Introduction to Metaphors: How To Use Metaphors Correctly
If you were ever told that you were “the apple of someone’s eye” or to “break a leg,” then you’ve already encountered metaphors.
Metaphors are an important literary device you can use to illustrate an important point, but you have to make sure you know how to use metaphors properly.
Let’s take a look at what metaphors are and how to use them correctly:
What is a Metaphor?
A metaphor is:
- when you compare one object or idea to a different object or idea
- an idea that you compare to a similar idea for the sake of symbolism
- a figurative way of stating an experience
Metaphors are a form of figurative language, meaning that when you read a metaphor you should not take it for its literal definition. When I say you are the apple of my eye, I don’t mean that you literally are an apple that came from my eye. It means I just really like you!
Imagine how funny it would sound if we took the following metaphors literally:
- She is the black sheep of the family.
- New York City is a melting pot.
- He got all steamed up.
Unless there really is a female black sheep in your family tree, or New York City is one giant pot where everyone melts into goo, or he covered himself in steam, we should not try to interpret those phrases literally.
If we observe closely, the metaphors were used to relate two different ideas through their one similar characteristic.
When we take that into consideration, we know that the third sentence really means that he is just angry and has not turned into a kettle yet.
How to Use Metaphors
Now that you understand the true meaning of metaphors, you need to learn how and when to use them. Metaphors are used almost daily in everyday life, but most of us don’t realize when we’re using a metaphor because it’s just a natural part of our language.
Even in normal conversations we unconsciously apply figurative language in our speech. Metaphors really thrive in poetry, music, literature, and public speaking, so if you want to master metaphors, you should study how the world’s best poets, lyricists, novelists, and speakers use them to pack their message with emotion and meaning.
We use metaphors when we want to make words come alive. They help make our sentences or our ideas more relatable to other people. For example, when we say, “My heart was torn to pieces when she left me,” the person you are talking to is able to empathize with you because of the metaphor that you used to explain the degree of pain you felt. It just sounds a lot better than saying, “I felt a strong pain in my chest when she left me.”
Metaphors in Poetry
When a poet expresses frustration in a poem, he doesn’t just say “I am frustrated” because that would be too straightforward for most poets. Instead, he tries to communicate his feelings through metaphor by saying, “I stand here with my hands tied.”
Metaphors and rhyme are the core ingredients of writing great poetry.
When Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to express his call for justice and move people to join his cause, he did not just say, “I want justice!”
Instead, he went on by saying one of the most famous metaphorical quotes of all time, “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
That metaphor changed the world. That’s why metaphors are so powerful because they can sweep you off your feet and carry you away on a river of emotion and insight.
Metaphors in Music
Metaphors are commonly used in the music industry too. If we take a close look at the lyrics of Michael Jackson’s song, Human Nature, the lyrics say, “If this town is an apple then let me take a bite out of it.”
We can safely assume that he is referring to New York City, also famously known as the Big Apple, where people go to pursue their dreams and that by taking a bite, he is trying to achieve his dreams in this famous city.
4 Different Types of Metaphors
It is surprising to know that just like people, metaphors also have different types. We have four types of metaphors: an implied metaphor, a sustained metaphor, a dead metaphor, and a mixed metaphor. Let’s learn how to differentiate the following types below:
1. Implied Metaphor
An implied metaphor is when we compare two different objects or ideas without mentioning either one of them.
Here are some implied metaphor examples:
- Ellen lured Adam like a spider.
- Ellen finally lured Adam into her web.
Now we aren’t really saying Ellen is a spider! We just know Ellen is being likened to a spider in the two sentences but unlike the first sentence, the second metaphor does not flatly state out the word “spider.” Instead, it likens Ellen to the object through subtle hints or by implying.
When using an implied metaphor, make sure to focus on the subtlety of your comparisons.
2. Sustained Metaphor
A sustained metaphor is when a metaphor is sustained or used over several lines. This type of metaphor is commonly used in music or poetry.
