Understanding Metaphor and Metonymy

I tend to begin my semester in high school English with a discussion on metaphor.  Most upperclassmen come equipped with the textbook definition of metaphor as “literary device” so they think they know it.  That is, until I start using music, speeches, and everyday conversation to help them see how metaphor is infused into almost everything we hope to express.  And since metaphor is so pervasive, I actually ask them to scour the world and look for examples of writing with no metaphor.  It is a challenging assignment, and it often only by accident that a student will stumble upon that rare song that is entirely literal in all that it has to say.  In poetry, I think, one must go to the work of William Carlos Williams to find a poem without metaphor… yet even then, it is hard to say if his literal, real-world images are meant to be symbolic of something else.    Once a student’s eyes are opened to metaphor, they begin to see it everywhere.  As an example, I went back and emboldened each word or phrase with metaphoric qualities.  I did not mean to use them.  It’s just that metaphor is infused into common prose.

Where this assignment has challenged me is to begin considering the prominence of metonymy.  This added a new layer to my thinking of symbols in language.  Throughout the reading, it suddenly occurred to me just how metonymic early written languages were.  Like cave paintings… and later, hieroglyphics.  I think of Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and how he was able to look at the ancient pictures and still interpret the universal meaning.  How does a reader of cave paintings, hieroglyphics, or an urn compare to today’s ‘reading’ of the symbols and words in digital media?  Is the internet a return to this kind of communication?

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To answer our discussion prompts on this topic: 

What is metaphor? Give example from the reading.

Metaphor is when one term is linked to another through analogy.  Metaphors often show or imply a connection between two seemingly unlike things, and yet the reader is often able to understand the connection.  Our reading uses the term “leech” to describe a friend who always borrows money.  We understand that the friend consumes money like the leech consumes blood.

What is metonymy? give example from the reading. 

Metonymy is when a wordless symbol is substituted for a word, idea, organization, etc.  Our reading used the example of the Nike ‘swoosh.’

How did you apply the concepts of metaphor or metonymy? How well did you apply them? Give an example from your presentation of information.

Although my presentation did not contain a great deal of metaphor or metonymy, I did use a few images such as two children dressed in blue and gray Civil War uniforms to represent violence.  And as for the soundtrack, it was chosen for its similarity to video game “chip tunes” to help represent the overall theme of “Learning Through Play.”  By no means did I “ace the test” of metaphor use, but the few metaphoric moments in my presentation were intentional.

Review 3 of your peers presentation of information and  identify a good example of Metonymy and Metaphor. Take a screen shot of the example upload it to your blog and explain why it is a good example.

 This example of Metonymy by Jaime Ford covers a lot of information without using written words.  I can see that the over 8 million STEM workers of the near future will work with genetics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and technology.  This is so much better than a list.  Ford’s entire presentation uses this technique wisely.

I find Lady Gaga fascinating.  Here Ashley Phillips pairs images of the pop singer in a sort of political drag outfit next to an American flag, with rainbow colors behind here.  As a culture, we get the use of the color scheme with the term equal rights, because the LGBT equality movement has used the rainbow as a symbol.  This is a good use of metonymy on Phillips’s part.

This image from Candi Thomas’s presentation stood out to me.  The two images sum up “Hotel Life” without having to explain why that can be a challenging part of being a motocross racer.  The carpet in the image on the left serves as a metonymic reminder of what hotels look, feel, and smell like.

References

Ford. J. (2014, June 1). Multimodal Presentation on STEM Education. [Web log message]. Retrieved on June 7, 2014 from http://biologyitgrowsonyou.blogspot.com/2014/06/multimodal-presentation-on-stem.html

Orden, A. (n.d.). metaphor and metonymy. Retrieved on June 5, 2014 from http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/metaphormetonym.htm

Philips, A. (2014, June 2). Lady Gaga. [Web log message]. Retrieved on 
June 7, 2014 from http://ashleyphillips2504.blogspot.com/2014/06/multimodal-imformation-presentation.html

Thomas, C. (2014, May 28). Motocross: Multimodal. [Web log message]. Retrieved on 
June 7, 2014 from http://sportmotomom1.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html