Comparisons Create Perspective
Herein lies the trail of many a non-literal comparison . . . advance at your own risk.
Tried and True (or Stealth)
Metaphors
Have You Encountered These Comparisons before?
Tried and true metaphors (and other forms of non-literal comparison) (variously called stealth, old, dead, buried, comatose, worn, or tired) serve great purpose in quickly microwaving meaning to audience members who quickly recognize the comparison connection (or at least the intended allusion).
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Breath, breath, who took my breath?
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“It is impossible to predict exactly what day and hour the blooming will begin, but when it does, the conservatory will alert the public via Twitter and Facebook.
When the plant [Corpse Flower] first arrived at Phipps, it weighed 10 pounds. It now weighs 60 pounds and is growing at a rate of 3 inches a day. Mr. Dunigan said it could begin to grow up to 6 inches a day, at which point a human eye might be able to literally see it getting bigger.
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‘It’s quite breathtaking. It will clearly be different from anything you’ve ever seen,’ Mr. Dunigan said.
And, probably, smelled.
The stench is an evolutionary trait that apparently attracts pollinators such as flies and beetles. It is created by two sulfur compounds and peaks at nighttime when the flowers heat up to nearly 100 degrees.”
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Neil, Maggie. “A Corpse would Smell as Sweet Immense and Intense, Corpse Flower to Bloom in Late August at Phipps.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10 Aug. 2013. Web.
More Breath Theft?
“A Nielsen study showed statistical evidence of an influence between broadcast TV tune-ins for a program and the Twitter conversation around that program.
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‘Using time series analysis, we saw a statistically significant causal influence indicating that a spike in TV ratings can increase the volume of Tweets, and, conversely, a spike in Tweets can increase tune-in,’ said Paul Donato, chief research officer, Nielsen.
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More and more networks are finding the value in the open communication that social media platforms facilitate. And some of the numbers are breathtaking.
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ABC Family’s ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ the top tweetiest show according to SocialGuide, which measures mentions on Twitter, had nearly 11 million tweets in the first half of 2013.”
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Maglio, Tony. “Why ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ ‘Idol’ are tops on Twitter; Social media drives can influence TV audience sizes.” Dayton Daily News [Ohio] 12 Aug. 2013. Web.
Jeffrey Was Your Breath Alone Taken?
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The First Lady apparently was hoping to use Awesomeness to tell teenage girls that studying math and science is cool. Another adult who has picked up on the buzz is Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, whose DreamWorks Animation recently paid $33 million to acquire Awesomeness TV.
‘They’re having a level of success that is breathtaking,’ Katzenberg tells me.
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Helft, Miguel. “How YouTube Changes Everything.” Fortune 12 Aug. 2013. 54. [52-60]
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These three writer/rhetors remind us that importance, or awareness of importance, is akin to our experience of breathing when surprised. Let’s just hope that we can recover the taken breath—soon.
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For more on stealth or tried-and-true comparisons see Chapters 9 and 5 in Metaphors and Beyond: The Guide.
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