Metaphors. Could you imagine writing without making the use of this very effective literary tool? The ability to compare one thing to a completely different thing because they share the same quality is helpful in adding a dimension of creativity to writing.
Before we can investigate metaphors, however, it is very important to distinguish them from similes. Similes function the same way that metaphors do only they use as or like in their comparisons.
Perhaps it is because I am from the South but I do love similes. It might also be because similes are much more obvious way to compare something. The reader still has to engage their brain to make the connection but they know exactly what they are comparing. For example,
“All of the chatter and noise that surrounded her was like a hive of bees in her head, a hive that had been knocked down from a tree by a little boy wielding a very big stick.”
In this simile the reader knows, thanks to the word like, the noise and chatter are being compared to a hive of buzzing bees. Now on to metaphors.
Sometimes metaphors can be overt and obvious. For example in Shakespeare’s most well-known sonnet, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day, it is perfectly clear what Shakespeare is comparing the girl to. She is being compared and given the same qualities as a summer’s day. In line nine he writes, “But thy eternal summer shall not fade. The eternal summer is her beauty
Other metaphors are not explicit but implicit. Nothing Gold Can Stay is a perfect example of a metaphor that is not explicitly stated.
In the poem, Robert Frost compares the “seasons” of nature to the “seasons” of our lives.
“Nature’s first green is gold” is a metaphor for spring which is a metaphor for our youth, the first green being equated to gold which is one of the purest medals.
“Her early leaf’s a flower” is a metaphor for the beauty found in youth, the smooth unwrinkled skin, the firmness, the color, the vibrancy…
“Then leaf subsides to leaf” is a metaphor for the passing of time while “So Eden sank to grief” is a metaphor for death. When Adam and Eve tasted the apple, that is when death entered the world.
Robert Frost could have easily constructed a very straight forward poem about death. Would he have won the Nobel Prize? Probably not. Metaphors help to paint the picture in a fresh and sometimes unusual way. It is a way to breathe life and new meaning into something.
Metaphors are not strictly limited to poetry. A wonderful example of the power of metaphors in prose can be found in Prelude:
Although a year later, when Aiden finally did leave, she would discover that there had been a hole deep within her heart all along that she had not noticed. It had been covered with vines of apathy, and bitter brush so that it had gone unnoticed. And that hole contained all of the pain she had felt through the years. When Aiden finally left there was a great trembling inside of her that caused the pain to explode from this hole like a great geyser. And as if she were some tourist staring in awe and disbelief at Old Faithful, she stared in disbelief at herself. As the pain that had erupted from deep inside of her rained down and saturated her whole being, Maggie stared in wonder. She could feel after all. And it hurt…like hell.
A character’s emotional pain is important to covey with oomph. This will allow the reader to become more invested. In this passage, her heart is being compared to a hole, her indifference to her marriage is being compared to bitter brush and vines of apathy, and the pain that is eventually released from her heart is compared to a geyser bursting through the ground. Metaphors are a great way to show the reader what is happening as opposed to simply telling them.
Metaphors also require an added level of participation from the reader. The reader is asked to stretch their minds and delve further into the subject, looking at things in a new way. As a writer I also think metaphors help to keep the story with the reader longer. The associations stay with the reader long after they have turned the page. Especially now as the autumn leaves have begun their descent, I can hardly walk down the tow path next to the river without hearing the words of Frost’s poem echoing in my head.
Bibliography
"Certainly Candid." : Nothing Gold Can Stay. 23 June 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Wilson, Maureen. "What’s Up Wednesday and a GIVEAWAY!" The Speech Bubble. 17 July 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
LiteraryDevices Editors. “Metaphor” LiteraryDevices.net. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Clark, Mary. The Structure of English Language for Readers, Writers, and Teachers. 2nd ed. Glen Allen: College, 2010. 370. Print.
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