The metaphor is a poetic device that is within the category of imagery or figurative language, because metaphors are comparisons that produce immediate images in our mind. According to the Literary Term Page, a metaphor ôàestablishes a relationship at once; it leaves more of the imagination. It is a shortcut to the meaning; it sets two unlike things side by side and makes us see the likeness between themö (Metaphor, 2005, p. 1). The following story of a horseback ride I took last summer incorporates the use of metaphor throughout.
During my summer break, I was taken by my aunt, an avid horse lover, to a riding camp where we were able to take two horses and go on a day trip all by ourselves. My aunt is an experienced rider. She is Calamity Jane when she gets on a saddle. I am a drunken sailor when I sit atop a horse. Together, we make quite an odd pair, representing the good and the ugly of horse riders. My auntÆs horse, Cocoa, possessed a coat that was black coal, while my horse, Ella, featured a mottled coat with a face that was tough as leather. Aunt JuneÆs riding is poetry in motion. My riding is a shipwreck in comparison. Nevertheless, we were both of good cheer, rode all day, stopping for a picnic, and then returned to the compound by sunset. ôLife is scrumptious,ö Aunt June remarked when we demounted our steeds and I had to agree as I watched the sun setting on the horizon.
Metaphor. (2005). The Literary Term Page. Viewed on Aug 16, 2005: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/ metaphor.html, 1-2.
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