Let’s Get Meta: a look at analogies and why we use them — M. Miles

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As I read a novel, I like to collect some of its most evocative phrases and store them in my journal. Leafing through that journal, I’ve noticed that analogies (metaphors, similes, and the like) far outweigh all other types of phrases, which has led me to ponder the allure of the gems that make up […]

via Let’s Get Meta: a look at analogies and why we use them — M. Miles

11 thoughts on “Let’s Get Meta: a look at analogies and why we use them — M. Miles”

    1. Bea dM

      Good question, some of the ones in the examples are excellent – and I must re-read F. Scott Fitzgerald on the lookout for analogies – but indeed, if you go Baroque with too many, you lose your reader

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      3. Paul Post author

        This is a good point and one that another wonderful blogger friend of mine, Madeeha, has mentioned as well. How much is too much?
        M. Miles’ inclusion of the Fitzgerald analogy was a stroke of genius. I’ve read Great Gatsby several times and I didn’t remember that quote. Now I can’t get it out of my mind…which is what the writer wants to do!
        Probably the issue of “how often” one employs figurative language depends a great deal on the length of the work or the style of language. And of course, the millennial reader is not the same person as the reader of the 1920s and 30s.

        Thank you, Bea, for responding!

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    2. Paul Post author

      Very good question! I don’t know that there is a rule or a guidelines regarding how often one should apply the use of figurative language whether it be a lengthy analogy or a concise metaphor. I think the use of such writing is governed by the intuitive mind of the writer. In other words, you simply “know” that a figure of speech will work or it won’t. This is really a good issue. Hmmm. I think you’ve just given me an idea for a blog! 🙂

      Thank you so much for this interesting and insightful question.

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