METAPHOR

A metaphor is a comparison of two UNLIKE things. Metaphors are used to help us understand the habits of mind and also understand what we don't know just to get a better understanding . We use metaphors to compare two unlike things for example, "she is a flower" or "he is a dog". There are other words that are in the metaphor category such as similes, personification, anthropomorphism, hyperbole, and analogy. A simile is the comparison of two unlike things using like or as. An example of a simile is "she shines LIKE the sun" or " he is AS sick as a dog". Even though we know a girl can't really shine like the sun or a boy can't be sick like a dog we use these similes for a comparison of two unlike things It is a shortcut to the meaning. Personification is giving human qualities to animals or objects. An example of this is Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or basically any cartoon character in a movie, t.v show, or book. Imagining personification in a story or a type of article with fictional characters another example would be " Oliver the cloud was hiding behind the Henry the sun because he was scared of John the mighty lightning. Anthropomorphism is used with God or gods. We use human forms or qualities to an entities which are not human. Specifically, anthropomorphism is the describing of gods or goddesses in human forms and possessing human characteristics such as jealousy, hatred, or love. Zeus and Hercules are two examples of anthropomorphic characters that are gods and have inhuman powers. Hyperbole is exaggeration or overstatement. An example of a Hyperbole is "I'm so full I'm about to explode" or "she is tall like a skyscraper". We know that if a person eats to much they can not explode or the person can't be tall like a skyscraper because that is impossible but we use these examples to exaggerate what we mean or how we feel. Analogy is the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. The key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so we can choose the correct second pair. Part to whole, opposites, results of are types of relationships we could find. Examples of Analogy is "Hot is to Cold" or "Fire is to Ice".

Dylan Thomas, Robert Herrick, and Emily Dickinson all use metaphors in their poems to give character to their poems. In "THE FORCE THAT THROUGH THE GREEN FUSE DRIVES THE FLOWER" Dylan Thomas uses sustained metaphors in his poem to provide a depth and inner complexity to the poem making it sound more soulful and making it more emotional for the reader. He compares his life to nature. In the first stanza he said "The force that through the green fuse drives the flower Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees Is my destroyer". Dylan uses color as a signification to nature and human life. Also in the second stanza "The force that drives the water through the rocks Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams Turns mine to wax". He uses more emotion here by telling the reader that the same way a flower dries out and dies so does a human. To me he uses personification through out his poem. Even though he does not use animals with voices or turns them into cartoons he uses himself as an example of nature.The reason for this is that the use of metaphor has the ability to convey inner connections that cannot be expressed.

Robert Herrick also uses sustained metaphors in his poem but this time he is not using it to portray himself like Dylan Thomas does in his poem, but to portray a female that he calls a "mistress". As soon as we read the title to the poem, we can see that he is not writing it to describe himself. In the first stanza Robert said "YOU are a tulip seen to-day, But, dearest, of so short a stay That where you grew scarce man can say". The first line on each stanza is a metaphor because he is comparing the mistress to a flower witch she is not, she is just a women. In the last stanza Robert said "You are the queen all flowers among; But die you must, fair maid, ere long, As he, the maker of this song'. Here Robert ends his poem by telling the reader, the mistress comes and goes like a flower blooms and sooner or later dies. Robert uses metaphors throughout the whole poem to convey inner connections like Dylan Thomas but he has made his metaphors seem consoling or uplifting to the reader.

Emily Dickinson uses metaphors in a unique way. She uses more simile in her poem with out using the words "like" or "as". In the poem "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" Emily uses simile throughout the whole poem describing how hope is like the soul. In the first stanza she said "Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all". This stanza alone is optimistic and very uplifting to me I have to say. I have never read a stanza that has described the meaning of hope in such a passionate way. Emily Dickinson does not need to use "like" or "as" in her poem because she compares two unlike things while taking the meaning of both and comparing them, making them sound similar. This is the beauty and art of Emily Dickinson's poems. In the same stanza I realized that if one has hope in the soul it never dies or gives up, and what better way to explain this then to compare it to a song with out words that never ends? In the poem "THE STONE" Emily has made a run along story type poem. Emily uses simile and personification to a stone. She does not give the stone life but she describes how lonely and "independent AS the sun" the stone is. She gives life and character to the stone, the stone does not speak nor does it move, but since it is one stone she takes the good characteristics of the stone being on its own in the world. Finally the poem "A Book" is also a run along poem. It consists of simile,and hyperbole. In the poem it said "There is no frigate like a book To take us lands away, Nor any courser like a page Of prancing poetry.

In this stanza alone she uses all three metaphors. She uses simile by using a book and a frigate but not comparing them. She uses hyperbole to exaggerate the purpose of reading a book. Does reading really take us away with out having to take a boat? Yes if we use our imagination. Because she compares reading a book to a frigate, this stanza alone over powers the poem, it exaggerates the meaning to the poem but in the nicest way. Emily Dickinson changes the way metaphors are used, but in any of her poems the reader can tell that she uses metaphors in a unique way.

In conclusion metaphors are used, in not only poems but in our own lives as well. Each poet has used metaphors throughout their lives and have expressed the meaning of the word in their poems. I learned that metaphors are not meant to confuse the reader but to make them understand two unlike things can have the same meaning it is just a comparison.

© emelydelacruz 2010