methaphor

Metaphor

hello guys back again in my blog.for this time iwill explain about metaphor lets see!

Definition of Metaphor

A metaphor is a rhetorical figure of speech that compares two subjects without the use of “like” or “as.” Metaphor is often confused with simile, which compares two subjects by connecting them with “like” or “as” (for example: “She’s fit as a fiddle”). While a simile states that one thing is like another, a metaphor asserts that one thing is the other, or is a substitute for theA metaphor asserts a correlation or resemblance between two things that are otherwise unrelated. The English word “metaphor” originates from the Greek metaphorá, which means “to transfer” or “to carry over.” Indeed, a metaphor transfers meaning from one subject on to another so that the target subject can be understood in a new way.
Rhetoricians have further elaborated on the definition of metaphor by separating and naming the two key elements. There are a few different sets of names for these two parts: they can be called the “tenor” and the “vehicle”, the “ground” and the “figure”, or the “target” and the “source”. Consider this famous example of a metaphor from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.

In this example, the world is the primary subject, and it gains attributes from the stage (ie, from theater). Thus, in the binary pairs, the world is the “tenor,” the “ground,” and the “target,” while the stage is the “vehicle,” the “figure,” and the “source.”

Difference between Metaphor and Simile, and Other Types of Analogies

Metaphor is a type of analogy, which is a class of rhetorical figures of speech that creates comparisons between different objects. Other examples of analogies are similes, allegories, hyperboles, and puns. Here are the key differences between these different terms:

• Simile: As stated above, a simile posits a likeness or similarity between two things by connecting them with “like” or “as.” Since a metaphor asserts that one thing is, in fact, identical to another it is often considered a stronger form of analogy than a simile. For example, stating, “Frank is a pig” is a stronger statement of disgust than “Frank is like a pig.”
• Allegory: An allegory is a complete story that uses an extended metaphor throughout the entire story to illustrate complex ideas in a comprehensible way. George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is an allegory that uses the extended metaphor of animals starting a revolution on their farm to characterize the figures of the Russian Revolution.
• Hyperbole: Hyperbole compares or describes things in an exaggerated way for the sake of emphasis. It is common, for example, to pronounce, “I’m starving” when one is merely hungry or “I’m freezing” when one is quite cold. The state of starvation is much more dire than mere hunger, and so we say we are starving to emphasize the need for food.
• Pun: Like metaphor, a pun uses comparison to create cognitive links between two things. The difference between the two terms is that a pun does so for comedic effect. For example: “I’m glad I know sign language, it’s pretty handy.” In this pun, the word “handy” refers both to the usefulness of sign language and also to the fact that sign language relies on the speakers’ hands.

Examples of Metaphor from Common Speech

Many common sayings are metaphors. Here are just a few examples:

• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
• It was raining cats and dogs.
• Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
• People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
• A watched pot never boils.

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Significance of Metaphor in Literature

Metaphor is a key component of all forms of literature, including poetry, prose, and drama. This is not only because metaphor is a highly useful literary device, but also because it is such a vital part of all language and communication. Many cognitive theorists have researched and written about the importance of metaphor in the way we understand the world around us. For example, in western culture the phrase “time is money” is quite prevalent. This is not just a cliché, though; we talk about time in terms of wasting it, spending it, saving it, and so on. The metaphorical comparison of these two concepts ends up influencing the way people in cultures actually perceive time.

Example

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,
starving hysterical naked…
…who disappeared into the volcanoes of Mexico leaving behind
nothing but the shadow of dungarees and the lava and ash of
poetry scattered in fireplace Chicago.

(“Howl” by Allen Ginsberg)
Allen Ginsberg’s 1955 poem “Howl” contains hallucinatory images and wild descriptions. In this particularly vivid excerpt, Ginsberg slides from the imagery of Mexican volcanoes to the “lava and ash of poetry” left behind in fireplaces. The unexpected juxtaposition of these two images is a good example of how metaphor can work to broaden a reader’s conceptual base for a concept, in this case about poetry.

 references http://www.literarydevices.com/metaphor/