Education English | Metaphor | Wren and Martin (1979:489) state that a metaphor is an implied simile. It does not, like the simile, state that one thing is like another or acts as another, but takes that for granted and proceeds as if the two things were one. The examples of metaphor according to Wren and Martin are:
a. He was lion in the fight
b. Life is dream
c. The camel is the ship of the desert.
Meanwhile, Etherton (1973:205) argues that a metaphor takes the comparison a stage further by saying that a person is doing something but in the fact he is not. Furthermore, Etherton (197:203) said that simile and metaphor are used to make an account or a description more interesting and vivid. They bring into a passage words which create a mental picture and thus enable the reader to visualize the scene more effectively. Etherton provides other examples of metaphor including:
a. People who live in glass houses shouldn‟t throw stones
b. Their party had a landslide victory during the election.
The sentence “He fought like a lion” is a simile but when the sentence is “He was a lion in the fight” is a metaphor. The next example is “the camel is the ship of the desert”, camel is actually not a ship. Thus, an indirect comparison is made between camel and ship. Other example, “People who live in glass houses shouldn‟t throw stones”, it means that people in a vulnerable position should not
attack others. A man who has been convicted of fraud is hardly in a position to criticize anybody who travels on the railway or a bus without paying for his ticket.
It doesn‟t mean that this man actually lives in glass house.
Meanwhile, some metaphors are not directly stated; they are merely suggested. These types of metaphors are called “implied metaphors.” There are also extended metaphors in which the comparison is drawn out throughout an entire poem (Silvestri, 2011). Furthermore, Karthik (2010) states that “a metaphor is a part of the figure of speech list in which two unlike entities are compared to convey some hidden message”. It is not just a comparison but an assertion of the entities that they are nearly something to which they are being compared.
According to Karthik (2010), there are eight types of metaphor. They are; absolute metaphor, complex metaphor, extended metaphor, implicit metaphor, mixed metaphor, pataphor, root metaphor and submerged metaphor. Absolute Metaphor: this is a metaphor in which there is little connection between the metaphorical sense and the actual entity. “A television set is the autobahn of a living room.” This is an example of an absolute metaphor where the object has absolutely no relation with the metaphor used for the former's assertion. The goals of such metaphorical usage are to confuse the readers and allow them to draw their own interpretations. Complex Metaphor: it is one that is used to identify with some other entity by layering over a simple metaphor. “Let me throw some light on this subject of philosophy.” This is an example of a complex metaphor where “throw some light” is used as metaphor to clear some point. In literary sense, there is actually no light. Extended Metaphor: this is a metaphor in which there is one primary subject and several other secondary objects used for comparison. “All the world's a stage and men and women merely players.” This is the famous line from William
Shakespeare‟s play “As you like it”. It is supposedly one of the best extended metaphor examples in literature. The world is described as a stage which is the primary entity and men and women are the subsidiary subjects who are a part of the stage.
Implicit Metaphor: as the name suggests, the core context of the text is not explicitly stated as it is implied as self understandable. “It was extremely hot during the day. We were almost roasted!”. This is an example of an implicit metaphor where the word, “roasted” means how hot it was during the day. Mixed Metaphor: mixed metaphor is a collection of metaphors which may not necessarily align well with each other. The usage of mixed metaphor is most of the time deliberate and spontaneous. Sometimes it is added a comic punch to the statements. “Driving down the dangerous terrains of Guatemala was nothing but playing with fire in the belly.” This is a mixed metaphor example in literature where driving has been compared with fire in the metaphorical sense. The other examples of mixed metaphor “Jenny was pretty cool the day before the Chemistry paper. She is weak in Chemistry and was never good at it. Jenny has topped the subject now. Needless to say, her aunt was her Chemistry teacher. I smell a rat for sure!” . The sentence “I smell a rat” is an instance of a mixed metaphor example in literature, where relating the "smelling a rat" to an instance has no logical
relation. Pataphor: It is an extreme metaphor. It goes way beyond in expressing a statement by using extensions of a simple metaphor. “James and Sandra are having a casual conversation where James coyly signals for a date. Sandra agrees to catch up on the coming Friday. Once she leaves, James messages Helen about going on a date on Thursday. James smiles as the message from Helen beeps
“Yes”. So finally he was done with his checkmating for the day!”. The pataphor is created by the word “checkmating”, where there is an imaginary chessboard with characters although there is no literary context of the game attached to it.
Root Metaphor: these are tricky metaphors hidden within a language. Root metaphors do not reveal explicitly as metaphors. At times these metaphors pave ways for other metaphors to spring from them. Root metaphors basically reflect the understanding of the individual about a particular situation. “The defense attorney - Mr Simon Andrews never misses on winning an argument.” The root metaphor is clear in the statement where an argument is analogous to war. There is a raw aggression factor attached to the statement where it says “winning an argument”. It gives an impression that there was a tiff in which one party succeeded in subduing the other.
Submerged Metaphor: this metaphor is an elaboration of a simple statement in an expressive way. When we are told about something, we always tend to imagine a bigger picture of it. So the metamorphic linking to the subject is expressed in a big way. “Even before the project started, Jenny's thoughts were already on the wings”. The relation of thoughts to wings is an example of a submerged metaphor where the thoughts are projected in a wider picture by comparing them with wings of a bird.
a. He was lion in the fight
b. Life is dream
c. The camel is the ship of the desert.
