Famous highly metaphorical writers

[SpearthrowerOwl]

I've been wondering this question for a while, but I'm not around enough literary enthusiasts to really ask this question to a more knowledgable crowd. Luckily I have discovered this forum, and so I'm going to give it a shot.

I'm looking for the most notable examples of famous authors whom most epitomize a highly metaphorical style of writing. Basically I'm searching for famous authors (in the leagues of Fitzgerald, Orwell, Twain, etc.) that are the most prominent examples in literature of highly skilled and concentrated usage of creative metaphors as major explanatory elements in writing.

So for example, I could try to describe Africa and its relation to the history of mankind: "Africa, once man's initial place of residency, what happened here tens of thousands of years ago would lead to the eventual development and ascendency of the now ubiquitous modern man." Instead, I chose a simple, concise, smart metaphor to quickly get to the bottom of things quickly and quite clearly: "Africa - the cradle of civilization." Everyone is already familiar with cradles, thus much explanation is compactly contained, and further the description couldn't be stated better or in a more available way. Further, metaphorical writing is a spice of life, some clever metaphors can make you smile; others reclaim associations between ideas perhaps previously obscured by some quippy half-baked political propaganda or otherwise misleading metaphor; some even transcend the age as quote worthy, concise, precision descriptive materials.

Which famous authors feature the most prominent display of expert metaphorical usage? I'm looking to develop a highly metaphorical style of writing, thus I'm in the market for some famous examples in history to study. Thanks for any replies, it will probably help a lot. I studied physics in college and know little to nothing about writing; I also haven't read enough famous/classic works in literature to discover the existence of this writer myself.

Please keep in mind the constraint that I'm looking for fairly famous authors in history. I'd also prefer writers of novels over writers of poetry.

And yes, I'm trying to write about politics. In this realm of writing, good metaphors can really lift the veil of illusion and promote honest rhetoric.

[delrem]

1. I know that in 'Moby Dick' the white whale is metaphor for something.

But what??

I say "The cradle of civilization" and I know the metaphor is pretty much as you say.
I say "Moby Dick" and I don't know.