Metaphor as a type of figurative meaning. Metaphor in literature is a hidden comparison

After the research presented by us, we have the right to say that the spiritual side of a person, the world of his convictions and beliefs in ancient times were not completely free business, but inevitably obeyed the material conditions that lay as much in the nature of the objects and phenomena surrounding him as in the sounds of his native language. . The human word, according to naked ancestors, was endowed with domineering, magical and creative power; and the ancestors were right in recognizing such power behind him, although they did not understand what exactly this power was manifested in. The Word, of course, cannot make the sun shine or rain fall, as the pagans believed; but if not by external nature, then it took possession of the inner world of man and there declared its enchanting influence, creating unprecedented relations and images and forcing the infant tribes to base their moral and religious convictions on them. Often from one metaphorical expression, like from grain, a whole series of signs, beliefs and rituals arise, entangling human life with heavy chains, and much, much effort, courage, and energy were needed to break this invisible network of prejudices and look at God's world with bright eyes. !

III
Traditions about the Creation of the world and man

The legend about the Creation of the world, which lives in the mouths of the Russian people, is furnished with such details that undoubtedly belong to the deepest antiquity.

In Tereshchenko's book, this legend is written in the following form:

a) "At the beginning of the world, God was pleased to push the earth. He called the devil, ordered him to dive into the abyss of water in order to get a handful of earth from there and bring it to him.

All right, Satan thinks, I will make the same earth myself! He dived, took out the earth in his hand and stuffed his mouth with it. He brought it to God and gives it back, but he himself does not utter a word ...

Wherever the Lord throws the earth - it suddenly appears so even, so even that you stand at one end - you can see everything that is happening on the earth. Satan is watching... he wanted to say something and choked. God asked: what does he want? The devil coughed and ran out of fright. Thunder and lightning hit the fleeing Satan, and where he lies down, hillocks and hills move forward; where he coughs, a mountain will grow;

And so, running all over the earth, he dug it up: he made hillocks, hills, mountains and high mountains. "The people in their epic language call such a creation of the earth sowing:" God took a grain of sand and sowed the whole earth with herbs, forests and all kinds of lands " Let's give different options;

b) “Oto, how the Lord creates retinues (they say in Little Russia), he speaks to the eldest angel Satanael: and what, it seems, Archangel Miy! We go to create retinues. - Yes, apparently, God! - like Satanael. And the sea is so darker - it is said: the abyss.From God and, it seems, to Satanael: do you run from that abyss? - God! - Go, it seems, at that abyss to the very bottom, that distance I will crush the sand: look - you will take it, then say to yourself: I take you, the earth, in the name of the Lord.- Good, God! yours and mine. And take wine like this: I take you, the earth, in the name of the Lord and mine! the sea, so that squeak did not bulo - the water swept away. Do not be cunning, Satanail, like the Lord; go again, she does not parry your name! Write again Satanail, saying: I take you, earth, the name of the Lord and your own! - and the sand was gone. Already after the third time, having already said Satanan, I take you the earth, in the name of the Lord! - and from this you already carry the tai, do not squeeze the harvest, and not. On the bottom, so that the water lay down. Ale darma: yak, having gathered his hand, he carried it up to God.

And having taken the Lord of that sand, walk on the mori tai rassivae, and let Satanael lick his hand: if you want a troch, I think I’ll shove it for myself, but I’ll sweat and wake up the earth. And the Lord is Russian: and what, it seems, Satanail, there is no sand in the pit? - No, God! - It is necessary to bless, like the Lord, such, having blessed the earth on all parts of the chotiri, as if blessing, so that earth began to grow.

From the growth of the earth, and taya scho at the mouth of the growth; given it has grown so much that its lip is rospere. God and say: spit, Satanan. Toy, having conceived spitting and spitting, and de vin spitting - then there they burned up, and de harkav - then they rocked there.

According to another legend, swamps, deserts and barren places arose from this.

“From now on, our land is not equal. It seems that God knows the docks were crammed full, otherwise Petro da Pavlo cursed them.

