Aristotle

"The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.  It is the one thing that cannot be learnt from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars."

— Aristotle

Greek Philosopher/Writer

384 BC - 322 BC

What are the metaphors in your writing?  Your art?  Your life?  The metaphor is as Aristotle implied almost 2400 years ago a very important part of western literature.  When I studied haiku, it was very clear that metaphor was not a part of haiku.  So why metaphor?  Why do we use one image to represent another?  Why do we find similarity in things are not similar?

Let's play with this.  Here is a metaphor I just made up.  "My life is like a fishing boat adrift on the waves."  How is my life like a fishing boat?  1.  Like the boat I have a purpose — a reason for being.  2.  Like the boat adrift, I am sometimes lost with not direction.  3.  Like the boat I am slapped by the waves of life — pushed here and there by forces beyond my control.  4.  Like the fishing boat I am not the captain of my life.

So here is my challenge:  Share a metaphor that explains your life.  "My life is like . . ."

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