Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that creates an implicit comparison between two unlike things, enriching language and conveying deeper meaning without using "like" or "as." Common in both poetry and everyday conversation, metaphors enhance communication by engaging the senses and conveying complex ideas succinctly. For example, phrases like "the apple of my eye" or "couch potato" illustrate how metaphors can convey sentiments and characteristics in relatable ways. Extended metaphors, such as those found in literary works, allow authors to explore themes and emotions more profoundly, as seen in Shakespeare's comparisons of life to a stage in "As You Like It." Metaphors also appear in iconic literature, where characters and plots may embody metaphorical meanings, such as in Bram Stoker's "Dracula," which reflects Victorian beliefs and societal norms. Overall, metaphors play a vital role in both creative expression and everyday language, bridging gaps between abstract concepts and tangible experiences.
Subject Terms
Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things but does not use the words "like" or "as." Because it does not compare things using these words, a metaphor makes an implicit, or implied, comparison between two unlike things that have some shared characteristics. Metaphors are common in poetry and are used in everyday conversations as well. These figures of speech are constantly evolving and emerging, for example, the Internet is described as an information superhighway.
Use
Metaphors are meant to involve one's senses to communicate an idea, enriching words with deeper meaning. They are frequently used in everyday language, such as when people are described as being "early birds" or "night owls." Someone may be the "apple of my eye," a "couch potato," get "cold feet," or reach the "point of no return." Such expressions are idioms, which are understood by native speakers but often confuse those learning the language because they are not meant literally, or word for word.
These figures of speech may be simple side-by-side comparisons, such as "her answer was music to my ears." They can be an extended comparison such as in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day," in which the author compares the speaker's love with the beauty of a season. Some authors create plots or characters that act as extended metaphors.
William Shakespeare
English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare gave the world many well-known metaphors. In many works, he compared life, and the world, to a stage and to plays performed there. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players," he wrote in As You Like It. Shakespeare poignantly examines the human existence, noting birth and death are like walking on and off stage. He compares life stages with seven acts: infant, student, lover, soldier, man of law, old fool, and finally a second infancy "sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."
Among the most famous speeches in Macbeth are these lines by the titular character, "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing." Life is a brief performance, in other words, and all performances must come to an end.
Metaphors abound in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Romeo refers to Juliet as a holy shrine, for example. He has renounced what he believed was love with Rosaline for something more spiritual. He further compares his love with Juliet to a spiritual quest, telling her, "If I profane with my unworthiest hand / This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: / My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand / To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." Juliet replies, "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, / Which mannerly devotion shows in this; / For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, / And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." Palmers were pilgrims who traveled to the Holy Land and carried palm leaves to show the purpose of their travels. Romeo is seeking Juliet's love, in a version of a religious pilgrimage.
Characters as Metaphors
Many characters in Dracula (1897) by Irish author Bram Stoker are metaphors for aspects of beliefs and life in Victorian England. Vampirism is a direct corruption of the tenets of the Christian faith. While Christians believe the blood of Jesus promises salvation, vampires consume blood to corrupt humankind and prolong a physical rather than spiritual life. Vampire blood transforms a human into the undead, a creature without a soul.
In Stoker's novel, a lawyer named Jonathan Harker meets Count Dracula in Transylvania. Harker later escapes, and his fiancée, Mina Murray, cares for him. Following a strange shipwreck nearby, Mina's friend, Lucy Westenra, begins to sleepwalk, and eventually Dracula makes her a vampire, though at first her friends believe she is dead. Mina and Jonathan marry, and Dracula begins to gain hold of Mina as well. Professor Van Helsing leads the others in a quest to find and destroy the monsters that threaten their world.
Victorian England itself is a metaphor, representing progress. The English men who fight to destroy Dracula embrace modern devices, while Dracula is a monster who resides in a Gothic setting—a crumbling castle in Transylvania. While the peasants in Transylvania believe traditional symbols offer protection from the nightmare of vampirism, the progressive English gentlemen are unaware of the danger that has arrived in London. Only one person, Van Helsing, understands both the past and present and is equipped to deal with Dracula. He represents the importance of understanding history and using it to address current and future concerns.
The vampires—Dracula, his female vampire trio, and Lucy—all represent sexuality and especially promiscuity. Women at that time were expected to occupy one of two roles—innocent and virginal, or a wife and mother. Lucy, prior to becoming a vampire, is described as sweet and innocent. She represents the obedient and gentle young English woman, who is no threat to the patriarchal society and needs to be protected from harm. As a vampire, Lucy attacks children, which strikes at the model of women holding maternal instincts. Mina, who has adopted the other traditional role for women by marrying Jonathan Harker, becomes Dracula's next target. He wishes to make her a vampire, corrupting her and unleashing passions within her that polite society found horrifying.
Bibliography
"As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII (All the World's a Stage)." Academy of American Poets. Academy of American Poets. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/you-it-act-ii-scene-vii-all-worlds-stage
Delaney, William. "Detailed Analysis of 'All the World's a Stage'? Themes, Ideas…" eNotes. eNotes.com, Inc. 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/detailed-analysis-all-worlds-stage-370059
"Dracula: Themes, Motifs & Symbols." SparkNotes. SparkNotes LLC. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dracula/themes.html
"Metaphor." Literary Devices. Literary Devices. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. http://literarydevices.net/metaphor/
"Romeo and Juliet: Summary and Analysis Act 1: Scene 5." CliffsNotes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/r/romeo-and-juliet/summary-and-analysis/act-i-scene-5
Zapruder, Matthew. "Metaphor in Literature." Academy of American Poets. Academy of American Poets. 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2016. https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/metaphor-literature