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To Metaphor, or Not To Metaphor?

in Poetry Discussion

Hey guys! Wanted to pick all your minds with this question: to metaphor or not to metaphor? Personally, I think that metaphor is a handy tool in a poet's toolshed. Metaphors are often used to compare objects or ideas in a way that isn't literal. Oftentimes they take the form of a figure of speech. For example, love is a battlefield. Doesn't reading that stir up all kinds of thoughts? Metaphors, in my mind, are intended for provoking whoever reads them. Whether that is to string the reader along to some foregone conclusion or to cause greater confusion. What do you all think?

4 comments

Comments (4)

Adam Gary

Aug 04, 2021

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To be honest, I’m a bit of a traditionalist here. I feel like metaphors are a core component of poetry, and should be implemented where possible.

Poetry should be heightened from every day speech, and in my opinion, heightened from prose. A great metaphor is a perfect way to do this (as you’re asking me).

I think there should be some sort of mysticism in poetry, which metaphor can bring, and I think even in Bukowski’s work there is that…

Anyway, to metaphor….. every day of the week, if it was up to me.

Adam Gary

Jul 31, 2021

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Admin note: Moved to Poetry Discussion

Will respond to this in a jiffy lads! Just settling in at work

Matthew Hutchins

Jul 30, 2021

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It will come as no surprise to anyone who reads my work that I lean towards the “to metaphor” side of this dilemma. I don’t view metaphor as a way to confuse the reader, because I’m not writing a riddle. I’m not trying to steep my poem in imagery so cryptic that no one knows what it means. I use metaphor to create a striking picture, to tell a powerful story, to strike the reader with a powerful emotion or recollection.

I like a lot of metaphor-heavy poetry, and the reason why is because it makes me feel…charged…when I read it. It makes me feel engaged because it may make a comparison I wouldn’t think of, so now I have to reframe my expectations and really pay atten

i think of metaphor like the notes to a chord. If I have a linear progression of single notes, that is a melody. That melody is like a story, but without context I don’t care about the story. The context comes from the harmony - the notes I play Under my melody. The harmony notes I choose to pair with my melody will influence how my melody is perceived. So if I’m writing a poem, I have a feeling or a story I’m conveying, but I use metaphor and imagery to provide emotional context. To bring our new emotional colors that you wouldn’t get from the raw data. The metaphor may occasionally be confusing, but so can a dissonant chord in jazz or rock music. The chord itself is dissonant, but that dissonance adds spice to the music.

I remember when I first started writing in my college poetry class, I showed my first ever poem to my professor after bumping into him outside of class. He read the scribbles and said “wow…that’s wonderful.” Later on I started writing more and showing him more pieces, but then I was so obsessed with people being able to “get” my poetry and think I was saying something smart. So I wasn’t playing any more. I was exacting…sucking the life out of my poetry.

when I met with him for class and showed him more work later in the semester, he said “that first piece you showed me had such a stark playful quality to it. It wasn’t really polished or graceful, but it made me feel charged. Over the year I’ve really hoped you’d bring more of those playful elements back in your writing…”

So I’ve come to write in such a way that feels like play. I will always say, more metaphor, less simile. Conjure images. Tell me your story with pictures. Any way I don’t even know if I answered your question…I more or less got off on a tangent lol.

Ken LeMarchand

Aug 02, 2021

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Replying to

I like your perspective on this proposed question Matt. The music comparison was fascinating. I can also relate to the attention-seeking that comes with being a creative artist. Imagine what could have happened if your teacher told you the opposite? That may have changed the way you looked at poetry entirely. That is what happened to me when I studied journalism.

I told my professor, who was also a journalist that I dreamed of working for National Geographic. That professor then told me that my chances were very slim and that I wouldn't get that position because National Geographic is too competitive. Talk about chopping up someone's dreams into a thousand pieces. (See what I did there?) Anyways, the moral of the story is I became invigorated to prove myself. That is where attention-seeking came in.

I'll admit, when I receive no praise on my written works, I get bummed out. There was a couple of times in the past where I would have given up entirely. Constructive criticism would have been better than nothing. The point is, poetry is meant to be read by others, so I don't see attention as a fault of the artist. Anyways, I thought you might enjoy the story.

I didn't mean that metaphor was intended to confuse per se. I meant to write that metaphor could be utilized to confuse, especially an individual who doesn't know what context the author is using. I feel like it is an artist's prerogative to do as they may, but I also believe there is a level of responsibility.