Metaphor

In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated subjects. Typically, a first object is described as being or having the properties of a second object. In this way, the first object can be economically described because implicit and explicit attributes from the second object can be used to fill in the description of the first. Some (particularly in cognitive linguistics) see metaphor as a basic cognitive function, while others prefer the term analogy for this concept. However, metaphor is not always used for practical description and understanding; sometimes it is used for purely aesthetic reasons. Metaphors are commonly confused with similes, which use the words "like" or "as."

History

Metaphor is present in written language back to the earliest surviving writings. From the Epic of Gilgamesh:

Related Topics:
Language - Epic of Gilgamesh

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:My friend, the swift mule, fleet wild ass of the mountain, panther of the wilderness, after we joined together and went up into the mountain, fought the Bull of Heaven and killed it, and overwhelmed Humbaba, who lived in the Cedar Forest, now what is this sleep that has seized you? - (Trans. Kovacs, 1989)

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In this example, the friend is compared to a mule, a wild ass, and a panther to indicate that the speaker sees traits from these animals in his friend.

Related Topics:
Mule - Ass - Panther

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Even before this example, it is arguable that the stylized cave paintings in the Chauvet-pont-d'arc caves in southern France are a form of visual metaphor. Their highly stylized animal shapes evoke hierarchical relationships and human connections that are not part of the literal depiction.

Related Topics:
Cave painting - Cave - France

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The first writers to discuss metaphor were the Greek philosophers.

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:The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learned from others; it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an eye for resemblance. - Aristotle, De Poetica, 322 BCE.

Related Topics:
Aristotle - De Poetica

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While this might be an exaggeration, there is evidence that fundamental aspects of human intelligence, pattern recognition and inference drive the human use of metaphor.

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