Metaphor

Goals

Lesson Plan

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Metaphor: Introduction

Metaphor is often thought of as something that is confined to literary texts, but as we shall see, this really isn't the case.

Everyday language is full of metaphor, and it is actually quite difficult to use language without it!

Let's look at an example - the metaphor of LIFE IS A JOURNEY. (In linguistics, the standard way to show metaphor is by using capital letters). In this metaphor, the abstract concept of 'life' is understood as a concrete, physical 'journey'.

This generates sentences such as:

Of course, there is no physical movement being described in each of these. There are no 'middle-aged crossroads' to stop at, and plans do not physically 'move forwards'. Metaphors such as these are useful in language as they provide a way of talking about something abstract and intangible (e.g. 'life') as something concrete and tangible (e.g. 'a journey').

Examples

Here are some examples of different metaphors:

TIME IS MONEY

GOOD IS UP / DOWN IS BAD

More examples

LIFE IS A CONTAINER

POLITICS IS WAR

Could you think of any other examples for these categories of metaphors?

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Metaphor: Activity

Attached to this page are some extracts of a 2016 speech delivered by David Cameron after the UK voted to leave the European Union. For each extract, you will be asked to do two things:

1) Work out what metaphor is being used. What is being understood in terms of what?

2) Comment on why you think that metaphor is used. What purpose does it serve? What kind of meaning does it carry, in the wider context of the political situation in which the speech took place?

You will see on the handout that one example has been done for you.

Extension 1

Using the same metaphor structures (e.g. TIME IS MONEY, DOWN IS BAD, etc.) that you found in David Cameron's speech, write a new section of the speech. You could then swap with a partner and analyse each other's writing in terms of metaphor.

Extension 2

Find a different political text - a speech or campaign leaflet, for example. Does this use any of the same metaphors that you found in David Cameron's speech? What comparisons could you make between the use of metaphor in the two texts? You could also:

Further reading

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