Visual Metaphor Research

Part 1: Verbal Metaphors


1) “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine
      target: world
       source: book
      ground: book has a lot of pages, just like the world consists of many countries or destinations
      tension: scale, shape, what they are made of
      The metaphor compares traveling with reading, and equates an intangible idea of not traveling with just reading one page in a book. It provides an illustration.

2) "Past is a foreign country." - David Lowenthal
        target: past

          source: foreign country

          ground: often beyond our reality and experience

          tension: past describes time, while country describes space
          This line is a title of an article, that summarizes the idea explored by a scholar Lowenthal. The idea is that people never exactly know what happened in the past, since they were not present there, just like they can't completely know and understand people from another country because they are not present there and don't walk in those people's shoes.

3) "All the world's a stage." - William Shakespeare
       target: world / life

          source: stage / theater

          ground: in life and theater, people play roles

          tension: theater shows imagined scenarios, while world/life is reality
Shakespeare compares the world / our life to a theater to emphasize how in life we often have to play roles written for us by society, our jobs, our families, etc.

4)  "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." - Ernest Hemingway

          target: Paris

          source: moveable feast

          ground: lively festive and romantic atmosphere, beauty

          tension: Paris - a specific geographic location, feast - a general word that describes a celebration

With this metaphor, Hemingway wants to say that Paris can be such a bright and happy memory, that wherever the person goes, the memory of Paris remains a source of inspiration and fulfillment.

5)  "The ocean was a smooth skin reflecting the light with the million mirrors." - Yann Martel, Life of Pie
         target: ocean

          source: skin

          ground: smooth surface

          tension: different density: ocean is water/liquid, skin is flesh
Metaphor emphasizes the flatness and smoothness of water.

Part 2: Visual Metaphors

1) Alessandro Gottardo, Embracing the sloth, Real Simple, 2012

          target: meadow

          source: lake/river/body of water

          ground: flat surface, association with leisure time and summer

          tension: texture, color

Metaphor uses replacement and similarity.

2) Alessandro Gottardo, The day I felt the richest, Reader's Digest, 2012

          target: sun

          source: melon

          ground: shape, color, association with summer, warmth

          tension: size, structure, purpose

Metaphor uses fusion and similarity.

3) Alessandro Gottardo, Classic novel treasure, Real Simple, 2012

          target: book

          source: door

          ground: shape, both can be open and peeked into

          tension: size, purpose

Book can be opened just like a door that leads to treasures, secrets, knowledge. Metaphor uses fusion and similarity

4) Alessandro Gottardo, Asia and Middle East problem, Plansponsor Magazine, 2012

          target: bowl of soup

          source: storm

          ground: liquid

          tension: size, taste

Storm in a bowl with Eastern design communicates the problems/conflicts taking place inside Eastern countries. Metaphor uses replacement and similarity

5) Chris Buzelli, Giant Obligation, Plansponsor Magazine

target: obligation

          source: whale

          ground: giant, heavy

          tension: obligation is an idea, whale is an actual object

Metaphor illustrates the heaviness and hugeness of the obligation through comparing it to the whale.

Metaphor uses replacement and similarity

6) Chris Buzelli, Book Monster: taming the wild text, Educational Leadership Magazine

target: fear of reading / learning to read

          source: monster / dragon

          ground: scary, intimidating, hard to overcome

          tension: intangible vs tangible

Metaphor uses juxtaposition and similarity

7) Stephen Savage, Trouble in Venezuela, New York Times

target: troubles in Venezuela

          source: fire in neighbor's apartment

          ground: can be watched from a safe distance, neighbor relations, map location: US on the North, 

          tension: scale of two apartments vs two countries, scale of the actual problem

Metaphor uses fusion and similarity

8) Stephen Savage, History of American Thought, The New York Times Book Review

target: American thought

          source: light bulb

          ground: idea of enlightenment

          tension: concept vs actual object

Metaphor uses fusion and connection.

9) Luke Melanson, Can't help myself: the power of habits, New York Times book review

target: average person

          source: puppet

          ground: humanoid

          tension: alive and thinking vs. inanimate, in control vs. being controlled  

Metaphor uses fusion and opposition.

10) Christina Ung, Financial incompatibility

target: financial incompatibility

          source: family conflict, sexual incompatibility, adultery

          ground: negative, about breaking apart

          tension: different aspects of the relationship, financial is more practical, 

while love is more emotional 

Metaphor uses fusion and connection