Metaphor theory, observes John Bird, is like Mark Twain: both seem simple upon first introduction. Now, in the most complete study to date of Twain's use of figurative language, a veteran Twain scholar tackles the core of his writing and explores it with theoretical approaches that have rarely been applied to Twain, providing new insights into how he imagined his world--and the singular ways in which he expressed himself.

From "The Jumping Frog" to the late dream narratives, Bird considers Twain's metaphoric construction over his complete career and especially sheds new light on...