And then even the Lord, and it seems to Satanail: now, it seems, just dedicate the earth, but don’t let it grow, but we’ll fix it. - And good, God even Satanail. And the stench lay down to rest. The Lord is resting, and Satanail thinks, take the land; and having lifted it off that y bizhit (to throw it into the water), but there is no sea; hitting the pivnich - and you can't see it there. Pobivavsya on all chotiri parts of the retinue; there is no sea anywhere ... To drink wine, you can’t see anything, carry God on that very bowl, then kick yourself beside him. After lying down for a while, wake up God: get up, God, sanctify the earth. And God told him: do not scold, Satanail, my land is sacred; having sanctified the nights on all chotiri sides";

c) in Galicia they say that at the beginning of the centuries there was only sky and sea; God was sailing on the sea in a boat and met a large, thick foam in which the devil lay. "Who are you?" the Lord asked him. "Take me to your boat, then I'll tell you." "Well, go!" - said the Lord, and after that the answer was heard: "I'm a devil!"

Silently they swam on. The devil began to say: "It would be good if there was solid ground and there would be somewhere to rest for us." “It will!” answered God, go down to the bottom of the sea, pick up a handful of sand there in my name and bring it; I will make earth out of it.” The devil sank down, took sand in both handfuls and said: "I take you in my name!" But when he came to the surface of the water, there was not a grain left in the handfuls. He plunged again, scooped up sand in the name of God, and when he returned, he only had sand behind his nails.

God took this sand, sprinkled it on the water and created the earth no more, no less, as much as was necessary for both of them to lie down. They lay side by side - God to the east, and the devil to the west. When it seemed to the devil that God fell asleep, the unclean one began to push him so that he would fall into the sea and drown; but the earth immediately expanded far to the east.

Seeing this, the devil began to push God to the west, and then to the south and north: in all these directions the earth was distributed widely and far. Then God got up and went to heaven, and the devil is on his heels; He heard that the angels were praising God in songs, and wanted to create for himself the same number of subordinates in spirit: for this he washed his face and hands with water, sprinkled it back from himself - and creating so many devils that the angels already lacked a place in heaven. God ordered Ilya the Thunderer to unleash thunder and lightning on them. Ilya thundered and shot lightning, for forty days and nights it rained, and along with the great rain came across from the sky and all the devils; even to this day, many of them wander through the skies with bright lights and only now reach the earth;

d) Zaonezhan legend: “Two goldeneyes swam in the pre-Syulian (i.e., old-world) ocean-sea: the first was a white goldeneye, and the other was a black goldeneye. Satan pulled out a handful of earth from the bottom of the blue sea.

From that handful, the Lord created even places and paths, and Satan made impassable abysses, gorges (gorges) and high mountains. And the Lord struck with a hammer and created his army, and a great war began between them. At first, it was the army of Satan that prevailed, but in the end, the power of heaven took over. And Michael the archangel overthrew the satanic army from heaven, and it fell on the earth in different places, which is why water, goblin and brownies appeared.

A similar tradition is found in the apocryphal literature, namely in the article entitled "The Scroll of the Divine Books." Although this article is known to us in the latest and partly corrupted lists, but, without a doubt, its origin is very ancient, traces of the Bogomilian teaching are noticeable in it, and some of the details transmitted by it are found in manuscripts of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Literal, Metaphorical, and Symbolic Interpretation of Scripture

The third contentious issue in modern hermeneutics concerns the literalness with which we interpret the words of Scripture. As Ramm points out, conservative Christians are sometimes accused of "hard-nosed literalism." Their more theologically liberal "brothers" claim that events such as the Fall, the Flood, and Jonah's being in the belly of a fish should be understood as metaphors, symbols, and allegories, not as real historical events Since all words are symbols expressing ideas, liberals say, we should not take these statements in a strictly literal sense.

Conservative theologians agree that words can be used in a literal, metaphorical, or symbolic sense. Here are three sentences that are examples of this usage:

1. Literal meaning: A crown shining with diamonds was placed on the king's head.

2. Metaphorical meaning:(Angry father to son) If you ever do this again, I will put a crown on you. (Approx. translation. - In colloquial American language there is an expression "to put a crown on someone", which means "to hit on the head").

3. Symbolic meaning: And a great sign appeared in heaven - a woman clothed with the sun; the moon is under her feet, and on her head is a crown of twelve stars” (Rev. 12:1).

The difference between the three uses of the word crown is not that the first sentence refers to a real historical event and the other two do not. The literal and metaphorical expressions usually refer to real historical events, as the son can see if he decides to do "it" again (sentence 2). The relationship between ideas expressed in words and reality is direct, not symbolic. However, ideas conveyed in symbolic language (for example, allegorical and apocalyptic literature) also often have a historical connection with reality. So, the woman from Rev. 12:1 may represent the nation of Israel, the twelve stars represent the twelve tribes, the moon is an Old Testament revelation; and the sun is the light of the New Testament revelation.

Difficulties arise if readers interpret the statement differently than the author intended. Serious distortions of the author's meaning arise when literal statements are interpreted metaphorically, and metaphorical statements - literally. If the son seriously decides that after his next disobedience he will receive a golden crown, then a very unpleasant surprise awaits him. In the same way, the court retinue would have been at a loss if the king had been given a thrashing during the coronation, and not put a crown on his head.

If in a certain sense all words are symbols, how are we to determine when they are to be taken literally, when metaphorically, and when symbolically? A conservative theologian would answer that the criterion for determining the accuracy of the interpretation of all kinds of literature is this: the words should be interpreted according to the intention of the author. If the author intended that his words would be interpreted literally, we would be mistaken if we interpreted them symbolically. In the same way, we would be mistaken if the author assumed that his words would be interpreted symbolically, while we would take them literally. It is much easier to establish this principle than to apply it correctly, however, as will be shown in the following chapters, context and syntax are of great help in determining the intent and meaning that the author had in mind.

From the book In the beginning was the Word ... A statement of the main Bible doctrines author author unknown

Literal and personal return. When Jesus ascended on a cloud, two angels turned to the disciples, who were watching the departing Lord: “Men of Galilee! why are you standing and looking at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw

From the book Handbook on Theology. SDA Bible Commentary Volume 12 author Seventh Day Adventist Christian Church

1. The interpretation of Scripture by the scribes before 70 CE. e. In his dissertation, David Instone Brewer analyzed all the surviving manuscripts of the scribes that were written before the rabbinical period beginning in 70 CE. e., and came to the following conclusion: "The forerunners of the rabbis,

From the book Orthodoxy author Titov Vladimir Eliseevich

1. Personal and Literal Evangelists insist that the crucified Lord personally appeared to the disciples after the resurrection from the dead (Mark 16:9; Luke 24:25–43). He invited the doubting Thomas to touch His wounds (John 20:26, 27). Jesus was raptured to glory after proving to his disciples

From the book Doctrine and Life of the Early Church by Hall Stewart J.

Symbolic Interpretation of the Bible However, attempts to confirm the provisions of the Bible with the data of modern natural science, the latest scientific discoveries, can only be successful with a part of believers. This method of reconciling science and religion can only impress those

From the book of creation author Lyon Irenaeus

Interpreting Scripture It is one thing to possess priceless books, it is another thing to read and understand them. The first evangelists, addressing synagogue listeners, tried to confine themselves to just a few lines of the sacred text and, on their basis, show how Christ

From the book Hermeneutics author Werkler Henry A.

Ch. XXVII. The Proper Way to Interpret Parables and Obscure Scriptures 1. A sound mind, trustworthy, devoted to piety, and loving the truth, will willingly meditate on the things that God has placed under the power of men and subjected to our knowledge, and will succeed in doing so, making it easy for

From the book Without distorting the Word of God ... by John Beekman

Literal understanding versus symbolic understanding. The third question, which is of great practical importance for the interpretation of prophecy, is the following: what in the prophecy (and to what extent) should be interpreted literally, and what - symbolically or figuratively.

