I’ve been thinking a lot about metaphors. So what, you say… that’s what poets do. But metaphors, which so often gets a bad rap from people who don’t particularly care for poetry, are pretty common within our everyday language. In the movie As Good as it Gets, Jack Nicholson utters this line, “People who speak in metaphors should shampoo my crotch.” Yes, the irony makes for a good laugh. So the question I have is do we tend to overuse metaphor in everyday communications? Do people really recognize metaphor in use outside of poetic device? Let’s go a step further and just say for instance that it has become overused in everyday language, would that diminish its value in poetry?
If the word "metaphor" has become overused in everyday language (and I have no idea whether that's the case), it doesn't diminish the power of a metaphor. Think allegory--which, I think, is metaphor on a grand scale.
ReplyDeleteAll that said, in a session I attended at Winter Wheat, I was introduced to the concept of a "controlling metaphor." In this passage of Kerouak's about stumbling into a gorge in dark, the controlling metaphor was jazz. Okay, still trying to grasp that one.
LOL when you've finally grasped that one, maybe you can help me with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to build a case for demenished value of metaphors in poetry, I had heard an arguement a while back about them being overused in everyday language so it got me to thinking. That always has dangerous possibilities. ;)
I mostly wanted to know what others were thinking. As for them getting a bad rap, I think there is a lot of negative attitude in general but that is not surprising to me because a good many readers today don't want to have to exercise their minds when reading.