The Figure Of Speech In Aristotle's Use Of Metaphors In The Bible

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles completely illustrate Odysseus’s journey home after The Trojan War. Separated into twenty-four different books, the poem describes the hardships Odysseus faces and how he overcomes obstacles. Though this poem is composed for listeners and may seem incomprehensible, Homer includes a plethora of literary devices to help audiences better understand, follow, and enjoy the context of The Odyssey. Throughout this poem instances of epic simile, foreshadowing, epithet, and xenia are included to help the poem flow.

In, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, there is a quote “they all carried ghosts.”, this metaphor can represent the many things the soldiers carried. Every soldier carries things that represent memories or security. In war, the soldiers are confronted with death every day so they carry things that remind them of people, memories, or hope.

Homeric or epic similes can be found all throughout The Odyssey written by Homer. A simile is the comparison of two unlike objects using like or as. Homer’s similes are considered to be “epic” because of how elaborate they are to help the audience “feel” and picture a scene. One of the most glorified scenes in The Odyssey, full of epic similes, is when Odysseus stabs the eye of Cyclops Polyphemus. As soon as Polyphemus fell asleep from the over-consumption of wine, Odysseus put his plan into motion to escape the Cyclops’ cave. Courage took over Odysseus and Homer writes:

There were many biblical allusions throughout the text The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and The Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. Style, like Church, concerns the contrast and ambiguity of good intentions and ill intentions. A biblical allusion found in The Things They Carried was, tension between brothers. That allusion can be displayed in the chapter “Enemies & Friends,” Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk begin to act violently against one another because, Dave thought Lee stole his jackknife. During the fight, Jensen strikes Strunk multiple times and ends up breaking his nose. Jensen then starts to watch Strunk closely out of fear that Strunk will get revenge, and after a while Jensen begins to lose his mind. Jensen at one point revealed

I will argue that we may view the woman as representative of Odysseus’ grief in his moment of pity and pain, the simile in its entirety may be regarded as analogous to a potential future for his own oikos. Should he fail to return home or succeed to return only to deceit and demise, Odysseus will initiate the splintering of his home into the rabid hands of the suitors. The simile shifts from referring solely to Odysseus to encompass the possible fate of his entire household. This promotes the idea that this hero reaps what he sows for, as the perpetrator of like monstrosity, he faces the tragedy of a future akin to that of his own surviving victims.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, mockingbirds are a bird that has a remarkable ability to “exact imitations of the notes of other birds”. In addition, they are known to have up to 200 songs in their “playlists’, which they will sing all through the day and evening, usually when there is a full moon. Based on this description, mockingbirds are innocent, beautiful birds that can bring a sense of calmness to people around them with their smooth melodies. Therefore, they are a creature that brings no harm to others, just joy. Like the mockingbird, today’s society consists of many innocent people around the world who are hardworking and treats others with respect no matter of their socio economic status; as well as, race and religion. On the other hand, there are some people in our world who judge others based on their evil beliefs they learned from others instead of listening to their conscience.

Respected Puritan minister, Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God (1741), warns the unrepentant sinners of his congregation that they will be damned to hell if they do not confess. Edwards’s intent is to manifest terror in the people of his congregation about the consequences of their sinful behavior. He adapts a condemning tone in order to convey a strong message in his congregation. Although Edwards’s use of extreme imagery was the strongest in the sermon, he also uses vivid metaphors and logos to convey his message.

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don't do anything to hurt people; they only help farmers out and sing beautiful songs. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a little girl named Scout who sees her town as a beautiful place where nothing unpleasant happens until accusations of rape occur. Then she realizes how racist and negative her town people can be. This occurs when her dad defends an innocent African American man. She realizes that Macomb has deplorable individuals living there, and this reality hit her hard. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are metaphorically portrayed as mockingbirds.

Metaphors can be defined as those concepts where a term is used to portray a different meaning in a phrase than what it literary means. Additionally, metaphors are also used to make rhetorical statements where one is speaking of something else but by the use of words that do not have the same meaning. Moreover, metaphors can be used when one is trying to compare two different items with different meanings to portray the same meaning in describing something (Arduini 83). The book “Their eyes were watching God” has several metaphors, which have different analyses.

In Homer’s epic poem, “The Iliad,” Achilles is often described using extended similes that compare his aretê to natural phenomenon. In Book XVIII, following the death of Achilles’ favorite cousin, Patroclus, by the spear of the Trojan Prince Hector, Achilles speaks to the messenger of Hera, Iris. Iris tells Achilles to show himself to the Trojan army and give encouragement to the Greek allies. After Iris leaves Achilles, Athena places Zeus’ armor on his shoulders, making him appear radiant and like the Greek gods. Homer compares the action of placing the aegis of Zeus onto Achilles as a signal fire from a “besieged city on a distant island” (XVIII.220). Achilles has become the signal of smoke and fire to the weary Greek army, rallying their spirits and breaking down the Trojans fortitude. As Achilles presents himself from the trenches, he becomes like the fires used by ancient cities to call upon their allies to help them in their time of greatest need.

Another note about the symbolic theology— it is also important to know that the statement of “who God is” is not untrue, but the truth is beyond that true statement. As a result of that recognition, we often use parables and metaphors to see if we can make it less “beyond” and more humanly understandable. I would guess it is because there is a limited number of people, or probably none, who are lucky enough to have a physical encounter with God, for we are all living in the End Time. Therefore, “see for yourself” does not work here and we have to rely on symbolic descriptions. However, the problem generated from the symbolism is “misleading” as mentioned previously. (Ware, 2002) Take myself as an example, a lot of times I can understand the

Vivid images, from visions, to detailed explanation and accounts of places and events, to symbolic imagery used to explain parables, or teach and encourage the first century churches are driving forces within the Biblical text. Metaphorical language, by virtue of the fact that it preserves the literal meaning of the symbol, while intending an analogical secondary meaning, is able to communicate profound truths about reality, mainly by creating an alternative, symbolic way of seeing and understanding the world. (Liubinskas, Susann. 404) Throughout the New Testament of the Bible the most commonly used images are the: body of Christ, and vine imagery. These images work together to create a powerful example of the necessity for unity among individual believers, and that unity tying them Christ.

Background: Aristotle is walking around Athens and observing nature and human behavior. In the corner of his eye, he sees Jesus on the Acropolis. Jesus is watching over Athens with olive branches in his long brown hair. Aristotle is startled by the Jesus's presence.

Shakespeare’s work is among the hardest to read because of its supposed complexity and sophistication. The language used in the Early Modern Era is different than that of the Post Modern Era. Audiences that saw the performances were aural learners and were able to pinpoint certain tones and facial expressions that readers may not detect through words. Watching the plays performed provided better feedback than readings do (Palfrey 10-11). Metaphors, implicit or explicit, are figures of speech that help compare two unlike things and are not designed for literal intake. Yet, with Shakespeare’s work, metaphors should be taken literally. According to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, however, this technique of comparison allows metaphors to simultaneously highlight and hide certain attributes and/or qualities about the thing(s) being compared to (12-13). The highlighting and hiding of metaphors gives readers more insight into what Shakespeare may have meant at the time or even more so in what context did the people of the Elizabethan Age use language (Palfrey 11). Two important components of metaphors that do the highlighting and hiding are the vehicle and the tenor; each can be implicit or explicit as well. The metaphor in question emphasizes both the importance and unimportance of Lavinia’s character.

Aristotle presents the argument that tragedies are superior to epics. While tragedies and epics are characterized in similar ways they also have their differences. “A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” (Aristotle, 6) A Tragedy is better at arousing emotion in an audience than en epic through the plot, characters, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.