Metaphor

A metaphor is a direct comparison between two ideas that does not use like, as, as if, or as though. The phrases “a sunny smile” and “in the doghouse” from the beginning of this chapter are metaphors. Note that neither example uses the word like or as. Instead, in each, the first item is directly compared to the second item. For example, the word sunny is used to directly describe a person’s smile, to paint a picture of warmth. To say that someone is “in the doghouse” is to suggest that the person is out of favor or in trouble. Often a metaphor uses words like is, are, or were to make the direct comparison between the two ideas. For example, “Faith is my anchor” sets up a direct link between faith and the traits of an anchor. Thus the metaphor paints a picture of faith as an ideal that lies beneath a person’s everyday life, out of sight, yet holds that person’s life steady so that it cannot drift. Because a metaphor is a figure of speech that cannot be taken literally, the effective reader must interpret the author’s meaning.