Hello, fellow writers! Let’s continue our discussion of metaphor. Here are some definitions:
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Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan, Writer’s Digest Books, 1999
Chapter 5: Figuratively Speaking: A “Perception of Resemblances” (Part 2)
Simile: A comparison of two things that uses a connective. “Your hair is like a dark river.”
Metaphor: A comparison without a connective. “Your hair is a dark river.”
Implied Metaphor: A comparison that alludes to the object it’s using for comparison and does not use the verb “to be.” “Your hair twists and meanders across the landscape of your shoulders.”
Hyperbole: An exaggerated metaphor or simile. “My boss is pond scum.”
Personification A figure of speech that speaks about an inanimate object, a force of nature or an abstract term as if it were a person. “The trees were serene.”
Animism: Similar to personification but does not imply human life. “The love that ended yesterday crawled out of the sea.”
Paradox: A seemingly contradictory statement. “She loved John too much to stay with him.”
Metonymy: A reference to something, not by its own name but by something closely related to it. “From birth to death” becomes “from cradle to grave.”
Synecdoche: A metonymy that allows part of something to stand for the whole of it. “Lend a hand.”
Analogy: A comparison between two relationships using A is to B as C is to D. “A book is an axe for the frozen sea within.”
Allegory: A story or description in which each element—each person, place, thing, and idea—is metaphorical. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is a classic example.
Conceit: A long, complex comparison between two things that are extremely unlike, such as comparing separated lovers to the legs of a compass.
Symbol: A concrete object that points to an abstraction. In Poe’s “The Raven,” the bird points to death. In Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, blood points to courage.
Ack! And I thought all I had to worry about were similes and metaphors.
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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, 2008
We star-crossed lovers from District 12, who suffered so much and enjoyed so little the rewards of our victory, do not seek the fans’ favor, grace them with our smiles, or catch their kisses. We are unforgiving.
And I love it. Getting to be myself at last.
By this point in the story, I agree with the character’s assessment.
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, 2008
The memories swirl as I try to sort out what is true and what is false. What series of events led me to be standing in the ruins of my city? This is hard because the effects of the concussion she gave me haven’t completely subsided and my thoughts still have a tendency to jumble together. Also, the drugs they use to control my pain and mood sometimes make me see things. I guess. I’m still not entirely convinced that I was hallucinating the night the floor of my hospital room transformed into a carpet of writhing snakes.
I half remember a old cure for insanity. Throw the person into a snake pit. No thanks.
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I’m done for this week. I’ll be back on Tuesday.
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