Metaphors

A metaphor is defined as a figure of speech containing an implied comparison.

The components of a metaphor are:
   • The tenor: the object in question
   • The vehicle: the image it is compared to
   • The ground: the attributes of the vehicle which may be transferred back onto the tenor,
      thereby creating new meaning.

Tenor	Vehicle	Ground
World	Stage	Acting
Eyes	Stars	Shining brightly
Football ground	Battlefield	Fighting

The most common types of images are:
A metaphor equates two items (e.g. ‘All the world’s a stage’).
A simile compares two items, indicated in words of comparison such as ‘like’ or ‘as’ (e.g. ‘The eyes of my love are like stars’).
A personification is the attribution of human nature to inanimate objects (e.g. ‘stars dancing’), or the representation of an abstraction in the form of a person (e.g. ‘the grim reaper’).

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