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More Words of Wisdom

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In a quote from William Shakespeare, the world is compared to a stage and Shakespeare’s aim is to describe the world utilizing many of the well known attributes of theatre.

Most poetry is created using devices which provide a means of comparison. In many poems, a few words or emotions in one context will be associated with things in a different context. The two major poetic devices which compare are metaphors and similes. A poetic metaphor is a device which employs figurative or symbolic language and has two basic parts 1.) What is said, 2.) What is meant.

Like all metaphors, it is a figure of speech in which two things are compared and this is usually done so by saying that one thing is another. The relationship is established immediately, heightening the language, providing a shortcut to meaning, and leaving much more to the imagination. While most metaphors are nouns, they can occasionally be verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or prepositional phrases as well.

While both metaphors and similes will compare things which are unlike, a metaphor will differ from a simile, in that there is an implied comparison and what is being compared is not compared using “like” or “as” — similes create an explicit comparison. The word “metaphor” comes from the Greek and means “to carry beyond.” Because metaphors carry us beyond through the use of symbolic or figurative language, they are more efficient than ordinary language, in that they produce maximum meaning through minimum poetic words. In many poems, the poet is attempting to write about subjects, emotions, ideas, or feelings so complex that there is no choice but to use metaphors as ordinary language will not suffice to convey the reality. Metaphors will solicit our intuitive perception of the similar through the dissimilar.

Some forms of metaphors are as follows:

1.) Extended metaphor

An extended metaphor sets up a primary subject with several subsidiary subjects or comparisons.

The above quote from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” is a good example because the world will be described as a stage and then other subsidiary comparisons will be described in that same context. Shakespeare will extend the metaphor and draw comparisons for another 20 lines.

2.) Parables and allegories

Parables and allegories, in many ways, are also extended metaphors. The parable is an anecdote that is a metaphor which teaches a moral lesson; what to do; what to avoid. An allegory is nothing more than a developed metaphor in narrative form where each detail and character is significant and there is a hidden or deeper meaning (ex. The biblical allegory of the vineyard tenants, Mark 12:1-12)

3.) Mixed metaphor

A mixed metaphor has elements which are absurd, contradictory, inconsistent, or incongruent because of incompatible identifications or comparisons. An example would be the phrase “Betty spewed her venom.” In a sense, a nonsensical image is created.

4.) Dead metaphor

A dead metaphor goes unnoticed. It can either be one that is too obscure and not understandable or a metaphor that has become a cliche and has lost its meaning due to overuse. An example would be the phrases “Beating around the bush” or “The pen is mightier than the sword.” These metaphors have become part of ordinary language. The poem that follows makes considerable use of poetic metaphor and compares an older house to an older person.

Michael Hickey is a local writer and poet who lives in Pelican Bay and Swampscott, Mass. His book, “Get Wisdom,” is published by Xlibris Div. Random House Publishing and is available at 1-888-795-4274 Ext. 822, at www.Xlibris.com, or your local bookstore. E-mail Mike Hickey at Mikehic@nii.net.

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THIS OLD HOUSE by Michael Hickey

This old house, I’m beginning to feel

Is badly in need of repair

The paint is starting to peel

Front porch- it just hangs there

Many shingles blew off the roof

The thermostat is showing wear

If you need any further proof

The back door lets out hot air

The insulation is getting thin

But noise outside is gone

In spite of the shape it’s in

Can’t hear much going on

I can’t see out the windows

In the attic squirrels run loose

The lights keep flickering in those

rooms where I always sit and muse

The frame is starting to buckle

I’d prop it up if I could

The plumbing makes me chuckle

Never working like it should

I’m afraid to go down in the basement

Who knows what I’ll discover

The furnace is just about spent

The trash can is missing a cover

But it has a good foundation

With a firm- fixed cornerstone

Guess I’ll rent for the duration

I can’t ever make it my home