metaphor
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.35|1835 etching by George Cruikshank illustrating the metaphor of describing strong weather as "raining cats, dogs and pitchforks" A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for literary effect, refers to one thing by mentioning another. Thus, it invites the audience to make a comparison between two normally unrelated entities or ideas, which may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between them. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.
AI overview
A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes one thing by referring to another, normally unrelated thing—inviting readers or listeners to make a comparison that can reveal hidden similarities or clarify ideas. Metaphors matter because they allow us to understand complex or abstract concepts by connecting them to more familiar experiences, and they add creative power to language and literature.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Parts of a metaphor
- As a type of comparison
- Metaphor vs metonymy
- Subtypes
- Absolute metaphor
- In rhetoric and literature
- As style in speech and writing
- Larger applications
- Conceptual metaphors
- As a foundation of our conceptual system
- Nonlinguistic metaphors
- In historical linguistics
- Historical theories
- Psychological effects
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Citations
- Sources
- External links
thumb|upright=1.35|1835 etching by George Cruikshank illustrating the metaphor of describing strong weather as "raining cats, dogs and pitchforks" A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for literary effect, refers to one thing by mentioning another. Thus, it invites the audience to make a comparison between two normally unrelated entities or ideas, which may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between them. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.
Scholars group metaphors with other types of figurative language, such as hyperbole and metonymy. Metaphors are most similar to similes, except in metaphor the comparison is implied or assumed whereas the extra wording of a simile makes the comparison more obvious or explicit. According to Grammarly, "Figurative language examples include similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, allusions, and idioms." One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature comes from the "All the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It: