Metaphor

Metaphor (Greek metaphora – “transference’) is a trope that involves the use of words (word-combinations) in transferred meanings by way of similarity, re-semblance or analogy between them. Let us study the following metaphor: Front Settin in the Baltic to Trestie in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. (Winston Churchill) Technically. The subject to which the metaphor is applied is the tenor ("political situation, resulting hi the division of the world into two antagonistic parts" in the example above), whereas the metaphorical term is the vehicle ("an iron curtain"). The third notional element of metaphor is the ground, i.e. the bas|is for drawing the comparison, the feature the tenor and the vehicle have in common. There are three types of metaphorical transfer possible: 1. the transfer of the name of one object to another: e.g. Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player... (Shakespeare) 2. the transfer of the mode of action: e.g. / hope this will hare cushioned your loss. Leaving Daniel to his fate, she was conscious ofjoy springing in her heart.(Bennett) 3. the transfer of the typical characteristics: e.g. The fog comes on little cat feet.(Sandburg) Let us consider the following examples of metaphor identifying the tenor, vehicle and ground for comparison as well as naming the type of metaphorical transfer:
1) She looked down on Gopher Prairie. The snow stretching without break from street to devouring prairie beyond, wiped out the town's pretence of being a shelter. The houses were black specks on a white sheet. (Lewis)
2) I was staring directly in front of me. at the back of the driver's neck, which was a relief map of boil scars. (Salinger)
 3) She was handsome in a rather leonine way. Where this girl was a lioness, the other was a panther - lithe and quick. (Christie)
 4) Wisdom has reference only to the past. The future remains for ever an infi¬nite field for mistakes. You can't know beforehand. (Lawrence)
 5) The man stood there in the middle of the street with the deserted dawnlit boulevard telescoping out behind him. (Howard)
6) He smelled the ever-beautiful smell of coffee imprisoned in the can. (Steinbeck)
7) We talked and talked and talked, easily, sympathetically, wedding her experience with my articulation. (John Barth)
8) She and the kids have filled his sister's house and their welcome is wearing thinner and thinner. (John Updike)
9) He had hoped that Sally would laugh at this, and she did. and in a sudden mutual gush they cashed into the silver of laughter all the sad secrets they could find in their pockets. (John Updike)

As far as structure is concerned, metaphor can be conveyed through any notional part of speech and in any pait of the sentence. Metaphors can be divided into genuine and trite (dead). 

Thus, metaphors, which are almost absolutely unexpected and unpredictable, are genuine ones, whereas those that are common in speech and therefore are sometimes even fixed in dictionaries as expressive means of language are trite ones. For instance, the metaphor 'an iron curtain ' used to be very striking and truly genuine at the time of Winston Churchill, but has lonle since become trite. Some once-genuine metaphors have become pan and parcel of modem language (especially of its colloquial layer). The classic example of a metaphor's turning into an idiom is 'a green-eyed monster'used by William Shakespeare in relation to Othello. Now it is applied to any jealous person. The sentences below contain trite metaphors, many of which are. In fact, frequently-used idioms. By its structure a metaphor can be simple (one-step) or sustained (prolonged, extended, a chain of metaphors). A simple metaphor consists of one word or word-group whereas a prolonged one is sustained by some additional images.

For example, let us consider the afore-mentioned verse from Macbeth where, in fact, we deal with two extended metaphors: Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing... 

Metaphor

A metaphor is a relation between the dictionary and contextual logical meanings based on the affinity or similarity of certain properties or features of the two corresponding concepts. Metaphor can be embodied in all the meaningful parts of speech, in nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and sometimes even in the auxiliary parts of speech , as in prepositions. Metaphor as any stylistic devices can be classified according to their degree of unexpectedness. Thus metaphors which are absolutely unexpected, are quite unpredictable, are called genuine metaphors. e. g. Through the open window the dust danced and was golden. Those which are commonly used in speech and are sometimes fixed in the dictionaries as expressive means of language are trite metaphors or dead metaphors e. g. a flight of fancy, floods of tears.
Trite metaphors are sometimes injected with new vigour, their primary meaning is re- established alongside the new derivative meaning. This is done by supplying the central image created by the metaphor with additional words bearing some reference to the main word. e. g. Mr. Pickwick bottled up his vengeance and corked it down.
The verb " to bottle up " is explained as " to keep in check", to conceal, to restrain, repress. So the metaphor can be hardly felt. But it is revived by the direct meaning of the verb "to cork down". Such metaphors are called sustained or prolonged. Stylistic function of a metaphor is to make the description concrete, to express the individual attitude.