A little room to wonder

Metaphor & Comparison

A metaphor describes one thing through another to suggest a relationship. A useful reading explains the shared feature without treating the comparison as a literal scientific claim.

Which feature is being compared, and which features are not?

The Rosetta Stone with bands of inscriptions in different scripts.
The Rosetta Stone is a physical example of historical writing. The model-forest metaphor is a new English example and is not a translation of its inscriptions.© Hans Hillewaert, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Separate literal and figurative readings

A literal statement aims to describe something directly. In “the bookshelf is a forest”, a metaphor invites a relationship between two unlike things rather than claiming that wooden shelves have become living trees.

A simile makes a comparison explicitly, often using like or as: “The tall shelves stood like tree trunks.” Those comparison words do not by themselves make every sentence figurative; “this square is like that square” may be a literal similarity.

Specify the connection

A comparison might concern shape, movement, density or another quality. Explaining that feature makes an interpretation more useful than simply naming the device. Some details of the second thing will not transfer.

A metaphor can be memorable and still be a poor explanation. If the proposed shared feature is unclear, a reader may import an unintended meaning. Context can narrow the possibilities without making every reader’s response identical.

Worked example: an original model-room image

An invented line reads, “The model towers were a forest above the table.” A plausible connection is many tall vertical forms grouped closely together. The line does not establish leaves, roots, living growth or an actual ecosystem.

A literal revision reads, “Twelve narrow towers stood close together on the table.” It supplies count and arrangement more directly, while losing the forest association. Which version is preferable depends on whether the text is a fictional description or a record of measured features.

Check comparisons before using them as models

An analogy used to explain a system needs limits as well as similarities. Calling a computer a brain, for example, does not establish that both work in the same way. A striking phrase is not evidence of a shared mechanism.

Use invented objects and neutral imagery here. No personal identity, belief or emotional disclosure is required. You can explain the comparison without writing a poem or performing it aloud.

Only if you feel like trying

Explain the boundary of a metaphor.

  1. List two features that could transfer in the supplied forest metaphor and two that should not be assumed.
  2. Write one literal version and one simile about an invented paper arrangement.
  3. Choose which version suits a fictional scene and which suits a factual inventory, explaining why.

Optional. Use the supplied fictional example, pencil and paper, or explain your choices aloud. No personal story, account, purchase, public sharing or contact is needed.