Why metaphors are important in poetry

How to Identify Figurative Language. List of Five Types of Figures of Speech. How to Identify Metaphors in a Poem. Cara Batema Updated May 25, Since metaphors are comparisons, one object becomes a symbol of another. Where A is compared to B, object B represents the quality or function of object A. A poet may use nonspecific terms in a poem to refer to experiences or objects that are not explicitly named because they are considered offensive or harsh.

For instance, metaphors are frequently employed in the descriptions of erotic experiences, political criticisms, or genitals. The meaning of a metaphor may only be understood by a specific audience from a certain background. Marine Biology. Electrical Engineering. Computer Science. Medical Science. Writing Tutorials. Performing Arts. Visual Arts.

Student Life. Vocational Training. Standardized Tests. Online Learning. Metaphors are often rich In symbols, complex and full of meaning. They come from the unconscious and describe In full detail that unconscious experience. They carry Information between symbols and the meanings symbols. Each symbols can be unique to that Individual experience as seen here In each poem.

The Importance of Metaphors in Poetry By bigness suggests that the one acts like the other in some way. Metronome cutting the air.

The title of the poem supports the idea off repeated metaphor related to music. Swan is known to sing Just before it dies. It is also en said that a swan song is the farewell appearance of a performer who is retiring.

What's in a Metaphor? What is a metaphor? Direct students to the definition of a metaphor either by providing one for the class, or by directing students to read the definition available through the EDSITEment-reviewed web resource Internet Public Library. Ask students to identify a metaphor in the poem.

The poem contains structurally simple metaphors which follow the formula a is b. These can be found in both stanzas. The first contains this line: Life is a broken-winged bird While the second stanza contains the following line: Life is a barren field You may want to begin this exercise by leading students through the metaphors contained in this short poem.

Ask them to think about the following questions: What is this metaphor referring to within the context of the poem? How do these metaphors work in relation to the poem's title, "Dreams?

How is it different from saying that a life without dreams is like a broken-winged bird? Would using a simile rather than a metaphor negate or weaken Hughes' poem? Can you describe how or why this metaphor works? What makes this an effective metaphor and why? Have students read Margaret Atwood's poem You Begin.

The poem contains structurally simple metaphors which follow the formula a is b , such as in the lines: Your hand is a warm stone I hold between two words. You may wish to discuss with students the structure of the entire poem before focusing on the lines highlighted above. This poem effectively models the development of language and how metaphor enables us to deal with increasingly abstract concepts. In the opening stanza of Atwood's poem each of her lines introduces the child and the audience to the concrete world: this is your hand, this is your eye.

Next, she moves to more abstract notions: Outside the window is the rain, green because it is summer. Thus the concrete objects- the rain, the green trees, grass - signify the abstract concept summer.