Metaphor in literature is a hidden comparison. The meaning of the metaphor. Metaphor: examples and types What is a metaphor and what are its types

This is called personification, which is identified as a separate type of expressive methods.

« Reifying«:

"deep sadness"
"glib argument"
"iron character"
"subtle thoughts"
"bitter truth",
"sweet lips"
"door handle"

They can safely be called epithets.

We bring to your attention a small Video lesson by Elena Krasnova:

Different ways to express feelings

Metaphor in our everyday speech makes it more emotional and expressive, but makes poetry more lively, bright and colorful. A beautiful metaphor will evoke the desired response in the reader and give rise to many different associations. In itself, it affects not only the mind, but also the feelings, our subconscious. It’s not for nothing that poets spend so much time selecting the right metaphors in their text.

All poets, in their work, very rarely limit themselves to one metaphor phrase. There are a lot of them. They clearly form a memorable image. Unfortunately, there are both original and banal words. Metaphors did not escape this fate either. Such clichés as: take root, forest of feet, toe of a shoe and others have become firmly established in our everyday life. But in poetry they will not add imagery to the poems. It is necessary to approach their choice very carefully and not descend into complete banality.

Russian poets such as Yesenin, Mayakovsky, Lermontov very often used expressive metaphors in their work. “The lonely sail is white,” one might say, has become a symbol of loneliness. It is necessary to describe, not name, feelings. Readers should be inspired by our image. In this case, the poet manages to influence aesthetically.

It should be the brightest, abstract from the essence, unexpected. Otherwise, where do you get imagery in your text? However, it must have realistic roots. Not to turn into a beautiful set of words and letters, but to evoke beautiful associations.

We dare to hope that you have found answers to your questions in our article today.

Metaphor concept

Our Russian language, called powerful and great, is diverse and, at first glance, incomprehensible to any foreigner. We can invent new words and use them in different word forms, which is hardly accessible to people for whom this language is not native. They especially do not understand our paths, that is, figurative and expressive means, which include metaphors. What is a metaphor? For a person who studies the Russian language quite closely, the answer to this question is obvious. Metaphor is a figurative use of words based on the transfer of characteristics from one phenomenon to another. Such a transfer is possible due to the comparison of two objects. For example, “golden ring” and “golden hair”. The comparison is based on the color attribute. In other words, the answer to the question of what a metaphor is may sound like this - it is a hidden comparison.

There are three elements of comparison:

Subject of comparison (what is being compared is considered here).

Image of comparison (the object with which it is compared is taken as a basis).

Sign of comparison (on the basis of which the comparison is made).

Basic functions of metaphor

1. Evaluation.
Typically, the use of metaphors is aimed at evoking certain feelings and ideas in a person. Take, for example, the expression “bronze of muscles.” It is clear that this refers to strong, pumped up muscles.
2. Emotive- (emotionally)-evaluative.
Another function that emphasizes the importance of metaphor in giving speech a certain imagery. Here we are talking not only about strengthening some feature, but about creating a new image. For example, "speaking waves." The waves are likened to a living creature; a person’s imagination evokes a picture depicting the unhurried muttering of the waves.
3. Nominative (nominative).
This function introduces a new object into the language context. For example, “pull the rubber”, that is, hesitate.
4. Cognitive.

Metaphors allow you to see the essential and obvious in a subject. Knowing what a metaphor is, you can diversify your speech and make it more figurative.

Types of metaphors

Metaphors, like any tropes, have their own varieties:

Sharp. Such a metaphor connects concepts that are far apart in meaning.
- Erased. Absolutely the opposite of a sharp metaphor, it connects concepts that are similar to each other. For example, "door handle".
- Metaphor in the form of a formula. Close to an erased metaphor, but it is a frozen expression. It is sometimes impossible to break it down into its components. For example, "cup of being."
- Expanded. This metaphor is quite extensive and unfolds throughout the entire fragment of speech.

Realized. This metaphor is sometimes used in its literal meaning. Most often to create a comic situation. For example, “before you lose your temper, think about the way back.”

There are many types of metaphor, such as synecdoche or metonymy. But this is a deeper level of language learning. Thus, knowing what a metaphor is, you can easily use it in your speech, making it more beautiful, varied and understandable.

