Metaphor: examples and etymology of the rhetorical figure. Here’s how to recognize it and where to find it in literature, both in poetry and in prose.
Metaphor is a rhetorical figure that is very frequently encountered when studying Italian literature and also in everyday language. In literature, poets and authors frequently use this element and it is essential to know how to identify it during the analysis of the text . Although it can be quite simple to identify, it is often complicated to distinguish it from simile. However, through practical examples and exercises on metaphors, these differences can become clear with ease.
Metaphor: meaning and etymology
The term metaphor derives from the Greek metà + phero , meaning transport . This rhetorical figure , in fact, literally transports a meaning, replacing it with another and enriching it with expressive power.
Metaphor is one of the most widespread rhetorical figures in literature, both in prose and poetry. The difference with simile is that the former does not have a term of comparison introduced by how .The effectiveness of the metaphor is greater when the terms that are juxtaposed are very distant from each other on a semantic level.
Similar in function to metaphor are metonymy and synecdoche .
Metaphor examples
Metaphor is a rhetorical figure widely used by authors of literature in poetry and prose . But its use is so deep-rooted that it has also entered everyday language: how many times have you heard a person compared to an animal to highlight a character trait ?
- Giorgio is a tiger –> Giorgio is very determined
- Luigi is a rabbit –> Luigi is afraid of everything, he is not brave
In other cases, objects have taken on meanings from another semantic field:
- The table leg –> The support, the support on which the table rests
- He couldn’t wait to get back to his nest / his den –> He couldn’t wait to get back home (maybe after a long journey)
