Metaphor

A metaphor is something we use in order in enhance our communications with one another. For instance, someone who doesn't understand clearly on how hard a piece of bread is. In the metaphor, the interpreter would say "the bread is a rock". Metaphors help define certain things people may not have learned or may have trouble interpreting. This is a literary technique which needs to be mastered before using it. In other terms, the person has to know how to use metaphors.

There are different types of metaphors, such as "Simile" and "Personification". Simile is basically like a metaphor, but with comparison of two unlike things using the words "like" or "as". For instance: "the leaves are red like apples". It compared apples to leaves using its color and by the word "like". This would help anybody understand how red the leaves were if they weren't there to observe in person, as if a story was being told. Personification is when the object is given human qualities. For instance: "The sun is smiling with a happy face". This helps the readers to understand how the sun is bright and shiny.

Metaphors are basically education and takes levels of mastery in order for anyone to understand anything that were to be said metaphorically. In order to learn metaphors, one must be able to understand them. This is relevant because one can't say "the shirt is sun" because it wouldn't make any sense. But to correct that, one must say "the shirt is as hot as a sun" or "the shirt brings the heat of a sun" because from there, anybody can understand. One must be grammatically correct in order to speak metaphorically.

To help the settings of a book for a reader to understand is to either use the metaphoric techniques as mentioned earlier. The metaphoric techniques are best used for books, television, and almost-everyday life. This is so because it helps the understanding of what others are trying to convey. Also, it helps the receiver understand almost everything everyday. Metaphoric techniques are a great way to interpret things if any other way is impossible. This is relevant to know because it isn't easy to understand when there is no definition to anything, only metaphorical definitions. Every poem has that metaphoric connection because it isn't understandable if there wasn't any metaphors, also wouldn't be called a poem.

Another metaphoric technique used is called "Anthropomorphism". Anthropomorphism is similar to personification. It is when animals and nature are given God/human-like characteristics. For example: "The angry forest made it so the traveler couldn't escape by blocking each exit with its poison ivy leaves". Anthropomorphism is in poems, but as for the one we're studying, there are not any.

Another metaphoric technique used is called "Hyperbole". Hyperbole is an exaggeration or overstatement of anything said or done. For example: "That man is as big as the world" or "That man is as fast as lightening". Hyperbole is a great example of a metaphor because it shows how much the author/narrator of a poem/story is expressing of the settings in the text. This makes a great example of a metaphoric technique.

Another great example of a metaphoric technique is a "Parable". Parable is a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson. For example: "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'". This is a great example because the story teaches the reader not to lie, and continue to lie and later expect someone to rescue when this lie becomes real. Parable is another way to get one's point across because it teaches a lesson to the reader in a way the reader will possibly understands. This is a great way one would call "Metaphoric Education".

One other great metaphoric technique is "Fable". Fable is a story in which there is a moral lesson to be learned. For example, the same one used for Parable, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". The moral lesson to this story is to never lie about anything or the worst can happen, even if that person is telling the truth. Fables are used for moral teachings and what and how people should live in their lives as human beings.

Another example of a metaphoric technique is "Animism". Animism is the belief that natural objects have souls that may exist apart from their material bodies. For example: Shinto religion practices animism. Examples of this: "The soul of this tree lives throughout this town" or "The spirit of the statue is keeping the town from harm". Animism is about what we can metaphorically see of an object, which in terms, can be educational.

The last metaphoric technique that will be spoken of is "Analogy". Analogy is a similarity or comparability between two things of like features. For instance: "the analogy between fly and wings", "the analogy between ball and bounce", and "the analogy between wet and water". Analogy expresses the similarities between the two common things. In other terms, the two things being compared has to have relations with the other.

In the metaphor we are currently studying, we will use the poem "The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower", by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953).

Another part of the poem with a metaphor:

The first stanza is interpreting how powerful a force is for instance, a waterfall. The following stanza is explaining what the writer of this poem feels in this setting, led by the first stanza. In other terms, the second stanza was an extended metaphor of the first one, even so the first stanza wasn't a metaphor, it assisted the second stanza. The meaning of the extended metaphor is that this person has adrenaline in them and they feel invincible. This person wants to interpret how they must feel inside of them and how it is relevant to reveal. It is also interpreting how he made a mistake that was obvious not to do.

Another metaphor in a stanza of this poem:

In the metaphor we are currently studying, we will use the poem "A Meditation for his Mistress". The first metaphor stated in this poem:

This metaphor is comparing possibly a person to a tulip. This "tulip's" characteristics are that it grows scarce and is rarely seen. That means this person was either avoiding the narrator/writer or just never seen in general. The narrator/writer is or would be expressing how this person is avoiding them and the narrator/writer notices it and may or may not respect it.

Another stanza in the poem using metaphoric technique:

This metaphor is interpreting that this person of who is metaphorically spoken of is loved, but he is moving on in life. That is not the only interpretation of this metaphor. It can also mean that he has no choice but to let her go.

A metaphor by E. E. Cummings to be interpreted:

This metaphor is interpreting how loneliness is similar to a leaf falling. In this metaphor, a leaf falling is a symbol of loneliness. This is an example of "Personification" because the leaf is inanimate (an object) and is given human qualities, such as loneliness. This metaphor is also an example of "Animism" because the leaf is given a soul, in order to have feelings. This metaphor is a great way to prove what anything can symbolize. This is an example of a symbolic metaphor.

Metaphors are great when it comes to either interpretation or education because people don't understand everything they see, so starting off with the basics, like metaphors, is a strategic way. It is easier to teach people metaphorically what they to learn/know because it isn't easy when it takes minutes-hours of what you can learn in seconds-minutes. Metaphors makes life easier and is a great factor in life, because if there was no metaphors, life would not be understood. A quote from "Menatl Health" by Leonard Holmes: "Some people see life as a battle. Every encounter is a struggle, and if they don't win, they feel like they have lost. Others view life as an adventure. A new day brings new opportunities to explore. If something goes badly today, there's always tomorrow." This quote is stating how people can learn new things and sort life out, based on metaphors. People live based on their everyday lives and metaphorically speaking of those. For instance: a building is a sign of a beginning, then adding rooms and floors. A building is a comparison to relationships and settlements. This is how people live and will continue to live because it's healthy and it's safe and better to live metaphorically.

davon81792@aol.com
© Davon Hinds 2010