Definition, Usage and a list of Conceit Examples in common speech and literature. Conceit is a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similes or metaphors.

Conceit Examples. The examples below are of Petrarchan conceits and metaphysical conceits. To see examples of conceits that are just plain extended metaphors, check out the LitCharts entry on extended metaphors. Example of Conceit in Spenser's "Epithalamion" This long poem by Edmund Spenser makes use of Petrarchan conceit throughout.

Commonly used in 14th to 17th century literature, conceit uses drastic comparison to make powerful metaphors. Find out how famous writers like John Donne and William Shakespeare used conceit to really bring their writing to life.

As a literary device, a conceit uses an extended metaphor that compares two very dissimilar things. A conceit is often elaborate and controls a large section of a poem or the entire poem. Conceits are often quite unique and ingenuous, and can present striking juxtaposition and comparison of the unlike things.