We use literal language when we want to express simple ideas such as:
This is a pen.
The mice ran away from the cat.
I am happy.
However, we use metaphorical language to express more complex ideas by relating something not familiar or less familiar to something familiar. Consider a few examples:
My pen is a sword.
The mice vanished at the sight of the cat.
My heart is floating in the air.
Relating two dissimilar things is the basic function of a metaphor. Consider these examples:
Jim is a lawyer.
This is literal language. Jim and lawyer are one and the same. They fully overlap.
Jim is a fox.
This is metaphorical language. Jim and fox are not one and the same. They are dissimilar in most of their attributes, but in one aspect they are similar: Both are cunning. They overlap only partially.
The only way to know something unfamiliar or new is by relating it to something familiar or known to us. When I was in Ethiopia, I used to eat injera. If you have never been to Ethiopia, you would want to know what injera is. It is a big pancake (dosa) made of a grain called theff. Now you know what injera is because I related it to pancake, something familiar to you. This is the basic function of metaphor.
A metaphor makes unfamiliar familiar, abstract concrete, and invisible visible. Let us see a few examples:
They gave me a warm welcome. (A mental feeling related to a physical feeling.)
This belief has taken root in my mind. (A belief is related to a tree)
I'm nursing a hope for a better life. (Hope is related to a child.)
It'll take some time to digest that information. (Ideas related to food)
A metaphor has immense power. Compare these sentences.
Jim is cunning. (literal)
Jim is a fox. (Metaphorical)
Although the second one is similar to the first one in sense, it is far more powerful than the first one because it appeals directly to the subconscious mind. The first sentence appeals only to the conscious mind. A metaphor makes a firmer impression of the idea in the listener/reader’s mind.
When two things are related, the relatedness ranges from explicit to implicit. See a few examples:
A belief is like a tree. (The relation between belief and tree is explicit.)
A belief is a tree. (The relation is less explicit)
A belief can take root in our minds easily. (The relation is implicit)
The first one, in which the relatedness is made explicit with the word “like,” has been called a simile. The second one, in which the relatedness is less explicit in the absence of the word “like,” has been called a metaphor. (We need to distinguish this meaning of metaphor from the general meaning in which we have been using the word.) The third one, in which the metaphor is implicit, is not popularly understood as metaphorical, but it is often mistakenly understood literally.
Miscommunication occurs if metaphorical language is understood literally or if a metaphor is stretched beyond its intended meaning. A few examples shall be given from the Bible.
When Jesus told Nicodemus that he needs to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, he asked in return, “How can I enter my mother’s body again to be born?” When Jesus told the woman of Samaria that he would give her living water, she thought he was talking about flowing water. When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus had to clarify that his kingdom was not of this world. Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria, and Pilate mistakenly understood metaphorical language literally. We read all these incidents in John’s Gospel. We also see Jesus using metaphorical language in John’s Gospel more than in the other gospels. In John’s Gospel Jesus makes claims such as: I am the bread, I am the door, I am the vine, I am the good shepherd, and I am the light of the world. It seems that John was very much aware of this problem.
In Mathew’s Gospel we see Jesus using scores of metaphors to explain the concept of the Kingdom of God. Jesus relates the Kingdom to a mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, a merchant seeking pearls, a net etc. These metaphors are explicit ones. However, there are implicit ones, too. We read about “keys of the kingdom”, which makes the kingdom a city with walls around, with a main gate that can be locked. We read about “disciple to the kingdom”, which makes the kingdom a master or a subject of study to be mastered.
It was not easy for his listeners to decipher what Jesus meant. During his last days, while Jesus was celebrating Passover with his disciples, holding a piece of bread in his hand Jesus said, “This is my body,” and holding wine he said, “This is my blood.” Whatever Jesus meant by this, he didn’t want his disciples to understand it literally. He was probably relating his forthcoming death to the Passover lamb.
The controversy on Evolution or Creation has been so heated and widespread for a century. Those who argue in favor of creation usually base their arguments upon the first chapter of the Bible, which they believe to be history. However, a close look at it makes it clear that it is a hymn (psalm) the ancient Jews used to sing on Saturdays when they came together to worship God. It is a hymn about the importance of Saturday. This hymn has an underlying implicit metaphor people often fail to see. The world is related to a large farm, and God to its farmer. God finds the world in utter chaos and disorder, and works there for six days to make it a beautiful orderly farm. It seems that even when this hymn was originally made, people in the Middle East used to have the seven-day-week pattern. Seen as a hymn with the implicit metaphor, the story of creation makes sense.
The story of Adam and Eve is at the very basis of the collective unconsciousness of the modern man. It has been widely believed in the Christian world that the events in the story literally happened. A theology of the fall of humanity has been based on such an understanding. A close look at it makes it clear that it is an allegorical fairy tale in form. God is someone who walks in the garden with audible sound. God also talks in a human language. Not only God but also a snake talks. The two trees at the center of the garden are called “The knowledge of good and evil” and “Life”. There is an underlying implicit metaphor in this story too. God is related to a landlord, and humans to his tenants. Humans can live there and eat from there, but they should not touch the tree at the center of the garden, which belongs to the landlord. The tenants break the agreement, and the landlord sends them out. So what is the real meaning of this story? Whatever meaning the original authors intended for this story, they didn't intend it to be taken literally.
