Fiction writing is more than chasing a plot bunny. Whether you are writing fanfiction or poetry, at the core of it, storytelling is the art of taking abstract ideas and presenting them in a palatable and understandable manner. One of the tools we have to achieve this task is metaphors.
But what are metaphors?
And how do we use them?
Is there such a thing as too many metaphors?
Can metaphors be more than a writing technique and actually be woven in the very fabric of your story?
In this blog, I use my decade long writing experience to answer these and more.
Shall we tango?
What are Metaphors?
Metaphors are essentially a form of symbolic or representative writing. The official definition goes along the lines of a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. A popular example would be Shakespeare’s “All the World’s a Stage” or Dickinson’s, “Hope is a thing with feathers.”
Notice how the abstract idea of hope has been made visual and three dimensional by giving it the characteristics of a bird. Or how the stage has become a symbol for the world and its complexities.
This is the crux of a metaphor. The art of taking an abstract or existential idea and putting it in concrete terms.
But just knowing what a metaphor is not enough. For there is something called a simile. And there are symbols. Knowing which is which and where to use a metaphor as opposed to a simile- which compares two objects or ideas- is essential to the art of using a metaphor.
But How to Use Metaphors?
Metaphors can be used in content writing, copywriting, fiction, and poetry writing. It is simply a manner of equating an idea to an object in a manner that adds a little wordplay to the story we are trying to tell. Of course, the main objective is to make something abstract or dry seem more real, visual, and often in the case of sustainability content writing urgent.
Today let’s see how poetry and fiction use metaphors.
Allons-y!
Using Metaphors in Poetry
Metaphors have been used in fiction and poetry since there has been storytelling. As strong as ten lions or as smart as a whip, have been phrases we have heard over and over again.
In poetry, metaphor can add build imagery and make the poem feel relatable without taking away from the profound nature of a poem. The idea of using metaphors in poetry is to do something new, with our comparisons yet evoke a particular feel. Something can be red as blood or red as the lipstick worn by your first love, but the feelings the two evoke are different.
And knowing what your want your readers to feel is knowing what you wish to convey through a poem. Let’s take an example of my poem- Milk in Coffee.
My voice was the sting of bitter black coffee,
Sharp and fierce,
To her milk-chocolate anger.
Here the relatable difference in taste between black coffee and chocolate milk, serves to make real how the emotions felt by the narrator and the other person in the poem are not the same. The difference in taste becomes a way to communicate the difference in intensity.
But it is not just in expressing emotions or ideas that metaphors can be utilized. Metaphors can also be weaved into the fabric or themes of your story. Let’s take a look together, shall we?
Using Metaphors in Fiction
Metaphors are fun. You can take abstract concepts such as power, lust, anger, etc. and use a metaphor or sometimes a motif- a physical recurring idea or object in your work- to communicate those themes.
Want some examples? I got you covered.
I recently wrote a story titled The Mall. By the way, please do give it a read when you can and vote for it if it tickles your fancy, it would do me a huge favour. But back to the point, in that story, I was talking about fast fashion and climate change. But instead of saying well, if we keep choosing fast fashion unnecessarily, we stand to make the climate crisis worse, I used the idea of sentient mall judging people on the clothes they buy.
Where’s the metaphor here?
Well, at the start a character who picks a fast fashion dress when they had the ability and choices to go green, is let out on a busy road and meets with an accident. That is a metaphor for consequences of fast fashion and climate change.
Makes sense?
Let’s take a look at a popular example.
Have you read The Hobbit?
We know the ring in that book, or rather we eventually learn, is a symbol of absolute power. But Bilbo himself is a symbol. He represents simple wisdom of the uncomplicated hobbits who feel not greed. Who value home and food and cheer above all. And standing in opposition to him is the greedy Smaug. Between them are the dwarrow.
The whole story can be seen as a metaphor for how the uncomplicated and those pure of heart will be able to triumph over evil simply because they care for bigger and more important things than squabbles over baubles when needed.
So now that we know we can use metaphor in both plot and writing, let’s share a few of our favourite metaphors in the comments. Stay tuned for next week, where I share how to use metaphors in content and copywriting.
See ya!
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