SEMANTICS - METAPHOR

Definitons, Types, Examples, and Functions of Metaphor

ASSALAMU’ALAIKUM WR.WB

HEELOOOO meet me again in my new posting. Well now I want to share to you all about one of parts in SEMANTICS. This is posting used to add knowledge and submit my assessment in Semantics course. Okay lets we see in explanation below. If you want to see the ppt here I put in the beginning.

DEFINITIONS

1. Metaphor is a figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics. In other words, a resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made based on a single or some common characteristics.

2. A metaphor is a kind of figurative language that compares two different things or ideas. Unlike a simile, a metaphor makes this comparison without using the words “like” or “as.”

3. A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.

4. Metafora merupakan gaya bahasa kiasan yang membandingkan satu hal dengan hal lain melalui sebuah persamaan. Dalam penerjemahannya, sering kali metafora tidak diterjemahkan secara harfiah. Hal tersebut dikarenakan sebuah metafora harus menyesuaikan konteks cerita dan budaya Bsu dan Bsa. (Bahasa sumber (Bsu), Bahasa sasaran (Bsa))

Those are the uses of metaphor, and this is the official definition:

A word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar
An object, activity, or idea that is used as a symbol of something else

Here are the basics:

A metaphor states that one thing is another thing
It equates those two things not because they actually are the same, but for the sake of comparison or symbolism
If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange (are there actually any sheep, black or otherwise, in your family?)
Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add some color to their language

TYPES OF METHAPOR

1. Implied Metaphor

Implied metaphor departs from the “thing A is thing B” formula and allows you to make a more sophisticated and subtle type of comparison through—you guessed it—implication.

Take these two sentences:

Jordan got his courtship cues from the peacock. In a room full of ladies, Jordan simply fans his feathers.

In both sentences, we are comparing Jordan to a peacock. In the first sentence, the comparison is overt: the peacock is mentioned directly. But in the second sentence, we imply that Jordan is the peacock by comparing his behavior (fanning his feathers) to something peacocks are known for doing. That isn’t meant to suggest that Jordan actually has feathers, but that he is behaving in a showy and flirty way to catch the attention of the ladies.

2. Sustained Metaphor

A sustained metaphor is carried through multiple sentences or even paragraphs. Because it is used and developed over a longer section of text, a sustained metaphor can be a powerful literary device that provides strong, vivid imagery in the reader’s mind. This kind of metaphor is often found in songs and poetry. In a famous example from Shakespeare, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun over several lines.

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief.

Kind of puts “You are my sunshine” to shame.

3. Dead Metaphor

A dead metaphor is a cliche that has become so commonplace that the imagery has lost its power. Examples of dead metaphors include:

“raining cats and dogs,”

“throw the baby out with the bathwater,”

and “heart of gold.”

With a good, living metaphor, you get that fun moment of thinking about what it would look like if Elvis were actually singing to a hound dog (for example). But with a dead metaphor, the original image has already receded into the background. Using too many dead metaphors will cause your reader to lose interest. Reach a little further for an original image, or think about ways to use a familiar metaphor in an unconventional way.

4. Watch Out for Mixed Metaphors

Another reason to avoid dead metaphors is that it’s easy to mix them up. A mixed metaphor is exactly what it sounds like—a combination of two unrelated metaphors.

Let’s get all our ducks on the same page. (A mashup of “get our ducks in a row” and “get on the same page.”)

Mixed metaphors can be pretty funny; the great Yogi Berra was famous for his “Yogi-isms,” which often contained bewilderingly mixed metaphors that still managed to get his point across:

Even Napoleon had his Watergate.

But if you’re not trying to be funny, mixed metaphors can come off as awkward or even undermine the point you’re trying to make.

EXAMPLES

Here are some examples of metaphor from famous poems.

Example #1

“She is all states, and all princes, I.”

John Donne, a metaphysical poet, was well-known for his abundant use of metaphors throughout his poetical works. In his well-known work “The Sun Rising,” the speaker scolds the sun for waking him and his beloved. Among the most evocative metaphors in literature, he explains “she is all states, and all princes, I.” This line demonstrates the speaker’s belief that he and his beloved are richer than all states, kingdoms, and rulers in the entire world because of the love that they share.

Example #2

“Shall I Compare Thee to a summer’s Day”,

William Shakespeare was the best exponent of the use of metaphors. His poetical works and dramas all make wide-ranging use of metaphors.

“Sonnet 18,”also known as “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” is an extended metaphor between the love of the speaker and the fairness of the summer season. He writes that “thy eternal summer,” here taken to mean the love of the subject, “shall not fade.”

Example #3

“Before high-pil’d books, in charact’ry / Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain,”

The great Romantic poet John Keats suffered great losses in his life – the death of his father in an accident, and of his mother and brother through tuberculosis.

When he began displaying signs of tuberculosis himself at the age of 22, he wrote “When I Have Fears,” a poem rich with metaphors concerning life and death. In the line “before high-pil’d books, in charact’ry / Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain”, he employs a double-metaphor. Writing poetry is implicitly compared with reaping and sowing, and both these acts represent the emptiness of a life unfulfilled creatively.

Take these famous metaphor examples:

1. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. (William Shakespeare)

2. America has tossed its cap over the wall of space. (John F. Kennedy)

3. Chaos is a friend of mine. (Bob Dylan)

4. A good conscience is a continual Christmas. (Benjamin Franklin)

5. You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time. (Elvis Presley)

6. My mother is both the queen and the president.

7. The day off from school was a golden ticket to freedom.

8. Her face is the sun, and I’m a cloudy day.

9. He’s a real cool cat.

10. America is a melting pot.

11. His solution to the problem was just a Band-Aid.

12. The long afternoons of detention were a prison sentence.

13. If you’re too scared to use the diving board, then you must be a chicken.

14. My dad’s car is an old, loud dinosaur.

15. The children’s laughter was music to my ears.

16. My brother was boiling mad. (This implies he was too angry.)

17. The assignment was a breeze. (This implies that the assignment was not difficult.)

18. It is going to be clear skies from now on. (This implies that clear skies are not a threat and life is going to be without hardships)

19. The skies of his future began to darken. (Darkness is a threat; therefore, this implies that the coming times are going to be hard for him.)

20. Her voice is music to his ears. (This implies that her voice makes him feel happy)

FUNCTION

From the above arguments, explanations and examples, we can easily infer the function of metaphors; both in our daily lives and in a piece of literature. Using appropriate metaphors appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers, sharpening their imaginations to comprehend what is being communicated to them. Moreover, it gives a life-like quality to our conversations and to the characters of the fiction or poetry. Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering the listeners and the readers fresh ways of examining ideas and viewing the world.

Example of article/journal/thesis that I got from google.com
Title: Interpreting Metaphor: Perspective from Pragmatics and Pshycoterapy by Isabelle Needham-Disbury. Here the abstract..