All 11 Uses of
metaphor
in
Politics and the English Language
- I list below, with notes and examples, various of the tricks by means of which the work of prose-construction is habitually dodged: DYING METAPHORS.†
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- A newly-invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image, while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically "dead" (e.g., IRON RESOLUTION) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness.†
- A newly-invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image, while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically "dead" (e.g., IRON RESOLUTION) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness.†
- But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves.†
- , and incompatible metaphors are frequently mixed, a sure sign that the writer is not interested in what he is saying.†
- Some metaphors now current have been twisted out of their original meaning without those who use them even being aware of the fact.†
- By using stale metaphors, similes and idioms, you save much mental effort at the cost of leaving your meaning vague, not only for your reader but for yourself.†
- This is the significance of mixed metaphors.†
- The sole aim of a metaphor is to call up a visual image.†
- There is a long list of fly-blown metaphors which could similarly be got rid of if enough people would interest themselves in the job; and it should also be possible to laugh the NOT 'UN-' formation out of existence, [Note, below] to reduce the amount of Latin and Greek in the average sentence, to drive out foreign phrases and strayed scientific words, and, in general, to make pretentiousness unfashionable.†
- I think the following rules will cover most cases: (i) Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.†
Definition:
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(metaphor) a figure of speech in which a similarity between two things is highlighted by using a word to refer to something that it does not literally denote -- as when Shakespeare wrote, "All the world’s a stage"
When Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players." he was not saying the world is really a stage and all people are actors. But he was pointing to the similarities he wants us to recognize.editor's notes: While metaphors and similes are both techniques of figurative language. The distinction is that a simile explicitly shows that a comparison is being made, by using words such as "like" or "as". A metaphor simply substitutes words assuming the reader will understand the meaning should not be take literally. "She is like a diamond in the rough" is a simile; while "She is a diamond in the rough" is a metaphor.