Lesson 4 The Door to the World

What Is a Metaphor?
More Than Just Words
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a

Have you ever wondered how singers and poets

comparison is made between two different things.

express so much with so few words? Consider, for The word metaphor itself comes from a Greek word

example, the lyrics below. They are from a famous meaning “to carry across.” Metaphors carry meaning

song by the American group, Gym Class Heroes.

from one word, image, or idea to another. In the

“stereo” metaphor, for example, the stereo's ability to

My heart's a stereo. recreate the beat of music is compared to the

It beats for you, so listen close.

heartbeat of someone in love.

Hear my thoughts in every note. Some people think of metaphors as just the sweet

Make me your radio, stuff of songs and poems. In fact, however, we use

And turn me up when you feel low.

metaphors every day. They are baked right into our

language. Dr. Gregory House from the TV series

The lyricist wishes that his heart were a stereo and House M.D. says metaphorically, "I'm a night owl.

that he himself were a radio. Everybody knows that

Wilson's an early bird." A night owl is someone who

these wishes cannot come true. However, the lyrics loves working late at night, whereas an early bird is

sound natural, don't they? The comparisons are made someone who loves working in the morning.

to convey feelings of love in a more concise but

memorable way. In other words, the metaphors of “a

stereo” and “a radio” are used to express the singer's

intense feelings using as few words as possible.

Metaphors: A Source of Difficulty? Almost Universal Metaphors

There are thousands of metaphors native speakers of Learners of English should not despair. Many

English use in everyday situations. You may not know metaphors are almost universal. In many cultures, for

as many as native speakers. Plus, you may find some example, life is often compared to a journey. Since

of them difficult to understand. Consider the life is regarded as a purposeful journey, we think of

examples below. it as having departures, paths, and destinations. The

young can “get off to a good start” in life. The aged

Life is a roller coaster. regard themselves as being “at the end of the road.”

The slide on the playground was a hot stove. In an old Korean popular song, the lyrics begin with,

Her angry words were bullets to him. “Life is a wanderer's path. Where did I come from?

My dad always says to me, “You're the apple of my Where am I going?” This clearly shows that life as a

eye.” journey is not a metaphor unique to English.

Culturally Unique Metaphors

Think carefully about the comparisons made and
Of course, there are cultural differences in metaphors.
what you already know about the world. Then you
These can pose a learning problem for you. Koreans

may be able to understand what the metaphors call something easy “cold gruel” whereas native

mean. If you know that a roller coaster goes up and

speakers of English call it “a piece of cake.” An old

down, you can guess that life also has lots of ups
person with an old way of thinking may be called “a

and downs. However, you may not always be able to dinosaur” in English. The same word can mean “a

guess correctly. For instance, you may fail to see

very big person” in Korean. If you call a man “a

what “the apple of my eye” means even though you

chicken” in America, he will be extremely upset

understand all the words that make up the because it means “a coward.” On the other hand, a

metaphor.
chicken may refer to an inexperienced person in

Korean.

In As You Like It William Shakespeare says, “All the

world's a stage, and all the men and women merely

players.” We cannot conquer the stage full of

metaphors, but we do not need to have stage fright.

We can become better players if we are ready to

learn as much as we can.

Further Reading

Analyzing Personal Language

Language makes communication possible because its

users share the same code. This does not mean,

however, that the code is exactly the same for

everyone. One user is different from another.

Language users themselves may not be aware of it,

but differences still exist. Some experts are interested

in studying these differences. They analyze the

language used by different individuals. This analysis is

possible because every person shows unique

language characteristics.

One person might use a certain word or phrase very

often or have a different writing style from another

person. In some cases, this personal language is so

unique that experts can identify the writer of

documents within a group of suspects. In a criminal

investigation, the police can turn to these experts to

analyze documents. Their analysis often leads to the

arrest of the guilty suspect.