As John writes in his Gospel, no one has ever seen God. Therefore, the only way we can think and talk about God is by using metaphors. In the story of Adam and Eve, God walks and talks like a human being. In the creation hymn, God works, rejoices, and rests like a farmer. God is ascribed all the possible roles in the Bible such as king, father, friend, mother, potter, farmer, and shepherd. God is related not only to a human being but also to nonhuman things such as fire, wind, the Sun, a mountain, a rock, a fortress, a tree, and a bird.
The idea of salvation is explained in the Bible with various metaphors or models such as the domestic model (adoption), the horticultural model (the vine and branches), the pastoral model (the shepherd and sheep), the human-relations model (forgiveness and reconciliation), the biological model (the new birth), the sanctuary model (propitiation), and the law-court model (justification).
At times we see prophets dramatizing metaphors to make a deeper and lasting impression on the people. We read about Hosea marrying an adulterous woman to show that God accepts the Jewish community although it is adulterous. We read many such dramatized metaphors in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. On the way to Jerusalem Jesus cursed a fig tree because it had no fruit as he expected. In this acted-out metaphor, the fruitless fig tree probably represented the irresponsible leadership of the Jewish community. Jesus casting out all the sales people from within the temple was another acted-out metaphor probably representing the overthrow of the leadership of the Jewish community.
A ritual may be seen as an acted-out metaphor. The best example would be the ritual of baptism. The Jewish people had to cross River Jordan to enter their promised land. John the baptist invited people to cross (baptize in) River Jordan and renew their commitment as the people of God. Christian church made baptism the ritual of initiation to mean that the baptized people enter into a higher quality of existence.
Conclusion
Simply by being aware of the distinction between literal and metaphorical, the world can become a more peaceful place. Failure to see a metaphor as a metaphor has created and maintained controversies of global dimensions. I wish and hope that the importance of this distinction would be recognized worldwide, and made a part of formal education.
This is a pen.
The mice ran away from the cat.
I am happy.
However, we use metaphorical language to express more complex ideas by relating something not familiar or less familiar to something familiar. Consider a few examples:
My pen is a sword.
The mice vanished at the sight of the cat.
My heart is floating in the air.
Relating two dissimilar things is the basic function of a metaphor. Consider these examples:
Jim is a lawyer.
This is literal language. Jim and lawyer are one and the same. They fully overlap.
Jim is a fox.
This is metaphorical language. Jim and fox are not one and the same. They are dissimilar in most of their attributes, but in one aspect they are similar: Both are cunning. They overlap only partially.
A metaphor makes unfamiliar familiar, abstract concrete, and invisible visible. Let us see a few examples:
They gave me a warm welcome. (A mental feeling related to a physical feeling.)
This belief has taken root in my mind. (A belief is related to a tree)
I'm nursing a hope for a better life. (Hope is related to a child.)
It'll take some time to digest that information. (Ideas related to food)
A metaphor has immense power. Compare these sentences.
Jim is cunning. (literal)
Jim is a fox. (Metaphorical)
Although the second one is similar to the first one in sense, it is far more powerful than the first one because it appeals directly to the subconscious mind. The first sentence appeals only to the conscious mind. A metaphor makes a firmer impression of the idea in the listener/reader’s mind.
When two things are related, the relatedness ranges from explicit to implicit. See a few examples:
A belief is like a tree. (The relation between belief and tree is explicit.)
A belief is a tree. (The relation is less explicit)
A belief can take root in our minds easily. (The relation is implicit)
The first one, in which the relatedness is made explicit with the word “like,” has been called a simile. The second one, in which the relatedness is less explicit in the absence of the word “like,” has been called a metaphor. (We need to distinguish this meaning of metaphor from the general meaning in which we have been using the word.) The third one, in which the metaphor is implicit, is not popularly understood as metaphorical, but it is often mistakenly understood literally.
Miscommunication occurs if metaphorical language is understood literally or if a metaphor is stretched beyond its intended meaning. A few examples shall be given from the Bible.
When Jesus told Nicodemus that he needs to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, he asked in return, “How can I enter my mother’s body again to be born?” When Jesus told the woman of Samaria that he would give her living water, she thought he was talking about flowing water. When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus had to clarify that his kingdom was not of this world. Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria, and Pilate mistakenly understood metaphorical language literally. We read all these incidents in John’s Gospel. We also see Jesus using metaphorical language in John’s Gospel more than in the other gospels. In John’s Gospel Jesus makes claims such as: I am the bread, I am the door, I am the vine, I am the good shepherd, and I am the light of the world. It seems that John was very much aware of this problem.
In Mathew’s Gospel we see Jesus using scores of metaphors to explain the concept of the Kingdom of God. Jesus relates the Kingdom to a mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, a merchant seeking pearls, a net etc. These metaphors are explicit ones. However, there are implicit ones, too. We read about “keys of the kingdom”, which makes the kingdom a city with walls around, with a main gate that can be locked. We read about “disciple to the kingdom”, which makes the kingdom a master or a subject of study to be mastered.
