Metaphor
Therebroad categoriesfigurative language whichclassified as metaphorical (see Literalfigurative language). The more common meaningmetaphor isfigurespeech thatusedpaint one concept withattributes normally associatedanother. "X ismetaphorY" means that Ypainted withattributesX.
All metaphors can be analyzedreduced toequation "X equals Y." Exampleseveryday languge abound.
The expression, "You aresunshinemy life" equates someone's belovedsunshine; something thatimpossibleliteral terms unless that person becomesballnuclear fusion. The expression "candle inwind" likens life's fragilityan extinguished candle.
"Life infast lane" (left lanefreeway =fast and/or hectic pace), or "bowels ofship" (intestines =inner holds ofship) or "drowningmoney" (drowning = having too much), or "beating your head againstwall" (beating your head = taking ineffectual actions;wall =problem), or "he's still wet behindears" (he has not completely dried yet, he's still fresh/new), or "Luca Brasi sleeps withfishes" (sleeping where fish live = being dead).
In political discussions,shipoften taken asmetaphoran entire nation;so-called "shipstate". This metaphor likensnation toship. It implies that, just asship needscaptainmake decisions, give orders,coordinatecontrolship's voyage, sonation must havegovernmentcoordinatecontrolnation's business. Therefore, referring tonation as"shipstate," emphasizesneed that nations havesome kindgovernment.
Metaphorusually distinguished from simile. Both compare two seemingly unrelated objects, but, inlatter,comparisonmade more explicit, usually throughuse ofwords "like" or "as". "Lifebutdream" ismetaphor,example, while "getting money from himlike pulling teeth" issimile.
Metaphorone ofmost common figuresspeechmany words have their originmetaphor. Whenmetaphorso common that people usually take itgranted, itcalleddead metaphor. Understanding,example, isdead metaphor, having its origins inidea that "standing under" something was akinhavinggood graspit (another, slightly less dead metaphor) or knowingthoroughly.
Metaphorsseen as very powerful tools becauseallow forexpressionabstract principles by referenceconcretes. They can also be dangerousunderstanding,that people may failrecognizefigurative nature ofmetaphor,cometakeliterally.
Onother hand, since so many, many wordsdead metaphors, attemptingavoid them entirely would endsilence. For instance, consideration ismetaphor meaning "takestars into account", mantel means "cloak or hoodcatch smoke", gorge means throat,so forththousands more.
The mixed metaphor entails using two living metaphorsobvious conflict, such as: "That wet blanket isloose cannon"; "Strike whileironinfire"; or (said by an administrator whose government-department's budget was slashed) "Now we can just kiss that program right downdrain". Onother hand,refer tophotograph enlarged too much as "a grainy shot"notmixed metaphor, even though bothgrain andshot were originally metaphorical.
Many consider metaphorbe atheartpoetry (or evendefinepart whatmeansbe human):figurespeech that links dissimilar objectstheir resemblance. For example, Emily Dickinson uses "the white assassin" asmetaphorfrost. Ground may haveblanketsnow where blanket ismetaphorcover.
Originally, metaphor wasGreek word meaning "transfer". The Greek etymologyfrom meta, implying "a change"pherein meaning "to bear, or carry". Thus,word metaphor itself hasmetaphorical meaningEnglish, "a transfermeaning from one thinganother".