From the book of Hilarius, Bishop of Pictavia author Popov Ivan Vasilievich

Metaphorical Meaning Is Missing in the Target Language Even if the language has widespread use of metaphors and there is no barrier to the emergence of new figures of speech, some types of metaphors still cannot be transferred to another language. For example, in the languages ​​\u200b\u200bIsthmus zapotek, bachakhon tseltal

From the book of the Monk Maxim the Confessor and Byzantine theology author Epifanovich Sergei Leontievich

Interpretation of the "pejorative expressions of Scripture" The Arians based their doctrine of the lower nature of the Son of God on the so-called "pejorative expressions of Scripture." Therefore, the Orthodox interpretation of these texts was part of the anti-Arian controversy. last four

From the book "Secrets of the Eternal Book". Kabbalistic commentary on the Torah. Volume 2 author Laitman Michael

Interpretation of Holy Scripture What has been said already sufficiently justifies the main point of view of St. Maxim, his desire to see everything spiritual, divine everywhere. But Rev. Maximus, moreover, found a new support for it, placing it in connection with the very essence of Christianity.

From the book Heavenly Books in the Apocalypse of John the Theologian author Androsova Veronika Alexandrovna

Literal understanding is darkness. The true meaning is light. Usually a person is afraid of this, you know, like in the film “Viy”, where graves were opened, coffins were flying. And here he perceives with happiness these opened graves, Adam rising inside a person. Because he

From the author's book

4.3.5. The literal interpretation of the external characteristics of the book as indications of legal documents G. Osborne's statement is characteristic: “... it is unlikely that John chose such details as sealing with seven seals and writing inside and out, solely because of their

From the author's book

4.4.1. Interpretation of the Sealed Book as Old Testament Scriptures (Holy Scriptures) In the patristic tradition, the interpretation of the sealed book as Old Testament Scriptures is widespread, although this interpretation was originally proposed mainly in

From the author's book

4.6.2. Interpretation of St. Quiz Petavisky - a sealed book as a symbolic testament (testament) In paragraph 4.4.1. It has already been noted in this chapter that St. Victorinus understands the book of Revelation 5:1 as the Scripture of the Old Testament. His interpretation of St. Victorinus begins by stating that

From the author's book

5.3.2. Approaches to the interpretation of Revelation 11: preterist, futuristic, idealistic (symbolic interpretation) Chronological identification of the events of Revelation 11:1-13 - the precedence of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Revelation 11:15-19). In the command to measure the temple (Revelation 11:3-13 ) and in

From the author's book

5.3.3. Symbolic interpretation of the narrative of Rev. 11:1-13 as a prophecy about the fate of the people of Israel (according to A. Feya) Interpretation of the exclusion of the outer court of the temple and the trampling of the holy city (Rev. 11: 2) as a symbolic rejection of unbelieving Jews. In Rev 11:1-2

A metaphor is an expression or a word in a figurative sense, the basis of which is a phenomenon or an object that has a similarity with it. In simple words, one word is replaced by another that has a similar sign with it.

Metaphor in literature is one of the oldest

What is a metaphor

Metaphor has 4 parts:

  1. Context - a complete passage of text that combines the meaning of the individual words or sentences included in it.
  2. An object.
  3. The process by which the function is executed.
  4. Application of this process or its intersection with any situations.

The concept of metaphor was discovered by Aristotle. Thanks to him, now a view has been formed on it as a necessary accessory of the language, which makes it possible to achieve cognitive and other goals.

Ancient philosophers believed that the metaphor was given to us by nature itself and was so established in everyday speech that many concepts do not need to be called literally, and its use replenishes the lack of words. But after them, it was assigned the function of an additional application to the mechanism of the language, and not to its main form. It was believed that for science it is even harmful, because it leads to a dead end in the search for truth. Against all odds, the metaphor continued to exist in literature because it was necessary for its development. It was mostly used in poetry.

Only in the 20th century was metaphor finally recognized as an integral part of speech, and scientific research using it began to be carried out in new dimensions. This was facilitated by such a property as the ability to combine materials of different nature. in literature, it became clear when they saw that the extended use of this artistic technique leads to the appearance of riddles, proverbs, allegories.

Building a Metaphor

Metaphor is created from 4 components: two groups and properties of each of them. Features of one group of objects are offered to another group. If a person is called a lion, then it is assumed that he is endowed with similar characteristics. Thus, a new image is created, where the word "lion" in a figurative sense means "fearless and mighty."