The majesty of the Russian language knows no limits. We can rearrange words in a sentence, use words in some special form, or even come up with words (for example: “finch” - like some kind of detail or little thing). At the same time, we understand each other perfectly. It is difficult to explain such features to a foreigner. But even if you do not accept “words”, but use the Russian language like a true philologist, you are not immune from the perplexed expressions on the faces of foreigners (and sometimes Russian people). For example, you use trails. Today we’ll talk about one of its types: what is a metaphor?

Definition of metaphor

Metaphor (from Greek “figurative meaning”) is a type of trope; a phrase used in a figurative meaning, which is based on the transfer of characteristics from one phenomenon to another due to the presence of certain similarities between them (i.e. comparison).

3 elements of comparison

what is being compared ("subject")
what is it compared to ("image")
on what basis is it compared ("sign")

For example: “chocolate candy” - “chocolate tan” (transfer by color); “the dog howls” - “the wind howls” (the nature of the sound).

So, we conclude what a metaphor is in Russian: it is a figurative expression, a hidden comparison.

Functions of metaphor

Evaluation function

Metaphors are used to evoke in a person certain, fairly specific associations about an object (phenomenon).

For example: “wolf man”, “sharp vision”, “cold heart”.

Thus, the metaphor “wolf man” evokes associations associated with anger and predation.

Emotive-evaluative function

Metaphor is used to obtain an expressive effect as a means of emotional influence.

For example: “He looked at her like a ram at a new gate.”

Another function that shows why a metaphor is needed is a means of creating figurative speech. Here the metaphor is associated with artistic forms of reflecting the world. This function rather answers the question of what a metaphor is in literature. The function is expanding, now it is not only a comparison in order to strengthen some feature, now it is the creation of a new image in the imagination. Both the emotional and logical spheres are already involved: a metaphor creates an image and fills it with specific emotional content.

Nominative function

Inclusion (with the help of metaphor) of a new object in the cultural and linguistic context by creating a name for it by direct analogy. That is, a name is given to a new object (phenomenon) by comparing it with those that already exist in reality.

For example: “digest information” - that is, just as something is simmering and boiling in a saucepan, thoughts are “cooking” in your head (in a confined space). Or, for example, the head is called a bowler (due to its similar round shape).

The cognitive function of metaphors is obvious. Metaphors help to see what is essential in an object, the main properties. Metaphors fill our knowledge with new semantic content.

We have tried to explain clearly what a metaphor is. Examples will help you better understand the material. Try to come up with examples for each function of metaphor yourself.

Types of metaphors

A sharp metaphor. Connects concepts that are far apart in meaning. For example: "filling a statement"
Erased metaphor. On the contrary, it connects concepts whose figurative character is similar. For example: "table leg".
Metaphor-formula. Close to an erased metaphor, but even more stereotypical. Sometimes it cannot be converted into a non-figurative construction. For example: "worm of doubt."
Expanded metaphor. Unfolds throughout the entire statement, message (or throughout a large fragment).
A realized metaphor. A metaphor used as if it had a literal meaning (that is, the figurative nature of the metaphor is ignored). The outcome can be comical. For example: “I lost my temper and entered the house.”

Now you know what a metaphor is and why it is needed. Use them in conversation and surprise others.

And it is connected with his understanding of art as an imitation of life. Aristotle's metaphor, in essence, is almost indistinguishable from hyperbole (exaggeration), from synecdoche, from simple comparison or personification and likening. In all cases there is a transfer of meaning from one word to another.

Indirect message in the form of a story or figurative expression, using comparison.
A figure of speech consisting of the use of words and expressions in a figurative sense based on some kind of analogy, similarity, comparison.

There are 4 “elements” in a metaphor:

Category or context,
An object within a specific category,
The process by which this object performs a function,
Applications of this process to real situations, or intersections with them.

A sharp metaphor is a metaphor that brings together concepts that are far apart from each other. Model: filling the statement.
An erased metaphor is a generally accepted metaphor, the figurative character of which is no longer felt. Model: chair leg.
A formula metaphor is close to an erased metaphor, but differs from it by even greater stereotyping and sometimes the impossibility of transformation into a non-figurative construction. Model: worm of doubt.
An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is consistently implemented throughout a large fragment of a message or the entire message as a whole. Model: Book hunger does not go away: products from the book market increasingly turn out to be stale - they have to be thrown away without even trying.
A realized metaphor involves operating with a metaphorical expression without taking into account its figurative nature, that is, as if the metaphor had a direct meaning. The result of the implementation of a metaphor is often comic. Model: I lost my temper and got on the bus.

