Literary terms · AP English Literature, AP English Language, SAT Reading and Writing, ACT Reading
Conceit
Conceit: An elaborate or surprising extended metaphor that compares two very different things.
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What it means
A conceit sustains an unusual comparison over several lines or a whole poem, often working out the comparison in ingenious detail. Metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century are known for conceits that link love or faith to scientific instruments, maps or geometry.
The surprise of a conceit is part of its meaning: it asks readers to see a familiar emotion from an unexpected angle.
Example
A poem that compares two separated lovers to the legs of a drawing compass, one fixed and one moving, but always joined, is a famous kind of conceit.
On the exam
If a poem sustains a comparison, trace how the comparison develops and changes across the poem.