Metaphors are specific to different languages. If the Russians "donkey" symbolizes stupidity and stubbornness, then the Spaniards - diligence. A metaphor in literature is a concept that may differ among different peoples, which should be taken into account when translating from one language to another.

Metaphor Functions

The main function of metaphor is a vivid emotional assessment and figuratively expressive coloring of speech. At the same time, rich and capacious images are created from incomparable objects.

Another function is nominative, which consists in filling the language with phraseological and lexical constructions, for example: bottle neck, pansies.

In addition to the main ones, the metaphor performs many other functions. This concept is much broader and richer than it seems at first glance.

What are metaphors

Since ancient times, metaphors have been divided into the following types:

  1. Sharp - connecting concepts that lie in different planes: "I'm walking around the city, shot with my eyes ...".
  2. Erased - so commonplace that the figurative character is no longer noticed ("Already in the morning to me people were reaching out"). It has become so familiar that the figurative meaning is difficult to grasp. It is found when translating from one language to another.
  3. Metaphor-formula - its transformation into a direct meaning is excluded (the worm of doubt, the wheel of fortune). She has become a stereotype.
  4. Expanded - contains a large message in a logical sequence.
  5. Implemented - used for its intended purpose (" Came to my senses, and there again a dead end).

It is difficult to imagine modern life without metaphorical images and comparisons. The most common metaphor in literature. This is necessary for a vivid disclosure of images and the essence of phenomena. In poetry, the extended metaphor is especially effective, presented in the following ways:

  1. Indirect communication using or history using comparison.
  2. A figure of speech using words in a figurative sense, based on analogy, similarity and comparison.

Consistently disclosed in the text fragment: “ A fine rain with dawn washes the dawn», « The moon gives New Year's dreams».

Some classics believed that a metaphor in literature is a separate phenomenon that acquires a new meaning due to its occurrence. In this case, it becomes the goal of the author, where the metaphorical image leads the reader to a new meaning, an unexpected meaning. Such metaphors from fiction can be found in the works of the classics. Take, for example, the Nose, which acquires a metaphorical meaning in Gogol's story. Rich in metaphorical images where they give characters and events a new meaning. Based on this, it can be said that their widespread definition is far from complete. Metaphor in literature is a broader concept and not only decorates speech, but often gives it a new meaning.

Conclusion

What is metaphor in literature? It has a more effective effect on consciousness due to its emotional coloring and imagery. This is especially evident in poetry. The impact of the metaphor is so strong that psychologists use it to solve problems related to the psyche of patients.

Metaphorical images are used when creating advertisements. They spark the imagination and help consumers make the right choice. The same is also carried out by society in the political sphere.

Metaphor is increasingly entering everyday life, manifesting itself in language, thinking and action. Its study is expanding, covering new areas of knowledge. By the images created by metaphors, one can judge the effectiveness of a particular media.

In the literary language, as, indeed, in the spoken language, we often use a variety of figures of speech, sometimes without even realizing it. Few people think: “Hmm, but now I’ll screw in such a metaphor ...” But sometimes it’s very useful to know, to be able to find different artistic elements in someone else’s speech and use in your own. This diversifies speech, makes it more lively, rich, pleasant to the ear and original. In this article, you will learn about one of the most common speech tropes - metaphor.

Trope

First, let's figure out what we are talking about. What are these trails and where do they lead?

Trope (from the Greek τρόπος - turnover) is a word or expression that is used figuratively to enhance, diversify speech. If there were no tropes, our speech would look like a dictionary entry or, even worse, some kind of normative acts.

Here in these cases, the paths are not used at all, because laws, dictionaries, all sorts of instructions, deeds and references should not be figurative, but as specific as possible, not allowing for discrepancies. In all other cases: in conversation, in literature, in journalism, the authors saturate speech with a variety of tropes and figures. This makes speech more artistic, expressive, interesting, rich.

Tropes include such techniques as metaphor - we will talk about it in detail below, as well as metonymy, epithet, hyperbole, comparison, euphemism, and so on.

