Sentence:  Or , <WSD>equally</WSD> often , a concretistic seeming , particularistic seeming statement may consist , with its mundane exterior , in a form of poetry - may be full of meaning and emotion when interpreted as a figurative expression : a metaphor , a simile , an allegory , or some other symbolic mode of speaking . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  to the same degree (often followed by `as')