Thema: comparative study of metaphor/metonymy metaphor: its definition, types and stylistic use

Metaphor and metonymy

Metaphor and metonymy are similar in various aspects but the major difference is that if a metaphor substitutes a concept with another, a metonymy selects a related term. So, if metaphor is for substitution, metonymy is for association. For example, the sentence ‘he is a tiger in class’ is a metaphor. Here the word tiger is used in substitution for displaying an attribute of character of the person. The sentence ‘the tiger called his students to the meeting room’ is a metonymy. Here there is no substitution; instead the person is associated with a tiger for his nature.
So metonymy is a figure of speech. It is used in rhetoric where a thing is not referred by its name but with the associated word. A metaphor is an expression. This expression shows the similarity between two things on some aspects. In metonymy, the association of the word is based on contiguity, while in a metaphor; the substitution is based on similarity. If metaphor can be used to define the transference of relation between set of things to another, metonymy is used to define a word. Metonymy uses a single characteristic for the identification of a complex entity.
Another difference between metaphor and metonymy is that a metaphor acts by suppressing an idea while metonymy acts by combining ideas. But both metaphor and metonymy are used to express ideas which are greatly different from the original meaning in the psychic realm. When a person uses a metonymy, the qualities are not transferred from the original word to the metonymy. But in metaphor, when there is a comparison, the comparison is based on the qualities and some qualities are transferred from the original to the metaphor, in the process.
Metaphor is an extension to a word’s meaning on the account of similarity and metonymy is a way of extending the meaning of a word based on its association to another. For example:
“He is a pig” It is a metaphor and it denotes that his behavior is similar to the behavior of pig.
“The pen is mightier than the sword”
The "pen" stands in for "the written word". The "sword" stands in for "military aggression and force".
Metaphor can be used to refer to a word in an object category to make it in the abstract semantic category. Metonymy can be used in informal or insulting situations as well. For example, the association of brain to a person means he is intelligent, and asshole is a metonymy for an idiotic person in an insulting manner.
So we can say that if metaphor is used for substitution and condensation, a metonymy is used for combination and displacement.
Metaphors and similes both call attention to how two different things are similar, so people listening to you can apply the qualities of one thing to the other. The difference between metaphors and similes is that similes hit you over the head with the comparison by using explicit words such as “like” or “as,” - When Jon Bon Jovi sings “My heart is like an open highway,” that's a simile because he used the word “like” to directly make the comparison. Metaphors, on the other hand, don't use direct comparison words. When Tom Cochrane sings “Life is a Highway,” that's a metaphor because there's no word such as "like" or "as."
Metaphors are a bit more subtle. You can remember the difference between similes and metaphors by remembering that simile has the letter l in it, just like the word “like,” which you often use in a simile.
People use these figures of speech when speaking romantically. “Dearest, your eyes sparkle as starlight in the water of a deep, cool well.” The speaker is drawing a parallel between his beloved’s eyes and starlight in a well. She doesn’t actually have wells for eyes; if she did, she would slosh when she walked. But her eyes do sparkle, and that is the connection he’s drawing.
You can also use metaphors and similes to help explain concepts that confuse your listener. First, identify the point you want to explain. Then find a topic your listener might know well where that point also comes up. Then use a comparison to link your point to the familiar topic to help your listener understand.
But the constant use of a metaphor gradually leads to the breaking up of the primary meaning. The metaphoric use of the word begins to affect the dictionary meaning, adding to it fresh connotations or shades of meaning. But this influence, however strong it may be, will never reach the degree where the dictionary meaning entirely disappears. If it did, we should have no stylistic device. It is a law of stylistics that in a stylistic device the stability of the dictionary meaning is always retained, no matter how great the influence of the contextual meaning may be.