Notes on Metaphor

Metaphor and minimalism

“…are not fine enough to capture the notion of the literal on which metaphorical interpretations depend. Even if there are so-called twice-true metaphors (Cohen 1976), strings that are true both literally and metaphorically in the very same context, such as 15. Man is not a tree and humanity is not a forest.…”

The Problem of Paraphrase

“…Take a simple case first. Charles is a clown presents two possibilities: "Charles is a circus performer" and "Charles acts in a ridiculous manner" (Cohen, 1976). The two are not mutually exclusive.…”

Critical Theolinguistics vs. the Literalist Paradigm

“…Like metaphors, biblical narratives are not to be understood as literal, constative, verifiable reports (the story of Adam and Eve); like some metaphors, they may be "twicetrue" (Cohen 1976), but the univocal reading does not exhaust their meaning (Jacob's Well where Jesus met the Samaritan Woman is the place where they met, but also stands for the water of Jewish ritual, to be supplanted by Jesus' living water); like metaphors they may orient perception of and insight into existence ("God created Man" read as "Life is precious") and may guide thought and action (the parable of the Good Samaritan as an image of boundary-crossing charity). Of course not all narratives are to be indiscriminately tossed into the same bag: parables are clearly didactic devices, and only some of them are point-for-point allegories (the Sower in Matthew 13:18-22); some stories (creation, the fall, the flood) are mythological representations also found in other religions Brought to you by | University Library Technische Universitaet Muenchen Authenticated Download Date | 7/2/15 11:27 AM SOCIOLINGUISTICA 25/2011 and civilizations, which reflect deep-seated human hopes and fears; others again (Jesus' birth, words, trial, crucifixion) may have an anchorage in the historical world, but have been edited to fit in with each evangelist's theology and the culture and expectations of their audiences (Dawkins 2007: 120).…”