Metaphor, << MEHT uh fuhr or MEHT uh fawr, >> a figure of speech, is an expression taken from one field of experience and used to say something in another field. For example, when we say, “He’s a sly fox,” we are using metaphor. That is, we are using the name of an animal to describe a man. A metaphor suggests a comparison without using the word like or as. The statement “He is like a sly fox” or “He is sly as a fox” is a simile (see Simile ).
Loading the player...Shakespeare's As You Like It: Jaques
Everyday speech is rich in metaphors. If we ask someone, “Did you land a job today?” the reply may be, “No, not a bite. ” These words from the special language of fishing are used to express thoughts about job-hunting. Common words actually develop new senses when they are repeatedly used as metaphors. For instance, we hardly realize that in the phrase “table leg,” the word leg was originally a metaphor. But when told not to “make pigs of yourselves,” we are probably aware of the unpleasant comparison the metaphor suggests.
Metaphors are important in the speech of politicians, scientists, and journalists. In 1946, Sir Winston Churchill used the now-famous phrase “iron curtain” to describe an international problem. Scientists speak of the “wave theory of light.” And the phrase “priming the pump” is sometimes used to refer to government spending to stimulate a nation’s business and industry. In each case, the metaphor has been an important tool of thought.
Great works of literature are enriched by metaphor. Psalm 23 of the Bible is based on a metaphor. It begins with the words, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and suggests the relation of God to humanity by considering the relation of a shepherd to sheep. The plays of Shakespeare contain brilliant metaphors, such as the passage in As You Like It beginning, “All the world’s a stage.”
Mixed metaphors, using two or more unrelated metaphors in the same expression, are often unintentionally amusing. An example: “I smell a rat, but we shall nip it in the bud.”