Theories

Among other tropes, metaphor occupies a central place, as it allows you to create capacious images based on vivid, unexpected associations. Metaphors can be based on the similarity of the most various signs objects: color, shape, volume, purpose, position, etc.

According to the classification proposed by N.D. Arutyunova, metaphors are divided into

nominative, consisting of replacing one descriptive meaning with another and serving as a source of homonymy;
figurative metaphors that serve the development of figurative meanings and synonymous means of language;
cognitive metaphors that arise as a result of a shift in the compatibility of predicate words (transfer of meaning) and create polysemy;
generalizing metaphors (as the end result of a cognitive metaphor), erasing lexical meaning words are boundaries between logical orders and stimulate the emergence of logical polysemy.

Let's take a closer look at metaphors that help create images, or figurative ones.

In a broad sense, the term “image” means reflection in consciousness outside world. In a work of art, images are the embodiment of the author’s thinking, his unique vision and a vivid image of the picture of the world. Creating a bright image is based on the use of similarities between two objects that are distant from each other, almost on a kind of contrast. For a comparison of objects or phenomena to be unexpected, they must be quite different from each other, and sometimes the similarity can be quite insignificant, unnoticeable, giving food for thought, or may be absent altogether.

The boundaries and structure of the image can be almost anything: the image can be conveyed by a word, phrase, sentence, super-phrase unity, can occupy an entire chapter or cover the composition of an entire novel.

However, there are other views on the classification of metaphors. For example, J. Lakoff and M. Johnson identify two types of metaphors considered in relation to time and space: ontological, that is, metaphors that allow you to see events, actions, emotions, ideas, etc. as a certain substance ( the mind is an entity, the mind is a fragile thing), and oriented, or orientational, that is, metaphors that do not define one concept in terms of another, but organize the entire system of concepts in relation to each other ( happy is up, sad is down; conscious is up, unconscious is down).

George Lakoff in his work “The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor” talks about the ways of creating metaphor and the composition of this tool artistic expression. A metaphor, according to Lakoff, is a prose or poetic expression where a word (or several words) that is a concept is used in an indirect sense to express a concept similar to the given one. Lakoff writes that in prose or poetic speech, metaphor lies outside of language, in thought, in the imagination, referring to Michael Reddy, his work “The Conduit Metaphor”, in which Reddy notes that metaphor lies in language itself, in everyday speech, and not only in poetry or prose. Reddy also states that “the speaker puts ideas (objects) into words and sends them to the listener, who extracts the ideas/objects from the words.” This idea is also reflected in the study by J. Lakoff and M. Johnson “Metaphors We Live By.” Metaphorical concepts are systemic, “metaphor is not limited to just the sphere of language, that is, the sphere of words: the processes of human thinking themselves are largely metaphorical. Metaphors as linguistic expressions become possible precisely because metaphors exist in the human conceptual system.”

Metaphor is often considered as one of the ways to accurately reflect reality artistically. However, I. R. Galperin says that “this concept of accuracy is very relative. It is the metaphor, which creates a concrete image of an abstract concept, that makes it possible for different interpretations of real messages.”

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. You are reading an article written by a person with with a fiery heart, nerves of steel and golden hands. It sounds, of course, immodest.

But these high-flown definitions are examples and clear illustrations of the topic of this article. After all, today we will talk about metaphors.

Metaphor is a literary device that allows you to make the text more vivid and emotional. It consists in the fact that transfers properties of one item or actions on another.

After all, hands cannot be made of gold, a heart cannot burn, and nerves cannot be made of steel. All these definitions are used in a figurative sense, and we understand perfectly what these examples mean:

golden hands - everything they do turns out well, and therefore valuable;
fiery heart - able to love and experience strong emotions;
nerves of steel - calmness and prudence even in extreme conditions.

Definition of the term and examples of metaphors

The first definition of what a metaphor is was given by Aristotle, and this was almost 2.5 thousand years ago.

True, it sounded a little heavy, but the author is a philosopher:

“Metaphor is an unusual name that is transferred from species to genus, or from genus to species, or from species to species, or from genus to genus.”

Yes, it sounds like a tongue twister, and very philosophical. But, in essence, it means what we have already said - this is the transfer of the properties of one object to another, which initially are not very suitable for it.