Meanwhile, Etherton (1973:205) argues that a metaphor takes the comparison a stage further by saying that a person is doing something but in the fact he is not. Furthermore, Etherton (197:203) said that simile and metaphor are used to make an account or a description more interesting and vivid. They bring into a passage words which create a mental picture and thus enable the reader to visualize the scene more effectively. Etherton provides other examples of metaphor including:
a. People who live in glass houses shouldn‟t throw stones
b. Their party had a landslide victory during the election.
The sentence “He fought like a lion” is a simile but when the sentence is “He was a lion in the fight” is a metaphor. The next example is “the camel is the ship of the desert”, camel is actually not a ship. Thus, an indirect comparison is made between camel and ship. Other example, “People who live in glass houses shouldn‟t throw stones”, it means that people in a vulnerable position should not
attack others. A man who has been convicted of fraud is hardly in a position to criticize anybody who travels on the railway or a bus without paying for his ticket.
It doesn‟t mean that this man actually lives in glass house.
Meanwhile, some metaphors are not directly stated; they are merely suggested. These types of metaphors are called “implied metaphors.” There are also extended metaphors in which the comparison is drawn out throughout an entire poem (Silvestri, 2011). Furthermore, Karthik (2010) states that “a metaphor is a part of the figure of speech list in which two unlike entities are compared to convey some hidden message”. It is not just a comparison but an assertion of the entities that they are nearly something to which they are being compared.
According to Karthik (2010), there are eight types of metaphor. They are; absolute metaphor, complex metaphor, extended metaphor, implicit metaphor, mixed metaphor, pataphor, root metaphor and submerged metaphor. Absolute Metaphor: this is a metaphor in which there is little connection between the metaphorical sense and the actual entity. “A television set is the autobahn of a living room.” This is an example of an absolute metaphor where the object has absolutely no relation with the metaphor used for the former's assertion. The goals of such metaphorical usage are to confuse the readers and allow them to draw their own interpretations. Complex Metaphor: it is one that is used to identify with some other entity by layering over a simple metaphor. “Let me throw some light on this subject of philosophy.” This is an example of a complex metaphor where “throw some light” is used as metaphor to clear some point. In literary sense, there is actually no light. Extended Metaphor: this is a metaphor in which there is one primary subject and several other secondary objects used for comparison. “All the world's a stage and men and women merely players.” This is the famous line from William
Shakespeare‟s play “As you like it”. It is supposedly one of the best extended metaphor examples in literature. The world is described as a stage which is the primary entity and men and women are the subsidiary subjects who are a part of the stage.
Implicit Metaphor: as the name suggests, the core context of the text is not explicitly stated as it is implied as self understandable. “It was extremely hot during the day. We were almost roasted!”. This is an example of an implicit metaphor where the word, “roasted” means how hot it was during the day. Mixed Metaphor: mixed metaphor is a collection of metaphors which may not necessarily align well with each other. The usage of mixed metaphor is most of the time deliberate and spontaneous. Sometimes it is added a comic punch to the statements. “Driving down the dangerous terrains of Guatemala was nothing but playing with fire in the belly.” This is a mixed metaphor example in literature where driving has been compared with fire in the metaphorical sense. The other examples of mixed metaphor “Jenny was pretty cool the day before the Chemistry paper. She is weak in Chemistry and was never good at it. Jenny has topped the subject now. Needless to say, her aunt was her Chemistry teacher. I smell a rat for sure!” . The sentence “I smell a rat” is an instance of a mixed metaphor example in literature, where relating the "smelling a rat" to an instance has no logical
relation. Pataphor: It is an extreme metaphor. It goes way beyond in expressing a statement by using extensions of a simple metaphor. “James and Sandra are having a casual conversation where James coyly signals for a date. Sandra agrees to catch up on the coming Friday. Once she leaves, James messages Helen about going on a date on Thursday. James smiles as the message from Helen beeps
“Yes”. So finally he was done with his checkmating for the day!”. The pataphor is created by the word “checkmating”, where there is an imaginary chessboard with characters although there is no literary context of the game attached to it.
Root Metaphor: these are tricky metaphors hidden within a language. Root metaphors do not reveal explicitly as metaphors. At times these metaphors pave ways for other metaphors to spring from them. Root metaphors basically reflect the understanding of the individual about a particular situation. “The defense attorney - Mr Simon Andrews never misses on winning an argument.” The root metaphor is clear in the statement where an argument is analogous to war. There is a raw aggression factor attached to the statement where it says “winning an argument”. It gives an impression that there was a tiff in which one party succeeded in subduing the other.
Submerged Metaphor: this metaphor is an elaboration of a simple statement in an expressive way. When we are told about something, we always tend to imagine a bigger picture of it. So the metamorphic linking to the subject is expressed in a big way. “Even before the project started, Jenny's thoughts were already on the wings”. The relation of thoughts to wings is an example of a submerged metaphor where the thoughts are projected in a wider picture by comparing them with wings of a bird.
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