Metaphorically Speaking

Some things are just too big to understand. Whether it is the meaning of life or explaining a computer program to a grandmother, straightforward explanations do not always suffice. Metaphors are used in everyday conversation, but most commonly recognized in literature. It is using a simple, comprehendible object/ action to represent something more meaningful. Metaphors are like similes, which compare two things using "like" or "as," but in a metaphor, the second of the two things is usually something deeper. An author would not say a house of crystal is "like" the fragility of life and what separates him/her from being a part of the outside world, but leave readers to assume. Imagine. (Example from "Yo en el Fondo del Mar- Alfonsina Storni). Metaphors are essential in poetry because there is no room for eloquence and explanation in poetry. A metaphor can evoke emotions and ideas that describing a situation cannot. Also, even if an author has an intended meaning for a metaphor, readers can interpret it countless different ways, whether for a class assignment or to actually make it relevant to his/her own life and how it should be lived.

Metaphors are also used in history and science to describe events and processes that are no longer relevant in our time. People in the United States are not able to sympathize with victims of the Pakistan Flood unless the comparison is made to a event like Hurricane Katrina. No one actually knows what happened when the Hun's conquered millions of miles and people, so historians must compare it to what they know and see in the world today. Similarly, metaphors are essential for occurrences out of our reach. I just learned about black holes in my astronomy class, but no one or thing has ever been in (and more importantly back out of) a black hole, so astronomers must compare it to what they can measure, like canyons on earth to measure how light acts when an object is falling into a black hole.

Metaphors are also used for events that should or cannot be described, such as death and life. Upon a person's death, 99 out of 100 times someone will say that he/she has gone to a "better place," but what does that actually mean? "Life is like a box of chocolates." Someone's "soul-" if it's there or gone, in life or death, or if it is in 7 different horcruxes. Metaphors give more meaning, feeling, imagination, and creativity to someone/event/thing/idea than any sequence of words.