Metaphor

	Sign In Sign-Up

Metaphor

A metaphor is the comparison of two unlike things. Simile, personification, anthropomorphism, hyperbole, parable, fable, animism, and analogy are all metaphors. Metaphors are used to help us understand the unknown, because we use what we know in comparison with something we don't know to get a better understanding of the unknown.

A simile is the comparison of two unlike things using like or as. For example: he eats like a pig. The image of the pig is used to show how he is very sloppy when he eats. It also shows how eager he is when he eats.

Personification is giving human qualities to animals or objects. An example would be a smiling moon. The moon can't smile, that's a human characteristic. The smile is used to give the moon life and make it seem almost human.

Anthropomorphism is the act of attributing human forms or qualities to entities which are not human. Specifically, anthropomorphism is describing the gods or goddesses in human forms and having them posses human characteristics. For example love, anger, greed. This is how we perceive the gods and it helps us to understand them and their actions.

Hyperbole is an exaggeration or overstatement. An example of this would be he's as big as a house. Even though he is not really that big, the house gives you an idea of how big he is. It lets you know that he is big but, of course, he is not the size of a house. This exaggerated statement is a hyperbole.

A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. A parable is different from a fable because a fable uses animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters. Parables generally feature human characters. A parable is a type of analogy.

A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are given human qualities, and that illustrate a moral. A fable is different from a parable because parables do not include animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as actors that can talk or have any other human abilities.

Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment. Animism may also attribute souls to abstract concepts such as words, names or metaphors in mythology.

Analogy is the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. The key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so you can choose the correct second pair. Part to whole, opposites, and results of, are all types of relationships you should find. For example hot is to cold as fire is to ice or hot:cold::fire:ice.

In Dylan Thomas' poem "The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower" He talks about the force of nature. He mentions how the force of nature not only drives a flower but how it also drives him as well. The poem tells of how nature is more powerful than we realize and it should not be taken for granted. The use of metaphor in the poem shows how the force of nature is versatile because he can compare it to many different things. In the line "My youth is bent by the same wintry fever." he shows how he is comparing himself to the flower. This line shows how he is one with nature and does not feel apart from it. Dylan Thomas does not see nature and humans as being two separate things. He sees them as being one in the same. In his poem he tells of how he feels at one with nature and how we should all feel this way.

The poem "A Meditation for his Mistress" by Robert Herrick is about beauty. He is using personification to compare beauty to a flower. "You are a dainty violet, Yet withered ere you can be set within the virgin's coronet." In the poem Herrick states that beauty is a delicate and fragile thing that does not last long. He uses metaphor to better show how the flower is easily effected by its environment. It's beauty should be appreciated before its gone. The poem is about a woman who is being compared to a flower. She is very pretty but also very fragile. Herrick is writing this poem to describe his mistress.

The Emily Dickinson poem "A Book" is about how a book can take you far. A book will envelop your mind and bring you into the story. In the poem Emily Dickinson uses simile to compare the book to a ship "There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away". In the poem the book is like a frigate, a ship that will take you anywhere you want to go. Since this is an inexpensive trip anyone can take it. Anyone can get a book and let it take them far away. She said that books are like a chariot with the ability to carry the human soul. "How frugal is the chariot that bears a human soul!". This line shows how a book is a cheap form of transportation that will take you where u want to go. This shows how she feels about a good book and what happens to her when she is reading.