What is a Metaphor — Definition and Examples

Metaphor Meaning

Breaking down metaphors

In essence, a metaphor is a comparison between two things which suggests a likeness. There are many types of metaphors and even more ways in which they can be used to spark the reader’s interest and imagination. Before we jump into the examples, let's define metaphor.

A metaphor comprises of a tenor and a vehicle. The tenor is the subject, and the vehicle is the object which the tenor is being compared to. The similarity between the two is called the ground, while the difference between them (what makes it a figure of speech) is called the tension.

Take, for example, “His cackle was nails on a chalkboard.” The tenor is the cackle, and “nails on a chalkboard” is the vehicle. The ground between the two is that they’re both difficult to listen to. The tension is that a man’s laugh is never going to sound literally like someone scraping a chalkboard.

Let’s look at how metaphors may appear in everyday speech and writing.

What is a metaphor?

Metaphor examples

Metaphors are everywhere, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re easy to spot. The figurative language can hide in plain sight.

Some metaphor examples:

• “He was a bull in a china shop.”

• “The cubicle was a jail cell.”

• “The queen ruled with an iron fist.”

• “His grief washed over him in waves.”

But we don’t have to pull metaphors out of thin air. Here are a few effective uses of metaphors in literature, songs, and beyond:

• “Life is a Highway”: The title of the song by Tom Cochrane is a straightforward metaphor.

• “All the world’s a stage”: A metaphor in William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

• “Her mouth was a fountain of delight”: From Kate Chopin’s “The Storm.”

• “Love is a Battlefield”: The title of the song by Pat Benetar makes a figurative comparison.

METAPHOR MEANING

Metaphor vs simile vs analogy

From time to time, literary devices can feel somewhat redundant. For instance, we all remember from high school English that similes, analogies, and metaphors are frustratingly similar. 

What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor? They both liken two wholly unlike items. Where a simile uses the “like” or “as” to compare, a metaphor frankly states something as “being.”

For a quick example: when Forrest Gump says, "Life is like a box of chocolates," he's using a simile. When his mom says later in the film, "Life is a box of chocolates," that’s a metaphor. 

To further understand these differences, check out this infographic.

Now that you know the difference between simile and metaphor, let’s look at the difference between analogy vs. metaphor. An analogy is a comparison of two things used for the purpose of explanation. 

Let’s go back to our Forrest example. In the full quote, Forrest says, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” This explanation makes the quote an analogy.

Now, let’s explore different types of metaphors and how you can use them to zhuzh up your script! 

Metaphor Examples

Using Extended Metaphors

An extended metaphor is a nifty tool for writers of any genre. They excel at instilling meaning without coming across as too on-the-nose or preachy about your thematic material. Even more, they can keep your audience engaged, looking deeper into your story for its themes. 

These can serve as an excellent way to elaborate on a comparison. Instead of a direct metaphor like, “The singer was a cat on the stage,” these can get even more descriptive: “The singer was a cat on the stage. He clawed at the air. He hissed his lyrics. And at the conclusion of each song, he purred a ‘thank you.’”

Did you catch the extended metaphor? Let’s look at the speech written out:

Sam is using an extended metaphor of darkness and brightness as a comparison for the hardships he and Frodo are facing. Note all the different ways he invokes this comparison throughout his speech.

By using an extended metaphor, Sam’s monologue also draws on the story's themes of perseverance through hard times, and the power of keeping hope.

As a screenwriter, the number one criticism you’ll hear is show, don’t tell. Making use of an extended metaphor can strengthen your theme without explicitly stating it. 

Metaphor Examples

Using Controlling Metaphors

What if you really extend your comparison, beyond just a few sentences? Well then you just might have a controlling metaphor on your hands. If you thought extended metaphors were helpful in adding to your themes, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Controlling metaphors can be seen all over literature. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, for example, uses the controlling metaphor of invisibility to describe racism in the United States.

Emily Dickinson uses a controlling metaphor in her poem “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers.” She compares hope to a bird, and uses that to inform the entire piece.

Many films, too, have used this type of comparison. Take Pixar’s Turning Red, which uses Mei’s transformation into a red panda as a controlling metaphor for the trials and tribulations of puberty.

Of course, this is directly related to the themes of the film as well – growing up is scary, just like how turning into a giant animal is also scary.

Controlling metaphors are closely related to allegories. But while an allegory’s entire story is supposed to represent something else, a controlling metaphor is still operating as a figurative comparison within the story. 

Whether your story becomes an allegory or not, using a controlling metaphor is great for speaking to the bigger ideas without, you know, actually speaking them.

Implicit Comparison

Using Implied Metaphors

If you’re going to use a metaphor without realizing it, it’s probably an implied metaphor. This subtype can be difficult to spot because it’s deceivingly omnipresent — we use them all the time in our everyday conversations.

