turtle" we can see an example of a metaphor in the line "will change her load of pottery to wings" because it is comparing the turtle's shell to a load of pottery (without using the words "Like" or "as").