Special Assignment #1 - Metaphors

A metaphor is a type of figurative language that is used in literature, history, and everyday life. The actual definition of a metaphor is "an implied comparison that is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common." Metaphors are especially beneficial when you are trying to "express the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar." They make concepts that are difficult to grasp more understandable and obtainable. That is why they are so often used to explain and describe.

The examples of metaphors used in literature are extremely numerous. One example that comes to mind is Emily Dickinson's metaphor for death in her famous poem, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death." Death is being personified and compared to a person who comes to pick you up when you are at your busiest. Death does not wait for us to finish our life. He comes when we least expect him.

"Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility."...

Another example of a metaphor used in literature would be the famous comparison that William Shakespeare used in his comical play, "As You Like It."  "All the world's a stage and men and women merely players.” In this metaphor the world is described as a stage, and the humans who reside in this world are described as the actors and actresses who perform on it. This is probably one of the most famous metaphors ever written! 

Metaphors have also been used throughout history. Many authors and politicians have tried to explain history through metaphors. "History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies" is a metaphor by American author Robert Penn Warren, and British author George Meredith said, "Memoirs are the backstairs of history." Prime Minister Winston Churchill tried to describe how easily the Nazis invaded Poland with this metaphor, "The Nazis invasion of Poland was food colouring entering a jar of clear water." Ronald Reagan tried to describe how the American people fight for freedom and independence in this metaphor, "We have been a bastion of freedom". 

Metaphors are also used in everyday life. We use them all the time and some of us may not even realize type of figurative language that we are even using. "Let me throw some light on the situation," "It's raining cats and dogs," and "She was the apple of my eye" are all metaphors we hear on a regular basis. Metaphors are used to teach like the ones that overflow from the Bible, and they are used to entertain like the ones we enjoy reading in literature. Metaphors are everywhere, and if you are really paying attention, you would see that we are truly surrounded by them. We have even seen metaphors in the many videos and blog posts that we have been assigned in EDM 310. Metaphors make life more comprehensible as well as enjoyable.