Metaphor
From W100Wiki
METAPHOR
--the most important and widespread figure of speech, in which one thing, idea, or action is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing, idea, or action, so as to suggest some common quality shared by the two.
Cited from: "metaphor" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Christopher Baldick. Oxford University Press, 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Temple University. 31 January 2007
A metaphor is different from a simile because it does not have a connective word (like or as) that links the two distinct things together.
Another definition:
--a figure of speech (more specifically a trope) that associates two distinct things; the representation of one thing by another. The image (or activity or concept) used to represent or "figure" something else is the vehicle of the figure of speech; the thing represented is called the tenor.
Cited from: "metaphor" The Bedford Glossray of Critical and Literary Terms. Murfin, Ross. Bedford: New York, 2003. p. 260-262.
For example, in Adrienne Rich's poem 'Diving into the Wreck', she writes, "The words are maps," (line 54). The "words" are the tenor of the metaphor and the "maps" are the vehicle. The image of the maps is used to describe the words, that the words are what guides her and shows her the way. By using a metaphor here, Rich is saying that not only are the words being closely studied like a map but that each word is perhaps its own little map and the connection of one word to another reveals an overall direction or meaning that is meant to guide the speaker of the poem, who is "diving into the wreck".
Also from the Bedford Glossary -- Metaphors may be classifed as direct or implied. A direct metaphor specifies both tenor and vehicle. An implied metaphor, by contrast, mentions only the vehicle; the tenor is implied by the context of the sentence or passage.
Example -- A direct metaphor would be "The words are maps," because both the tenor (words) and the vehicle (maps) are included. An implied metaphor would be something like this line from Keats' "Ode to a Grecian Urn": "What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape," (line 5). In this metaphor, only the vehicle (haunts) is included. What exactly "haunts" refers to must be implied by the reader. We can imagine that in this line Keats was describing the pictures on the urn as "haunting", a ghostly presence on the urn, as an entity that was once living and now continues on to retell its story.
Also from the Bedford Glossary definition -- A dead metaphor is a phrase that - although a metaphor - is no longer recognized as such because it has become so familiar.
Example of dead metaphor -- "In the thick of it all" is a phrase commonly used in speech, so much so that no one would really think to call it a metaphor.
Also from Bedford -- A mixed metaphor exists when more than one vehicle is used to represent the same tenor. What makes this type of metaphor truly "mixed" is the (sometimes incongruous) presence of multiple - and very different - vehicles.
Example of mixed metaphor -- "A storm of shadows shines upon me." This is my own example of mixed metaphor, showing how a mixed metaphor can seem poetic but can also be contradictory in the two vehicles that are used, "a storm of shadows" that "shines".
Metaphor -- A poem by Sylvia Plath
--Lindsay 16:04, 31 January 2007 (EST)