If we listen closely to Bob Marley’s song, Buffalo Soldier, we can hear some of the lyrics that say:
There was a Buffalo Soldier
In the heart of America
Stolen from Africa, brought to America
Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival
We can see the way Bob Marley expressed and compared the idea of slavery to buying and selling cattle. Just like buffaloes, Africans were captured and taken to America like cattle to be sold, a place where they also fought for their survival.
Instead of literally saying these things, we can appreciate how the consistent usage of metaphors allowed us to feel a deeper meaning to this song using simple words in small phrases.
3. Dead Metaphors
Even the name of this metaphor is a metaphor itself!
Dead metaphors aren’t literally dead. They’re metaphors that are overused so they become cliches and lose their imagery.
Here are some dead metaphor examples:
- It’s raining cats and dogs!
- He is my knight in shining armor.
- She has a heart of gold.
We already know the meanings of these metaphors because they are so common. When you hear a dead metaphor, you’re hearing a cliche, and so you probably already know exactly what it means. So you don’t get that fun moment of thinking, “What if it actually rained cats and dogs?”
When you use too many cliches and dead metaphors in your writing or your speech, your audience may find it redundant or boring because they’ve heard it before. That’s why you should try to create a new list of metaphors when possible, as long as they convey the message you’re trying to get across.
4. Mixed Metaphors
A way to avoid dead metaphors is to mix them or find an unconventional way of using a metaphor!
By doing this, we are giving a dead metaphor a fresh new look and image to it, just like the following quote below:
“Sir, I smell a rat; I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky; but I’ll nip him in the bud.”
~ Sir Boyle Roche
You know Sir Boyle Roche isn’t holding a rat to his nose. He has suspicions there may be a person “ratting” them out to the enemy. By combining this metaphor together with another metaphor, “nip him in the bud,” we get a better understanding that he intends to capture this traitor.
As we can see, mixing metaphors enables us to boost our creativity and give an image that is unexpected to our readers.
Many writers and literary critics look down on mixed metaphors because they can be confusing. In the case of Roche’s quote, it can seem like lazy writing. By using three metaphors in one line, the author runs the risk of being overdramatic. Since nipping a problem in the bud and finding a rat are both cliches, some writers might recommend replacing those cliches with more literal language or different metaphors.
Ultimately, the choice of what types of metaphors to use and how to use them is up to you. Just make sure you don’t overuse cliches or metaphors so much that your readers lose interest or lose track of what you mean.
Metaphors vs. Similes
Metaphors and similes are two different kinds of figurative language, but they can be easily interchanged by the untrained eye. So that we may understand simply, let us look at it this way: a metaphor states something is something else while a simile states something is like something else.
Similes use the words like or as to create a comparison, whereas metaphors don’t use those two words to make the comparison.
Here’s an example of a metaphor and a simile side by side:
- She is as white as snow.
- She is an English rose.
Both sentences express the woman’s beauty but in the first sentence, her beauty is explicitly likened to another object. If we look at the second sentence, it takes a much more subtle approach by comparing the woman’s beauty to an English rose.
Metaphors and similes have the same purpose. The only difference is a simile uses the words like or as to make the point. In all other ways, similes and metaphors work exactly the same way and convey exactly the same meaning. It’s up to you to choose whether to use a simile or a metaphor based on the context.
Basically, you just have to decide if your sentence sounds better when you use like or as or not.
Use Metaphors in Your Writing
Metaphors add more color and meaning to your words. Without the beauty of figurative language, the world would become a much duller place.
Metaphors light up your language and help you communicate your message in a more creative way.
Metaphors are also an incredibly powerful way to communicate extra information in less words. For example, when you write, “She is an English rose,” you communicate much more than you think she is beautiful. You imply she is like a rose, so she must share other characteristics with it, like needing to be cared for and treated tenderly, and her beauty will not last forever—just like a rose.
So the next time you write a novel, a love letter, or even just to express your gratitude to another person, don’t be afraid to use metaphors.
Let’s all participate in making the world a more meaningful place. Share your favorite metaphor in the comments below!
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