So, let's move closer to the topic. The concept of metaphor is given yet, and that was quite a long time ago. Then lexicology and philology were born. And most of the terms are borrowed into the modern Russian language precisely from ancient Greek.

Aristotle defined metaphor as "the comparison of an unnamed object with another on the basis of some common attribute." And the word μεταφορά itself is translated from ancient Greek as “figurative meaning”. To make it immediately clear to you, here is an example that is probably familiar to everyone:

Simple as boots (like three rubles, like slippers).

This is the same metaphor. But back to Aristotle. He generally understood all art as "imitation of life." That is, as one big, capacious metaphor. Later, other scientists narrowed down this huge concept, highlighting hyperbole (exaggeration), synecdoche (ratio), simple comparison, and some other tropes into separate categories.

Metaphor Functions

Lexicologists do not just need to define a concept. They still need to describe in detail what functions it performs, for what purpose it is used and exists. In his study in 1992, V.K. Kharchenko singled out as many as 15 (!) functions of metaphor. The main ones, as the high school course says, are text-forming, genre-forming and style-forming functions.


Metaphor "golden hands"

In other words, with the help of metaphors, it is possible to give the text a coloring inherent in some particular genre, style. As for the text-forming function, there is an opinion according to which it is metaphors that create the subtext (content-subtext information) of any work.


Silver hair metaphor

Metaphors can have different functions in different contexts. For example, in poetic texts they most often have an aesthetic function. Metaphor should decorate the text and create an artistic image. In scientific texts, metaphors can have a heuristic (cognitive) value. This helps to describe, to comprehend a new object of study through knowledge of known, already described objects.


Metaphor "Autumn Life"

AT recent times in linguistics, political metaphor is also distinguished (some researchers single out this function of metaphor separately), which is designed to give ambiguity to statements, veil sharp and controversial points, “minimizing the responsibility of the speaker for a possible literal interpretation of his words by the addressee” (I.M. Kobozeva, 2001). A new, manipulative function of metaphor appears. This is how the language and the science about it develops.

How to create a metaphor?

To create a metaphorical expression, you need to find points of comparison or comparison in objects. It's that simple. For example, take the subject "dawn". What would you compare it to? Scarlet dawn, bright, burning ... Let's compare it with fire! And it will turn out what millions of writers did before us: “the fire of the dawn”, “the sunrise burns”, “the fire flared up in the east”. Indeed, this is much more interesting than just writing "the sun was rising."


In fact, writers and poets spend hours to find a good metaphor: apt, figurative, whole. It is no coincidence that we so admire the works of the classics of literature. For example, take the famous poem:

Blew north. Weeping grass
And branches about the recent heat,
And roses, barely awake,
The young heart sank.
She sings - and the sounds melt,
Like kisses on the lips
Looks - and the heavens play
In her divine eyes.

As you can see, both quatrains do not just tell about some phenomenon or person, but create its voluminous, vivid image, embodying the author’s thought, conveying it colorfully and artistically.


Metaphor "Weeping Grass"

So that's what metaphors are for - to create images! With metaphors, we do not just decorate speech, but create a picture for the listener or reader. Imagine a speech without metaphors as a pencil sketch, but enriched with expressive means as a three-dimensional image, and you will understand the meaning of the metaphor.

What are the metaphors?

In modern linguistics, there are two types of metaphors: diaphora and epiphora.

Diaphora (harsh metaphor) is a metaphor that combines very contrasting concepts. In such metaphors figurativeness is clearly visible, they are more figurative. The word itself in ancient Greek means "dispute".


Metaphor "Flower of the Moon"

Examples of diaphora: “flower of the moon”, “honey lips”, “pour balm on the soul”. It can be seen that the concepts for comparison are taken from different areas, so such statements cannot be taken literally, but in the context of the work, their meaning will become clear, adding expressiveness and beauty to the text.

Epiphora (erased metaphor)- this is a familiar expression, often clichéd, which we no longer always perceive as metaphorical. For example: “forest of hands”, “like clockwork”, “grow to the place”.


