Metaphors in literature serve two functions: to enhance understanding and to create artistic images. They include comparisons using “like” or “as” and those without. Examples of metaphors can be found in ancient works like the Epic of Gilgamesh and modern works like The Crucible. The use of metaphor requires skill and attention to avoid mixed metaphors or jarring the reader.
The function of metaphor in literature is twofold. The first, and most practical, function is to allow the reader a greater understanding of the concept, object or character being described. This is done by comparing it to an item that might be more familiar to the reader. The second function is purely artistic: to create an image that is beautiful or profound or otherwise produces the effect the writer desires. For these reasons, writers have used the metaphor since the earliest recorded stories.
The term metaphor is used extensively in this sense to describe any instance where something is figuratively compared to something else. This includes likeness, which compares things using words like like or as. On the contrary, the metaphor in its usual meaning dispenses with such words, describing something by calling it something else, as when Shakespeare’s Romeo says: “Juliet is the sun.” Other metaphorical figures of speech include metonymy, using a single word to represent a complicated idea; for example, the word Hollywood is often used to describe the film industry. Metaphor in literature serves to make writing more accessible and colorful at the same time.
Examples of the metaphor in literature appear in the earliest surviving works of literature, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, from 1000 BC, and Homer’s Odyssey. Homer in particular was known for his extended epic similes comparing characters to objects or animals of considerable length. Shakespeare’s metaphors, often used in dialogue in his plays, are praised for their beauty. This fulfilled the second function of metaphor in literature as well as the first. Romantic poets of the 18th century further developed this beauty, such as the Scottish poet Robert Burns who wrote: “My love is like a red rose”.
In modern times, writers may put metaphor to more complicated uses, such as extended metaphor. For example, in his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses the Salem witch trials as a metaphor for the anti-communist hysteria of 1950s America. This metaphor is not spelled out in the work itself and requires knowledge of the story and the writer’s intentions to be apparent. Science fiction, in particular, provides many examples of the extended metaphor in literature. Stories from the Star Trek and X-Men series often use aliens or human mutations as metaphors for racism, sexism and homophobia.
The use of metaphor requires some attention on the part of the writer. A poorly chosen metaphor can lead the reader out of the story and is a common flaw of inexperienced writers. A mixed metaphor occurs when two different metaphors are applied to the same subject, as in “up the creek without a clue.” Experienced writers, on the other hand, can use metaphors in surprising and creative ways, as Margaret Atwood does in her short poem “You Fit into Me.” The poem reads, in its entirety: “You look good to me/Like a hook in an eye/A fishhook/An eye open.”
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