To make it even clearer, it is better to immediately give examples of metaphors:

The scarlet color of dawn was woven on the lake...(S. Yesenin). It is clear that no color can be “woven”; it is “reflected” here. But you must admit, it sounds more beautiful.
I'm standing on the coast, in the fire of the surf...(K. Balmont). It is clear that fire and water are two opposite elements, but here they are, and it turned out more poetic than instead of “fire” the word “splashes” would have been used.
A windy flail walks through the golden army of the fields...(V. Khlebnikov). There are two metaphors here at once - the wind resembles a flail (a type of knife), apparently just as merciless, and the ears of corn are replaced with the “golden army”, since there are many of them and they all stand next to each other.
And the simplest thing. A Christmas tree was born in the forest, it grew in the forest. Naturally, no Christmas tree can be “born”, because trees grow from seeds.

If you are observant, you will have noticed that the metaphors in these examples are used in different meanings. These can be nouns, adjectives, and even verbs.

Metaphors in literature

Most often, metaphors can be found in poetry. For example, Yesenin has almost every whole set of such metaphorical devices.

The fragrant bird cherry, hanging, stands,
And the golden greens burn in the sun.

It is clear that greenery cannot be golden in color, but in this way the poet accurately and vividly conveys the radiance of the sun’s rays on the foliage.

And nearby, near a thawed patch, in the grass, between the roots,
A small silver stream runs and flows.

Again, the water cannot be silver, but we understand that it is very clean, and the murmuring of the stream resembles the chime of silver. And water cannot “run”. The metaphor means that the stream flows very quickly.

Like time on this famous painting Salvador Dali.

To the cinema

Filmmakers love to use big titles to immediately grab the audience's attention. Let's just give these examples:

In advertising

Since metaphors are meant enhance the familiar image and make it more memorable, which, naturally, this technique has long been adopted by advertisers. They use it to create short but catchy slogans.

“The Magic of Coffee” (coffee makers “De Longi”);
“Lip color revolution” (Revlon lipstick);
“Wake up the volcano of luck!” (network of slot machines);
“Our blow to prices!” (Eldorado stores);
“On a Wave of Pleasure” (“Coca-Cola”);
“Sink into the Cool” (“Lipton Ice Tea”).

Types of metaphors in examples

All metaphors are usually divided into several types:

Sharp. This is the most common and brightest type. As a rule, these are just two words that are absolutely opposite to each other. For example, “wings of fire”, “moon flower”, “explosion of emotions”.
Erased. This is a metaphor that has already become so firmly established in our vocabulary that we use it without thinking. For example, “forest of hands”, “life like honey”, “golden hands”, which we mentioned at the very beginning of the article.
Metaphor-formula. This is an even simpler kind of worn-out metaphor. These are certain constructions that we can no longer even divide into components and paraphrase. For example, “chair leg”, “shoe toe”, “cup of being”.
Exaggeration. A metaphor with which we intentionally increase the scale of what is happening. For example, “I told you a hundred times already,” “millions of people can’t be wrong,” “the whole class fell laughing.”

All of these types belong to simple metaphors. That is, they are small in design and, as a rule, only one word is used in a figurative sense. But there are so-called extended metaphors. These are entire pieces of text. And most often they can be found again in poetry.

Let's turn to the already mentioned Yesenin for help:

The golden grove dissuaded
Birch, cheerful language,
And the cranes, sadly flying,
They don’t regret anyone anymore.
Whom should I feel sorry for? After all, everyone in the world is a wanderer -
He will pass, come in and leave the house again.
The hemp plant dreams of all those who have passed away
With a wide moon over the blue pond.

Metaphors enrich our language. And many without even realizing it. For example, when attributed to people qualities of various animals:

When we say about a person that he is like a “lion,” we mean his courage.
And when we remember the “bear”, then most likely we are talking about dimensions.
Well, “donkey”, “ram” and even “chicken” very clearly characterize stupidity.

There are a lot of metaphors in familiar ones sayings:

"still waters run deep"
"there's a plug in every barrel"
"my house is on the edge"

Even slang often cannot do without metaphors, for example, “give a pumpkin.”

By the way, scientists have long proven that metaphors activate the creative part of the brain. And a person who uses such techniques in his speech is more willing to listen.

So, if you want to be known as the life of the party (another metaphor), feel free to enrich your language.

Good luck to you! Before see you soon on the pages of the blog site