Metaphor "Forest of hands"

The metaphor-formula is close to the epiphora - an even more stereotypical construction, which can hardly be made non-figurative. Examples: “door handle”, “toe of a shoe”, “spruce paw”. Metaphors also differ in composition into detailed and simple:

Simple metaphors consist of one word used in a figurative sense, or phraseological unit: “make ends meet”, “your eyes are an ocean”.


Metaphor "Your eyes are the ocean"

Expanded metaphors- these are whole phrases or even paragraphs in which one metaphor entails a whole chain of others related to each other in meaning. These examples can be found in any work of the classics. For example, the lines of the poem known to everyone from childhood: “The golden grove dissuaded with a cheerful birch language ...”

Other tropes that are metaphorical

Metaphorical tropes are those that use the transfer of meaning from one word to another.

Hyperbole (exaggeration):“I repeat for the hundredth time”, “millions of people cannot be wrong”. These are exactly the cases when we resort to deliberate exaggeration to strengthen the message. We didn't count if we were really saying something for the hundredth or just the tenth time, but using a large number makes our message seem to be more weighty.


Metaphor "This house is like a castle"

Simple comparison:“This house is like a castle.” We see in front of us just a house that just looks like a castle.

Avatar:"The moon modestly fled behind a cloud." We endow a deliberately inanimate object (the moon) with human qualities (modesty) and attribute human behavior (ran away). A huge number of children's fairy tales with all their Mikhail Ivanovichs, Chanterelles-sisters and Runaway Bunnies are based on this technique.


Metaphor "The moon modestly fled behind a cloud"

Synecdoche:“The whole minibus fell down with laughter.” This technique is akin to hyperbole. He attributes to the part the properties of the whole. He is loved by the authors of numerous network stories - the example given here, I think you have seen more than once. Synecdoche is also called the opposite technique - the transfer of the name from the particular to the general. It can often be recognized by its use of the singular instead of the plural, such as "a Soviet soldier returns victoriously from the war" or "the average person spends 8 hours a day sleeping". This technique is loved by journalists and publicists.


Metaphor "Soviet soldier victoriously returns from the war"

Sometimes allegory is also referred to as metaphorical tropes. Many scientists do not agree with this, placing it in a separate category. Nevertheless, we can mention it here, because an allegory is also a representation of one concept through another. But allegory is more comprehensive, for example, almost all mythology is built on it. An allegory is a representation of a concept or idea through a certain artistic image. All ancient gods are essentially allegories. Thunder and lightning are Perun, Zeus, Jupiter; war - Ares, love - Aphrodite, the sun - Yarilo and so on. Many works are allegories. For example, many scholars believe that the Bible and the Quran are pure allegories that cannot be taken literally.

The metaphor can be simple, consisting of one expression used in a figurative sense (instead of a beehive - "wax cell"), and expanded. An example of an expanded metaphor is the following excerpt from the introduction to V. Mayakovsky's poem "Out loud", in which the poet likens his position to a formidable weapon:

Parade unfolding my troops pages

I'm walking along the line front...

Metaphor characterizing a particular object, phenomenon, concept is divided into several types: individual-author's, anthropomorphic, genitive, zoomorphic, synesthesia (kinesthesia).

Your sun with clawed paws

Clawed into the soul like a knife .;

Like I'm a spring echoing early

Riding a pink horse...

2. Anthropomorphic metaphor - human properties are attributed to either animals or inanimate objects.

The sea laughed;

Dustbin Monk.

3. Genitive metaphor - one of the components is used in the form of R. p.

Reed masts

4. Zoomorphic metaphor - the properties of an animal are attributed to a person, or to an inanimate object

Conscience is a clawed beast;

Sobakevich was a real bear.

5. Synesthesia (kinesthesia) is a linguistic metaphor, but sensory signs are semilated.

Bitter thoughts, sweet dreams, cold heart, hot love.