It was not easy for his listeners to decipher what Jesus meant. During his last days, while Jesus was celebrating Passover with his disciples, holding a piece of bread in his hand Jesus said, “This is my body,” and holding wine he said, “This is my blood.” Whatever Jesus meant by this, he didn’t want his disciples to understand it literally. He was probably relating his forthcoming death to the Passover lamb.
The controversy on Evolution or Creation has been so heated and widespread for a century. Those who argue in favor of creation usually base their arguments upon the first chapter of the Bible, which they believe to be history. However, a close look at it makes it clear that it is a hymn (psalm) the ancient Jews used to sing on Saturdays when they came together to worship God. It is a hymn about the importance of Saturday. This hymn has an underlying implicit metaphor people often fail to see. The world is related to a large farm, and God to its farmer. God finds the world in utter chaos and disorder, and works there for six days to make it a beautiful orderly farm. It seems that even when this hymn was originally made, people in the Middle East used to have the seven-day-week pattern. Seen as a hymn with the implicit metaphor, the story of creation makes sense.
The story of Adam and Eve is at the very basis of the collective unconsciousness of the modern man. It has been widely believed in the Christian world that the events in the story literally happened. A theology of the fall of humanity has been based on such an understanding. A close look at it makes it clear that it is an allegorical fairy tale in form. God is someone who walks in the garden with audible sound. God also talks in a human language. Not only God but also a snake talks. The two trees at the center of the garden are called “The knowledge of good and evil” and “Life”. There is an underlying implicit metaphor in this story too. God is related to a landlord, and humans to his tenants. Humans can live there and eat from there, but they should not touch the tree at the center of the garden, which belongs to the landlord. The tenants break the agreement, and the landlord sends them out. So what is the real meaning of this story? Whatever meaning the original authors intended for this story, they didn't intend it to be taken literally.
As John writes in his Gospel, no one has ever seen God. Therefore, the only way we can think and talk about God is by using metaphors. In the story of Adam and Eve, God walks and talks like a human being. In the creation hymn, God works, rejoices, and rests like a farmer. God is ascribed all the possible roles in the Bible such as king, father, friend, mother, potter, farmer, and shepherd. God is related not only to a human being but also to nonhuman things such as fire, wind, the Sun, a mountain, a rock, a fortress, a tree, and a bird.
The idea of salvation is explained in the Bible with various metaphors or models such as the domestic model (adoption), the horticultural model (the vine and branches), the pastoral model (the shepherd and sheep), the human-relations model (forgiveness and reconciliation), the biological model (the new birth), the sanctuary model (propitiation), and the law-court model (justification).
At times we see prophets dramatizing metaphors to make a deeper and lasting impression on the people. We read about Hosea marrying an adulterous woman to show that God accepts the Jewish community although it is adulterous. We read many such dramatized metaphors in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. On the way to Jerusalem Jesus cursed a fig tree because it had no fruit as he expected. In this acted-out metaphor, the fruitless fig tree probably represented the irresponsible leadership of the Jewish community. Jesus casting out all the sales people from within the temple was another acted-out metaphor probably representing the overthrow of the leadership of the Jewish community.
A ritual may be seen as an acted-out metaphor. The best example would be the ritual of baptism. The Jewish people had to cross River Jordan to enter their promised land. John the baptist invited people to cross (baptize in) River Jordan and renew their commitment as the people of God. Christian church made baptism the ritual of initiation to mean that the baptized people enter into a higher quality of existence.
Conclusion
Simply by being aware of the distinction between literal and metaphorical, the world can become a more peaceful place. Failure to see a metaphor as a metaphor has created and maintained controversies of global dimensions. I wish and hope that the importance of this distinction would be recognized worldwide, and made a part of formal education.
2 comments:
Metaphors have a tendency to restrict listeners to a particular era. The use of metaphor is not encouraged in current writing. The down side of metaphors is reduced clarity. Unless we are aware of the particular genre of language or milieu we will become dependent on others for its meaning. Big problem! The beginnings of entrenched religion.
Metaphors are used in parables. Hence, consider this saying by Christ. He said to them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables, so that although they look they may look but not see, and although they hear they may hear but not understand, so they may not repent and be forgiven." -Mark 4:11-12 New English Translation.
Why does Christ not want people to repent nor be forgiven? Metaphors or parables?, not a good way to communicate ideas. Too many issues arise here.
Metaphors have a tendency to restrict listeners to a particular era. The use of metaphor is not encouraged in current writing. The down side of metaphors is reduced clarity. Unless we are aware of the particular genre of language or milieu we will become dependent on others for its meaning. Big problem! The beginnings of entrenched religion.
Metaphors are used in parables. Hence, consider this saying by Christ. He said to them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables, so that although they look they may look but not see, and although they hear they may hear but not understand, so they may not repent and be forgiven." -Mark 4:11-12 New English Translation.
Why does Christ not want people to repent nor be forgiven? Metaphors or parables?, not a good way to communicate ideas. Too many issues arise here.
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