Metaframing: Structuring Metaphors
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
Them good ol’boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singing “this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die.”
—“Miss American Pie,” Words and Music by Don McClean, 1971
I’m not sure whether, before reading this book, you’ve ever thought much about metaphors. The entire 1970s song “Miss American Pie,” was a series of metaphors that brought forth a message of simpler times gone by. We use metaphors all the time when we say things such as, “This rain is worse than a hail of bullets,” or “Life is going to be clear sailing from now on.” The first compares a driving rainstorm using the imagery of bullets flying and the impact they can have. The second compares an upcoming season of life that is seemingly carefree with the imagery of sailing on a beautiful clear day. Each delivers a distinct sensory input that brings real meaning to the things being compared.
In the first example, a “hail of bullets” is the greater or stronger domain while the rain is the lesser domain. Domain refers to the two things being compared. The stronger domain is called the “vehicle,” and the lesser domain is called the “target.” The vehicle drives the attributes that it represents to the target thereby, strengthening the target. Some refer to the vehicle as the “base,” however; I prefer the sense of movement that the term “vehicle” represents. In the second example, “clear sailing” is the vehicle or stronger domain while “life” is the target or lesser domain. This concept of vehicle and target is essentially true in most metaphors and will be treated that way throughout this book.
Asymmetry of Metaphors
This imbalance expresses an asymmetry or imbalance between the vehicle and target. The vehicle is stronger than the target. Relationally, the vehicle contributes something of value to the target but not the other way around. This value may be in simply adding clarity to the target image. The target is where one begins and the recipient of the added value. It is only with the added value brought to it from the vehicle that the target benefits. This asymmetry begins with a driving up from the target to the vehicle as the vehicle reaches back and contributes an attribute of value to the target, as shown in figure below (Figure 6.1).
Figure 6.1. The Action Metaphor.
This driving up from target to vehicle and the returning added value by way of the attribute is what makes metaphors so powerful. Consider the following metaphor, “The young boy’s strength was that of a thousand pulling horses as he lifted the car off of his mother.” As you read this, it becomes apparent that the young boy was engaging in a feat that was beyond the capabilities of a normal boy. The thousand pulling horses, which is the vehicle, magnify this feat by attributing superhuman power to the young boy. The power of the vehicle to infer back to the target, the idea of a young boy lifting the car off of his mother, has immediate and direct impact on the meaning of the metaphor changing the visual image forever. This is what I call “picturesquing.” This is different than visualizing in that it recognizes emotional activity and includes emotions in the overall sensory response.
Action-Oriented Metaphors
Metaphors can create action in the way that orders given by an admiral cause all within hearing distance to scramble. Metaphors can bring clarity and belief in the future that can drive the current reality into a new arena of possibilities. Which would be a more powerful image, “We need to increase sales by 15% in the next quarter,” versus “Our sales should look like we are we are on fire and unloading everything we’ve got, and this should be reflected in a sales increase of 15% or more in the coming quarter.” Both statements include a quantitative value, but the second statement paints a more powerful image through the addition of the metaphor comparing sales that are burning with the speed and ferocity of a fire.
The second half of this metaphor signifies a benchmark that is now more possible because of the preceding half. When something is on fire, the features that are represented include: (1) urgency, (2) feverish activity, and (3) making every effort to “put the fire out.” This creates an emotional force that is not included in the first statement, “We need to increase sales by 15% in the next quarter.” If anything, this statement evokes fear and apprehension rather than action.
The Importance of Structural Alignment
The act of metaframing, or discovering and developing a metaphor that is appropriate for the situation, requires us to consider several things; (1) the relational structure, (2) the object, (3) the desired attributes. This involves finding “structural alignment” of two or more structured representations containing objects, their relations, and their attributes, along with the relationship between their relations so that the common elements in the representations are mapped onto each other. This is part of the process called structural mapping,1 which includes finding commonalities and projecting inferences. This might sound complex but it is relatively simple to do. I’ll present it here briefly but discuss this more in-depth in a later chapter.
An easy example to recognize structural alignment is in comparing the atom, which includes a nucleus surrounded by electrons, and the solar system, which includes the sun surrounded by planets. The relational structure is the same as the sun relates to the nucleus, both in the center, the planets relate to the atoms that revolve around the sun and the nucleus respectively. This is important so that when you consider metaphors, you are using vehicles that properly match the target. This prevents confusion when thinking about or articulating the metaphor. For the leader, this is critical since you want every message to be clear and without any chance of misinterpretation.
Comparing objects without considering their relationship can create a metaphor that is not structurally aligned. “That gossipy woman is a star falling from the sky.” The objects of the woman and the star have nothing in common in this context. However, consider, “That gossipy woman is a humming bird flitting about from flower to flower.” A relationship exists between the woman and the humming bird through the implied attribute of the gossipy nature pictured in the woman moving about from person to person as the humming bird moves about from flower to flower. It is the implied attribute that helps define the relationship of the objects. If the original sentence were, “The young actress is a star falling from the sky,” then the relational structure would be aligned because the implied attribute is that of a young actress who is peaking in her career early and is on the downward spiral of her notoriety as a star that is falling from the sky and is soon to be extinguished. Metaphors have many hidden nuggets that can reveal themselves through careful investigation.
Learning Reinforcement Exercise
1.In this metaphor, circle the word or phrase that identifies the target.
a. This rain is worse than a hail of bullets.
2.In this metaphor, circle the word(s) that identify the vehicle
a. Life is going to be clear sailing from now on.
3.Which has greater power? (Circle) Target Vehicle
4.Which gains the greater benefit? (Circle) Target Vehicle
5.In this metaphor, circle the word that implies the attribute of the horses.
a. The young boy’s strength was like that of a thousand pulling horses as he lifted the car off of his mother.
6.Which metaphor has structural alignment? (Circle)
a. That gossipy woman is a star falling from the sky.
b. That gossipy woman is a humming bird flitting about from flower to flower.
Answers are in italics:
1.In this metaphor, circle the word(or phrase) that identifies the target.
a. This rain is worse than a hail of bullets.
2.In this metaphor, circle the word(s) that identify the vehicle
a. Life is going to be clear sailing from now on.
3.Which has greater power? (Circle) Target Vehicle
4.Which gains the greater benefit? (Circle) Target Vehicle
5.In this metaphor, circle the word that implies the attribute of the horses.
a. The young boy’s strength was like that of a thousand pulling horses as he lifted the car off of his mother.
6.Which metaphor has structural alignment? (Circle)
a. That gossipy woman is a star falling from the sky.
b. That gossipy woman is a humming bird flitting about from flower to flower.