Metahpor

Question

Please look at the followingDo the following sentences represent metaphor?1. The horses of justice.2. The reins of the government.3. The virus of John has spread in the body of Lucy.I read that metaphor stand for something else. Now I can't apply that definition in the above examples. Please help me understand in what way they are metaphors?Thank you.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Gargie1. The horses of justice.2. The reins of the government.3. The virus of John has spread in the body of Lucy.

1. Yes. Justice is an abstraction. It can't really have horses.
2. Yes. The government can't have reins. Horses have reins.
3. No. A virus is a real thing, the agent of disease. John had it and passed it to Lucy.

When speaker meaning differs from word meaning, you have a metaphor. For example, when you say that the prime minister takes the reins of government, you don't mean literally 'the reins'; you mean 'control', which is what reins represent.

Speaker meaning: control
Literal word meaning: reins ~ leather straps for controlling the movements of a horse

CJ

GPY · Answer

Gargie3. The virus of John has spread in the body of Lucy.

This sentence seems odd to me. It does not seem to be a natural way of describing the transmission of a literal infection from one person to another. I wonder whether it might be intended to have a metaphorical meaning. What is the context? Where did the sentence come from?

Gargie · Answer

Thank you for replying CalifJim.

Can we not compare horse to justice. Like horse is justice, meaning horse representing justice. And then using it as a metaphor. Like,

The horse /horses of justice has arrived.
(horse / more than one horse characterised by or representing justice)

Similarly, what if I compare virus with John:

For example, 'The metaphorical virus of John has spread in the metaphorical body of Lucy.' Can I not say John to be like a virus here ? Hence it is metaphorical in that way?
Meaning John has complete control over Lucy. Or something like that.

Thank you.

CalifJim · Answer

GargieCan we not compare horse to justice. Like horse is justice, meaning horse representing justice. And then using it as a metaphor. Like,The horse /horses of justice has arrived.(horse / more than one horse characterised by or representing justice)

Yes. That's why that one is a metaphor.

GargieThe metaphorical virus of John has spread in the metaphorical body of Lucy.

You can't just add the word 'metaphorical' to everything and then say it's a metaphor. That way you can make everything into a metaphor, which is certainly not the point. Maybe with further context this statement is metaphorical, but not as it stands.

The metaphorical cat is metaphorically sitting on a metaphorical mat simply cues the reader into believing the writer is saying "The cat is sitting on a mat" but not intending that literal meaning, but the metaphorical meaning is quite obscure and the metaphor fails to communicate anything. To call that a metaphor is bending the idea of metaphor way too much.

CJ

Gargie · Answer

Thank you Jim sir.

So what are these called

1. The poison of sexim.

2. The cancer of corruption.

Are these also called metaphors?

Thank you

CalifJim · Answer

1. The poison of sexism.
2. The cancer of corruption.

These are also metaphoric. Yes.

A true metaphor says that one thing is another, so all the cases we've been discussing are the use of metaphoric language without being exactly statements that one thing is another. Sharon is a block of ice is a prototypical example of a metaphor.

CJ

Metahpor

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions