Noun metaphors

Techniques > Use of language > Metaphor > Noun metaphors

Method | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Noun metaphors replace a normal noun with one that is the vehicle for the metaphor.

Example

You dog!

Today is a prison and I am the inmate.

Her eyes were an ocean of blue.

Discussion

Metaphors say 'A is B' -- thus nouns are the most common form of metaphor in an implicit subject-object relationship.

An appositional metaphor occurs where one noun modifies another noun.

Jane, a star in the local firmament, was there.

A possessive noun metaphor associates the subject with the vehicle through implication of ownership.

You are the star in my firmament.

See also

Using Nouns