Saturday Mix – Mad About Metaphor, 18 January 2020

Welcome to the Saturday Mix – Mad About Metaphor, 18 January 2020!

This week we are dipping our toes into the pool of METAPHOR. Our challenge is all about the use of metaphor in our writing. You will need to use the metaphor provided in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Our metaphor this week is:

– You are my sunshine.

You may be asking yourself, How can I use metaphor in my writing?

Luckily, yourdictionary.com has some examples for you.

Simply put, a metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison. With metaphors, words or phrases that are ordinarily applied to one thing are applied to something you wouldn’t necessarily pair it with. Metaphors are members of the figurative language family, which also include elements like similes, onomatopoeia, and personification.

Common Metaphor Examples

Some famous metaphors have become part of our everyday speech and are frequently used in writing and oral language.

• “I’m drowning in a sea of grief.” Here grief is so overwhelming that the person feels helpless, like they’re being pulled underwater.

• “She was fishing for compliments.” The woman isn’t literally casting a lure to hook compliments out of the ocean. Rather, it’s a dead metaphor used to signify a desire for accolades.

• “He broke my heart.” Your heart isn’t literally broken; you’re just feeling hurt and sad.

• “You light up my life.” Of course, no one can provide physical light. This expression is simply saying that someone brings them joy.

• “Time is a thief.” Fortunately, time doesn’t put on a ski mask and lurk around dark corners. This metaphor illustrates the point that time seems to pass quickly and our lives flash by.

• “He is the apple of my eye.” There is, of course, no apple in someone’s eye. The apple is someone held dear.

• “She has such a bubbly personality.” No one’s personality can bubble up like a glass of champagne. This metaphor is used to signify someone who’s especially cheerful.

• “This is the icing on the cake.” While cake is always welcome, cake with icing is even better. This means something wonderful has happened on the heels of a happy day.

• “His words cut deeper than a knife.” Words don’t materialize into sharp objects. In this metaphor, someone has said something hurtful to another.

Example of Metaphor in Literature

In this poem, Emily Dickinson uses a metaphor to compare hope to a bird. She personifies hope as having feathers and perching in the soul, singing without end. Most people can relate to the feeling of hope; it lifts us up, stirring feelings of freedom and levity.

“Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.”

Source: YourDictionary Editors. “Metaphor” yourdictionary.com, http://examples.yourdictionary.com/metaphor-examples.html (accessed January 18, 2020).

 Good luck with your ‘Mad About Metaphor’ task – I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Don’t forget to tag ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’, ‘Saturday Mix’, and hashtag #MAM.

As always, make sure you link your fabulous creation to the helpful Mister Linky.