Metaphor assignment

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Metaphor assignment

Metaphors are a comparison between two unlike things belonging to different categories, that give us a better understanding of what we are trying to express. There are different types of metaphors; simile's, personification, anthropomorphism , hyperbolas, parables, fables, animism, and analogy's. A simile is a comparison between two things using the words like or as for example he "talks as much as a parrot" stating he talks too much. Personification is giving life, and human characteristics to an inanimate object for example the "smiling moon" to show how a moon may seem friendly and welcoming. Anthropomorphism is used with God or Gods attributing human forms or qualities to entities that are not human. This was used a lot in Greek mythology giving Gods characteristics such as jealousy, hatred ,and love. For example Zeus, Apollo and many that had human qualities. Hyperboles are obvious and intentional exaggerations such as "she's as big as a whale" which is clearly exaggerated. Parables illustrate a moral or religious lesson and are found in fables, Christian stories , tales about how amazing things occur in ordinary peoples lives. Fables illustrate a moral lesson and feature animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized. Very familiar examples are Disney movies such as "Bambi" , "The Lion King" , "The Little Mermaid" all movies that have a moral lesson and values and contain animals that can speak and have human characteristics or life. Animism is a spiritual idea that souls, spirits exist in animals, plants, rocks or other natural entities (events in nature). Animism is particularly found widely in religions of Indigenous people, Shinto, and Hinduism (basically has a lot of respect and importance in natures role) for instance in "Pocahontas" where there is a tree of life and wisdom. Lastly Analogy's are comparisons of two pairs, for example hot is to cold as fire is to ice.

In using a metaphor to speak about how hard it is to speak to my friend I could say talking to my friend is talking to a wall. They are two completely different things. One is a live person, and one is a non living thing but clearly I get my point across of how difficult talking to my friend is. Another example of a metaphor is, "my love for you is an endless ocean", showing how much someone loves the other. Metaphors are a very important base of poetry that help set the image and understanding of how the poet feels. In a metaphor we do not use the word like because although very similar similes use the word like to show what you are comparing. A metaphor leaves it to our knowledge and logic.

A poem that strongly sets a good example of the use of metaphors is "The forces that through the green fuse drives the flower" by: Dylan Thomas in which he uses metaphors to describe how he feels nature and human beings are connected and created and driven by the same force.

"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower Drives my green; that blasts the roots of trees Is my destroyer."

In this first section he is saying the "fuse" what gives life to the trees, flower, plants is what gives him life too. The same force that slowly makes plants, trees, flowers die in nature, is what kills him too.

"And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose My youth is bent by the same wintry fever." The narrator is saying slowly but surely all nature's beautiful plants, flowers age, and die and so will he, of the same cause and force.

Another example of a poem full of metaphors is "A meditation for his mistress" by Robert Herrick (1591-1674). This poem speaks about a couple of lovers in a historic time era who are condemned to die because they have been caught in their crime. This can be found in the last two lines 20 and 21 where the poet says "But die you must, fair maid,ere long, as he, the maker of this song " where he describes his mistress's exquisite beauty through out this in metaphors such as "you area tulip seen to-day" comparing his mistress to a gorgeous , bright Tulip "But, dearest, of so short a stay" meaning she will not be around for long. "You are a lovely July flower" another comparison to his mistress and a gorgeous summer flower in line 4 but then the poet in line 5 and 6 says "Yet one rude wind or ruffling shower Will force you hence, and in an hour" which in my interpretation he is speaking of the rude, nosy people whom interrupted and discovered their affair for which now she is going to be exiled in an hour. In line 16, as we get close to a mournful ending the speaker says "You are a dainty violet" meaning she is a delicate and exquisite woman and in lines 17 and 18 says "Yet wither'd ere you can be set Within the virgin's coronet" meaning even decayed, shriveled or faded after death she would still fit a queens crown, in how he feels towards her. Thus in this entire poem the speaker describes through metaphors how rare and delicate his mistress is and how easily it is to fall in love with her, but due to being caught in their crime they are both going to be exiled. Adultery and cheating in older time eras were taken very seriously as a religious and even moral insult. Consequences and penalty was a lot more severe than is in modern day society.