It is known that four components are involved in the construction of a metaphor - these are two rich objects, the main and auxiliary, correlated with each other (they are called subjects of the metaphor), and the properties of each of them. A metaphor is created by predicating the main subject of the signs of an auxiliary subject. If there are no objects or signs, then metaphorical transfer does not occur. It is believed that general evaluative words (good / bad), including affective ones (beautiful / magnificent, trashy / disgusting, etc.), cannot have metaphorical meanings, since they do not denote descriptive features of objects, but only express the attitude of the subject ratings for her object. In other words, they lack the semantic basis of metaphorization.

Of course, the general assessment "good / bad" is usually derived on the basis of descriptive features of objects, but these features themselves do not contain general evaluative words in their semantics.

Being a multifaceted phenomenon, metaphor is the subject of study of a number of branches of knowledge and sections of linguistics. As a certain type of tropes, metaphor is studied in poetics (stylistics, rhetoric, aesthetics), as a source of new meanings of words - in lexicology, as a special type of speech use - in pragmatics, as an associative mechanism and an object of interpretation and perception of speech - in psycholinguistics and psychology, as way of thinking and cognition of reality - in logic, philosophy and psychology

The metaphor has been most fully studied in lexicology. Both main types of meaningful words - the names of objects and designations of signs - are capable of metaphorizing meaning. The more multi-attribute, informatively rich and undifferentiated the meaning of a word is, the easier it is to metaphorize. Among the names, these are, first of all, specific nouns - the names of natural genders, realities and their parts, creating metaphorical paraphrases (minion of fate, pet of abuse). Among the indicative words are adjectives denoting physical qualities (prickly answer), descriptive verbs (conscience gnaws, thoughts flow), etc. Sometimes the highlighted metaphor is generated by an analogy between whole situations (do not throw words to the wind).

According to the method of influence on the addressee, the metaphor is divided into epiphora and diaphora. For the former, the basis is an expressive function (an appeal to the imagination), for the latter it is a suggestive one (an appeal to intuition). According to the cognitive function, metaphors are divided into secondary (side) and basic (key). The former determine the idea of ​​a specific object or a particular category of objects (conscience is a clawed beast), the latter (these are always diaphors) determine the way of thinking about the world (the picture of the world) or its fundamental part (the whole world is a theater, and we are its actors)

Metaphorization of meaning can occur within the same functional category of words, or be accompanied by a syntactic shift. A metaphor that does not go beyond the specific vocabulary is used for the purposes of nomination. The function secondary to the metaphor serves as a technical device for the formation of the names of objects (the white of the eye, the leg of the table). Nominative metaphor often generates amonymy. Metaphorization of the meaning of characteristic words consists in highlighting in an object (the corresponding class of objects) signs that are likened to a sign inherent in another class of objects (a dull knife and a dull pain, a dull awl and a dull student). This type of metaphor has heuristic, cognitive value and serves as a source of word polysemy. The patterns of expanding the compatibility of characteristic words are reduced to the movement from concrete to abstract and to the action of the principles of anthropophysism and zoomorphism. Metaphorization of meaning may be accompanied by the transition of a noun from a nominal portion to a predicate one. This type of metaphor has as its goal the individualization of the object. The figurative metaphor introduces synonyms into the language (shy and hare). The reverse process of the transition of an attribute value into the category of a specific vocabulary described is not typical for a metaphor.

To clarify the nature of a metaphor, it is important to determine its syntactic properties. A sentence with a metaphorical predicate is syntactically similar to an identity statement in the following ways:

  • 1) it expresses a factual judgment (a metaphor, like an identity, is stated);
  • 2) indicates an ungraded (static) feature;
  • 3) gives a constant characteristic of the object;
  • 4) does not allow syntactic distribution by indicative words indicating the measure of similarity.

It differs from identity sentences in the following ways:

  • 1) the truth of a metaphorically expressed judgment cannot always be logically established;
  • 2) a predicate (figurative) metaphor cannot be coreferential to its subject;
  • 3) the metaphorical sentence is asymmetrical, i.e. does not allow inversion of its members.

These properties bring metaphorical sentences closer to statements of similarity, similarity. Synthesizing the identity and similarity concentrates, sentences with a substantive metaphorical predicate are closest to classifying sentences (You are a rose and This flower is a rose). A metaphorical predicate accepts negation only in the context of a direct expression.