Implied metaphors can be used similarly to their more conventional cousins, creating a vivid image in a reader’s head without having to use an exhaustive description. The implied comparison is sometimes even more efficient, creating an image without even mentioning it.

One way to build an implied comparison like this is to try removing one of the elements (the tenor or the vehicle). 

Take this sentence: from The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks.

There’s a lot of figurative imagery here– “like a melon” is a simile and “froglike” is hyperbole. The implied metaphor, however, lies in “sliced across it.” A smile cannot slice a face. Banks is using an implied comparison to a knife to add to the horror of the girl’s visage.

Comparisons to Avoid

Using Dead Metaphors

A dead metaphor can generally be thought of as something cliché. Of course, our job as screenwriters is to be as original as possible. It follows that we’d want to avoid a dead metaphor like the...well, like death.

But dead metaphors have their time and place. Go ahead and find a unique way to use a dead metaphor that reveals your character. If your character is flawed, have her speak like it. 

Examples of dead metaphors:  

• That test was a breeze. 
• Time is running out. 
• He’s champing at the bit.

As a screenwriter, it’s important not to be clichéd. Clichés and dead metaphors have a tendency to come off as bad writing, or even worse, boring. Don’t give an executive a reason to put your script down! If you want to double-check to make sure your script is "cliché-free," here are the top cliches to avoid. 

Hybrid Comparisons

Using Mixed Metaphors

A mixed metaphor may seem like something worth avoiding. But this unique type actually holds a lot of value, for screenwriters in particular. A mixed metaphor has the potential to reveal more about a character than the most regal metaphor you can construct. 

A mixed metaphor can leave the reader confused as to the point of the metaphoric comparison in the first place. However, that’s not to say a mixed metaphor can’t be used to successful effect. For example it may be able to convey tone. 

A mixed metaphor can also do wonders in showing character. For example, take this scene from The Big Lebowski script where Jackie Treehorn interrogates The Dude.

“Does the Pope shit in the woods?” This is a mix of "Is the Pope Catholic?" and "Does a bear shit in the woods?" Here, the Coen Brothers convey The Dude’s stoner state-of-mind by giving him a mixed metaphor.

This is an expert way to convey character traits and speech patterns through even the smallest bit of dialogue. 

Visual Comparisons

Using visual metaphors

Legendary screenwriting guru Syd Field says, "A screenplay is a story told with pictures." When it comes to a feature film screenplay, you want to be as visual as possible. Enter visual metaphors. They, of course, serve the golden creed of ‘show, don’t tell.’  More so, they have the power to condense the essence of your story’s theme into a single image. What’s more powerful than that?   

Ask anyone, film is a visual medium. Especially as screenwriters, it’s vitally important to translate our story into visuals. Many times, this is accomplished through visual comparison. 

One of the founding fathers of cinematic language, Sergei Eisenstein, heavily relied on visual metaphors. One of Eisenstein’s most influential theories was that of the intellectual montage – a technique which would imply comparisons of disparate visuals through the power of editing.

Take a look at this iconic scene from Eisenstein’s Strike (graphic content):

Eisenstein uses the slaughtering of cattle as a visual metaphor for workers getting killed by police. This comparison heightens the violence of the scene, and emphasizes just how routine and heartless these killings were to government officials.

Intellectual montages can still be found today. Watch this example from Lucy:

If we were to write out this visual metaphor as a direct metaphor, it might look like this: “The men were cheetahs hunting their prey; Lucy was an antelope.”

Visual metaphors don’t only exist in intellectual montages. They can also appear in single shots. You can see an example of this in Despicable Me 2:

The fireworks exploding behind the Minion’s kiss is being compared to the explosive love he feels. This specific visual metaphor alone can be found in countless films.

Sometimes, when visual metaphors are used consistently, they can become motifs. A really great and recent example of this idea would be the visual motifs in Jojo Rabbit. Pay particular attention to how butterflies are used.

For more on tying themes into visuals, you might want to understand how motifs work. 

Importance to Screenwriters

Applying Metaphors in Screenwriting

Now that you’ve seen metaphor examples, how would you benefit from applying them to your script? 

A metaphor conveys more information with less words. On the page, word choice, economy, and white space are important factors in making your script read well. If I need to describe a greedy character, I could do so in a lengthy description listing all the ways in which he’s greedy, or I can use a visual metaphor. 

Instead of “Todd is greedy” try “Todd is a cheese-hoarding ship rat.” Now that’s imaginative, visual, and most important, attention-grabbing! 

So, what is a metaphor? They are an extremely helpful literary tool that can vastly improve your screenwriting.

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Explore more literary devices

Onomatopoeia is just one of many literary devices and types of figurative language, including euphemism, oxymoron, personification. If you're a writer and want to develop your craft fully, do yourself a favor and continue this exploration. The next article on literary devices is a gateway to many of these tools that help add substance and style to any type of written work.

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