Question

Read "Riches" by Sara Teasdale. Which two lines in the poem contain metaphors? I have no riches but my thoughts, Yet these are wealth enough for me; My thoughts of you are golden coins Stamped in the mint of memory; And I must spend them all in song, For thoughts, as well as gold, must be Left on the hither side of death To gain their immortality.

Answer 1

The lines that contain metaphors are:

1)“My thoughts of you are golden coins”

2) “Stamped in the mint of memory”

A metaphor is a literary device that makes an implicit comparison between unrelated items or ideas. Despite of the fact that they seem to differ in many respects, there is a hidden connection between them. It differs from others figures of speech; namely Simile as it refers to an explicit comparison (use of “like” or “as”) that is established between to ideas or items.

In this particular poem, the author says that her thought is a very valuable treasure to her, especially because they are related to a special person to her. For this reason, the author makes a comparison between her thoughts and the treasured golden coins. Then, she continues adding another metaphor. She says that these precious memories will never disappear as they kept in her memory as golden coins are safe and properly stored in a mint.

Answer 2

My thoughts of you are golden coins