text: Metaphors are very effective ways of developing ideas in poems; one special form, the "extended metaphor," can be particularly effective in certain situations. An extended metaphor is a comparison that provides the basis for an entire poem or for a lengthy section of a poem; its value lies in keeping the reader's attention focused on a single clear image while at the same time allowing the writer to develop a number of different aspects of an idea.\n\nFor instance, look at "The Hound" by Robert Francis:\n\nLife the hound\nEquivocal\nComes at a bound\nEither to rend me\nOr to befriend me.\nI cannot tell\nThe hound's intent\nTill he has sprung\nAt my bare hand\nWith teeth or tongue.\nMeanwhile I stand\nAnd wait the event.\n\nThe poem begins by equating "life" and "the hound" and creating a clear image of the dog running towards the speaker (thereby giving tangible substance to the otherwise abstract "life"). The speaker cannot determine the dog's intention--whether it will attack or warmly greet--because its appearance is the same in either case. Only once things have progressed past the point where the speaker can effectively react does he learn which was the dog's intention, so that all he can do is to wait in uncertainty to learn which it is to be. By grounding the entire poem in a single specific, concrete, commonplace occurence, Francis is able to generalize about "life" without resorting to vague abstractions.\n\nand this is what an extended metaphor basicly is\n\nA metaphor brought up in the beginning of the poem is lust being of evil desire holding an image of sweet pleasure and deception. Lust is described as perjured, which means to tell a lie. As the feeling of lust makes you think its something romanticized, it's really not. Lust is also called "Murderous, bloody, full of blame, /savage extreme rude, cruel, not to trust" These descriptive words help the reader to understand that lust is to be blamed for caring a lie of emotions and feeling, during and before lust. In the poem, Shakespeare describes the desire "a bliss in proof" and then contradicts the statement by saying "A very woe". The contradiction is carried through out the poem in following lines. In the middle of the sonnet, the speaker voices " Past reason hunted" meaning the lust we find ourselves searching for with feelings, similar to love. "Past reason hated" being the remembrance of regret for such lust and unfolding the lies of what you thought you were feeling. \nIn conclusion, through out the poem, it's this battle of pleasure possessing evil qualities and lust masking itself to be pleasurable. It's a win, lose situation of emotions one must carry in one's personal indulgences.