Metaphor is so widespread that it is often used as an 'umbrella' term (another metaphor!) to include other figures of speech (such as metonyms) which can be technically distinguished from it in its narrower usage. In semiotic terms, a metaphor involves one signified acting as a signifier referring to a different signified. In literary terms, a metaphor consists of a 'literal' primary subject (or 'tenor') expressed in terms of a 'figurative' secondary subject (or 'vehicle') (Richards 1932). For instance: 'Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.' Heinrich Heine In this case, the primary subject of experience is expressed in terms of the secondary subject of school. Typically, metaphor expresses an abstraction in terms of a more well-defined model. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson illustrate that underlying most of our fundamental concepts are several kinds of metaphor: orientational metaphors primarily relating to spatial organization (up/down, in/out, front/back, on/off, near/far, deep/shallow and central/peripheral); ontological metaphors which associate activities, emotions and ideas with entities and substances (most obviously, metaphors involving personification); structural metaphors: overarching metaphors (building on the other two types) which allow us to structure one concept in terms of another (e.g. rational argument is war or time is a resource). Class assignment (pair work, done orally): Look at the picture below then (1)analyze the caption without the image: - do you understand it literally? metaforically? what type of metaphor can it be? (2)analyze it together with the image: has you understanding of the caption changed? if it has, how do you understand it now?