metaphor

Everyday

1. A metaphor is a way of describing something by saying it IS something else, to show what it is like, without using «like» or «as»: «The classroom was a zoo» means it was wild and noisy. tree →
2. A metaphor can be a thing or idea that stands for something else: a journey can be a metaphor for growing up. tree →

In the lessons

In English and poetry lessons (and reading tests), pupils find and explain metaphors and use them to make their own writing vivid: «Her eyes were stars», «Time is money», «He has a heart of stone». Many everyday phrases are hidden metaphors: «a sea of faces», «a storm of applause», «the apple of my eye». Phrases: use a metaphor, a metaphor for, an extended metaphor.

Examples

• «The snow was a white blanket» is a metaphor. tree →
• The poet uses a metaphor to compare life to a river. tree →
• «He has a heart of gold» is a metaphor; he is very kind. tree →
• Explain what the metaphor tells us about the character. tree →
• «My brother is a couch potato» is a funny metaphor. tree →
• Underline the metaphor in the second line. tree →
• The storm in the story is a metaphor for her anger. tree →
• «Time is a thief» is a metaphor, because time cannot really steal. tree →

Note

Countable: a metaphor, metaphors. Adjective: «metaphorical»; adverb «metaphorically» (not literally). Pronounced «MET-uh-for». The key trap: a metaphor says something IS something else; a simile compares using «like» or «as» («as brave as a lion», «ran like the wind»). Personification gives human actions to things («the wind whispered») and is a special kind of metaphor.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: Commentators say the Torah and Sefer Yetzirah often use pictures from the body or the world to speak about God, who has no body. In the primary lessons: In English and poetry lessons (and reading tests), pupils find and explain metaphors and use them to make their own writing vivid: «Her eyes were stars», «Time is money», «He has a heart of stone». Many everyday phrases are hidden metaphors: «a sea of faces», «a storm of applause», «the apple of my eye». Phrases: use a metaphor, a metaphor for, an extended metaphor.

Examples

• Depth [note 15: עוֹמֶק ʽomeq ‘depth’ here is based on the metaphor of עֲמֻקָּה ʽamuqqah ‘deepness’ as a symbol of divine mystery, as found in Biblical poetry, ex. [Job 11:8], [Psalms 64:7], [Ecclesiastes 7:24]. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →

Note

Countable: a metaphor, metaphors. Adjective: «metaphorical»; adverb «metaphorically» (not literally). Pronounced «MET-uh-for». The key trap: a metaphor says something IS something else; a simile compares using «like» or «as» («as brave as a lion», «ran like the wind»). Personification gives human actions to things («the wind whispered») and is a special kind of metaphor.