Post by rahrah on Apr 11, 2021 21:34:11 GMT -5
WHAT IS A METAPHOR?
According to Wikipedia:
A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another for rhetorical effect. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas.
And according to Merriam-Webster:
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money); broadly : figurative language
And per the Free Dictionary:
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare).
You can find definitions online, it’s as easy as pie…which is a simile, not a metaphor.
WHAT IS A METAPHOR NOT?
There may be different ideas about what a metaphor is, but one thing is clear as crystal: A metaphor is not literally the thing it describes. A metaphor usually captures some salient aspect of a thing, but never comprehensively or definitively defines or describes the thing. A real thing is both more and less than the metaphors that describe one or another aspect of it.
The Bard suggests “All the world’s a stage.” In a loose, poetical sense, one can say we enter, play our parts, and exit. But a stage is less than the world: Many things happen in the world that don’t happen on a stage. And a stage is more than the world: A focused microcosm of life can be played out in a controlled way there, in a way that doesn’t happen outside the theater, so that we can examine it and try to comprehend it. Our lives may resemble the parts played by actors, but only to a limited extent. In fact, the more closely we look at the world, the less it resembles a stage.
A metaphor is meaningful up to a point, but the metaphor is not the thing. The same metaphor that helps us gain an initial grasp of a new subject can lead us far astray from a deep understanding of that subject, if we cling too closely to the metaphor.
It’s interesting to me that we sling buzzwords around as if we were talking about real things, when in fact the buzzwords are only metaphors. Often it seems as if people who learned about a thing via a metaphor don’t realize they’re talking about a metaphor, and believe their familiarity with the metaphor is in fact a proper and deep understanding of the thing.
Similarly, people may be led astray into analyzing, extending, and perfecting a metaphor at the cost of ignoring, undervaluing, or even undermining the thing it represents.
HOW DOES METAPHOR AID IN UNDERSTANDING?
People tend to learn by example faster and more easily than through formalized abstractions, particularly when they are trying to gain an initial understanding of an unfamiliar subject. Once a person has a general grasp of a new concept, they are in a position to comprehend the formalized abstractions that provide deeper understanding of the subject.
A metaphor can serve as a useful mental hook (metaphor: there are no actual hooks in our brains) when we need to gain a basic understanding of an unfamiliar topic, but trouble ensues when we forget it’s a metaphor and start to think of it as the thing it represents. We start to perfect the metaphor, extend it beyond its intended meaning, and gloss over (metaphor: we don’t apply gloss) aspects of the thing that don’t quite line up with the metaphor itself. Once we start to do that, we lose track of the thing.
According to Wikipedia:
A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another for rhetorical effect. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas.
And according to Merriam-Webster:
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money); broadly : figurative language
And per the Free Dictionary:
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare).
You can find definitions online, it’s as easy as pie…which is a simile, not a metaphor.
WHAT IS A METAPHOR NOT?
There may be different ideas about what a metaphor is, but one thing is clear as crystal: A metaphor is not literally the thing it describes. A metaphor usually captures some salient aspect of a thing, but never comprehensively or definitively defines or describes the thing. A real thing is both more and less than the metaphors that describe one or another aspect of it.
The Bard suggests “All the world’s a stage.” In a loose, poetical sense, one can say we enter, play our parts, and exit. But a stage is less than the world: Many things happen in the world that don’t happen on a stage. And a stage is more than the world: A focused microcosm of life can be played out in a controlled way there, in a way that doesn’t happen outside the theater, so that we can examine it and try to comprehend it. Our lives may resemble the parts played by actors, but only to a limited extent. In fact, the more closely we look at the world, the less it resembles a stage.
A metaphor is meaningful up to a point, but the metaphor is not the thing. The same metaphor that helps us gain an initial grasp of a new subject can lead us far astray from a deep understanding of that subject, if we cling too closely to the metaphor.
It’s interesting to me that we sling buzzwords around as if we were talking about real things, when in fact the buzzwords are only metaphors. Often it seems as if people who learned about a thing via a metaphor don’t realize they’re talking about a metaphor, and believe their familiarity with the metaphor is in fact a proper and deep understanding of the thing.
Similarly, people may be led astray into analyzing, extending, and perfecting a metaphor at the cost of ignoring, undervaluing, or even undermining the thing it represents.
HOW DOES METAPHOR AID IN UNDERSTANDING?
People tend to learn by example faster and more easily than through formalized abstractions, particularly when they are trying to gain an initial understanding of an unfamiliar subject. Once a person has a general grasp of a new concept, they are in a position to comprehend the formalized abstractions that provide deeper understanding of the subject.
A metaphor can serve as a useful mental hook (metaphor: there are no actual hooks in our brains) when we need to gain a basic understanding of an unfamiliar topic, but trouble ensues when we forget it’s a metaphor and start to think of it as the thing it represents. We start to perfect the metaphor, extend it beyond its intended meaning, and gloss over (metaphor: we don’t apply gloss) aspects of the thing that don’t quite line up with the metaphor itself. Once we start to do that, we lose track of the thing.
