What is a figure of speech in which things are compared by stating that one thing another?

A figure of speech in which things are compared by stating that one thing is another is called a metaphor. A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things that actually have something in common. For example, we might say that "love is a battlefield" or that "time is a river." In the first example, love is being compared to a battlefield, and in the second example, time is being compared to a river.