Parts of a metaphor

Techniques > Use of language > Metaphor > Parts of a metaphor

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

The metaphor comes in two main parts, classically known as the tenor and the vehicle, which are connected by a verb.

Tenor

The tenor in a metaphor is the original subject. If I say 'you are a dog', then you are the tenor. If I say 'It's a dog day', then the tenor is the day.

Vehicle

The vehicle in a metaphor is both the words and concepts that are invoked by the words.

Connecting verb

The tenor and the vehicle are generally connected by a verb that somehow equates them. The verb 'to be' is by far the most common verb used, as it effectively says 'the tenor is the vehicle'.

Dimension

The vehicle has a number of dimensions, attributes or variables which may be mapped or transferred back onto the tenor and hence create new meaning.

Example

Tenor	Vehicle	Dimensions
Love	Island	Separated, idyllic
Time	Money	Trade, interchange
House	Home	Safety, familiarity
To persuade	To plant	to put in, to nuture
Opportunity	A thing	Can be examined, grasped
Anger	Storm	Energy, danger
New	Raw	Unchanged, original
Superiority	Above	Position of power

Discussion

In analysis of discourse and the understanding of metaphor, the separation of tenor and vehicle is a basic first step. This is followed by understanding the dimensions of the vehicle and how these are mapped back onto the tenor and how meaning is changed or extended as a result.

A good metaphor has many dimensions that map well into the tenor. A bad metaphor has dimensions that either do not map back to the tenor or, worse, create a distorted understanding.

The vehicle and meaning created are akin to Saussure's idea of signifier and signified in the field of Semiotics.

Note that in the rest of this section on metaphor, the tenor is generally called the 'subject', simply because this wording is easier to understand.