Emily Dickinson's "The Mountain" poem stood out to me as it uses metaphors to describe how a mountain, how nature and earth have witnessed generations and seasons past.

"The mountain sat upon the plain In his eternal chair, His observation omnifold, His inquest everywhere." "The seasons prayed around his knees, Like children round a sire: Grandfather of the days is he, Of dawn the ancestor." In this poem she speaks of the "mountain sitting on its eternal chair" which personifies the mountain and states how it will be around eternally.It will watch seasons pass, will observe and examine the world forever, it will be "ancestor of the dawn".It is as if the author contemplated how the mountains and nature will remain eternally as generations, even species live on or whether we become extinct.

In Emily Dickinson's "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" she uses metaphor to describe how she prefers to isolate herself from society and the judgmental public. It seems as she feels the public has a very closed minded perception of "normality" and would outcast anyone who didn't agree with their ways. "I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?" In this first two lines she is using hyperbole by exaggerating that since she does not "fit in" for perhaps many reasons, she says she is nobody, which of course she is not literally nobody, it is just a form of expressing how she doesn't fit in with society. "Then there's a pair of us - don't tell! They'd banish us, you know." Here she seems to have met someone whom is also an outcast to society and probably shares similar views to her in discontentment to society.So she is telling the person to be very careful that they be discovered or they'll be "vanished". "How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog. To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!" In these last four lines of the poem, the speaker says it is lifeless and depressing to "be somebody" or at least "somebody" in society's terms. She says its "public like a frog" which using metaphor we know a frog out in the open startles people and is viewed as strange. Then she says "to tell your name the live long day, to an admiring bog" which shows use of personification in giving "bog" human qualities yet a good example in showing how she views people in society as a bog, waiting for others to sink, or fail. So in this poem she says to tell her name to the "livelong day" is to just set herself up to be ridiculed.

A poem that has great use of metaphor and personification is Emily Dickinson's poem "Pedigree" "The pedigree of honey Does not concern the bee; A clover, any time, to him Is aristocracy." In the poem Emily Dickinson personifies the bee when saying the bee does not focus on its hereditary quality of its honey. Her poem says that is not the bees concern, that to a bee a simple "clover" or flower is aristocracy , meaning a simple flower is what a bee needs to feel satisfied and in a high position. I believe in this poem she conveys the message how nature is beautiful and its creatures, such as the bee, appreciate it and take care of it as opposed to taking advantage of it. A bee goes from flower to flower helping pollinate, making delicious honey , yet they play such an important role in nature but don't do their jobs for selfish reasons or focusing on their "quality". I believe this poem was intentionally setting a message of how us humans are not only selfish in the authors opinion, but everything we do , is done for recognition and we selfishly strive to be part of a high class. We also judge a lot and go by reputations and family history or titles, and a bee does not yet it fulfills great quality in its job.

In ee cummings poem , Loneliness a Leaf falls we see a very different , complex structure to the poem.

l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness e e cummings

It uses metaphor comparing loneliness to a leaf falling on the ground. This symbolizes how at the end of life's journey we are all individuals and when we go down (or die) we go alone.

In conclusion, metaphors help describe all different feelings, point of views, and aspects of life. Poetry and metaphors work in my life in that it is a main basis of music and literature. It helps express feelings, emotions, helps me easily express a point of view and comparisons. When I listen to music, about eighty percent of the songs I listen to have metaphors in them. It helps me flow in creativity and helps express ideas in a much more interesting form. Also we subliminally live our lives following the ideas many metaphors hold. For example metaphors that apply to me are "what goes around, comes around" or "there is always a new lesson to learn". Also