Question

What is the figure speech of life is a tale told by an idiot

Answer 1

It is a metaphor.

Metaphor and simile are two most common figures of speech. They compare things which are usually considered to be unlike each other.

A metaphor implicitly compares two unlike things. It does not use words such as 'like' or 'as'. Macbeth uses metaphors when he says that life is a:

'brief candle'

'walking shadow'

'poor player'

'tale told by an idiot'

A simile makes an explicit comparison between two things it uses words such as 'appears', 'seems', 'than', 'as', 'like'. 

Answer 2

The figure of speech used in 'life is a tale told by an idiot' is METAPHOR. Here 'Life' has been compared to a 'tale'.

Metaphor: Metaphor is a word or phrase used to describe a person or something else in a way that is different from its normal use, in order to show that the two things have the same qualities and to make the description more powerful, for example ‘She has a heart of stone.’