Super Glossary

Metaphor

Entertainment / Literature / Metaphor: A comparison or analogy stated in such a way as to imply that one object is another one, figuratively speaking. When we speak of 'the ladder of success,' we imply that being successful is much like climbing a ladder to a higher and better position. Another example comes from an old television add from the 1980s urging teenagers not to try drugs. The camera would focus on a close-up of a pair of eggs and a voice would state 'This is your brain.' In the next sequence, the eggs would be cracked and thrown onto a hot skillet, where the eggs would bubble, burn, and seeth. The voice would state, 'This is your brain on drugs.' The point of the comparison is fairly clear. A metaphor is an example of a rhetorical trope. Another example is how Martin Luther wrote, 'A mighty fortress is our God, / A bulwark never failing.' (Mighty fortress and bulwark are the two metaphors for God in these lines.) Often, a metaphor suggests something symbolic in its imagery. For instance, Wordsworth uses a metaphor when he states of England, 'she is a fen of stagnant waters,' which implies something about the state of political affairs in England as well as the island's biomes. Sometimes, the metaphor can be emotionally powerful, such as John Donne's use of metaphor in 'Twickenham Garden,' where he writes, 'And take my tears, which are love's wine' (line 20). A particularly unusual metaphor that requires some explanation on the writer's part is often called a metaphysical conceit. The subject (first item) in a metaphoric statement is known as the tenor. The combination of two different metaphors into a single, awkward image is called a 'mixed metaphor' or abusio. See also tenor and contrast with simile.
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