Literal Lacking (Q&A 2)

Must all metaphors have some literal equivalent?

At the outset, I would like to distinguish between the meaning of a metaphor and the function of a metaphor. Strictly speaking, a metaphor cannot contain any semantic meaning that is indescribable through literal statements. It is a function of language that allows us to understand words used in a non-literal way in order to accomplish a task; part of what makes works of fiction possible. In this sense, it seems, all metaphors would have a literal equivalent.

The function of a metaphor, however, is a different matter entirely. Davidson was right in his assertion that metaphor is a vehicle primarily designed for the function of words. Taken from the rest of his theory, I believe this aspect at least is compatible with Black's notion of the interactive theory of metaphor. At the base of the matter, metaphor is a relational mechanism; it employs aspects of a subsidiary concept in order to constitute a frame of reference for a primary concept. Much like a lens through which one should view an object, a metaphor is designed to organize one's thoughts or views of a particular concept. Here, the metaphor has no literal equivalent. One may go on to explain the metaphor in more detail, but this is not substitution for the metaphor; the structure of the subsidiary concept in relation to the framing of the primary concept is a function the metaphor achieves alone. Whether the metaphor is contained in one sentence or the comparison is drawn out and explained over an essay, the comparison itself is still inherently the same because the metaphor is still serving it's intended function.

Objectors to this claim may state that one might simply list the qualities of the primary subject which the metaphor serves to highlight or distinguish, thereby rendering the metaphor as an aesthetic feature. The metaphor, however, does more than that. Through the process of its relational mechanism (which is essentially at the heart of every comparison) it frames the primary object in a manner that allows the audience to relate through means of their other experiences or conceptualizations. Thus, the metaphor, if crafted in Black's interactive sense of the term, could not be translated literally without losing it's effectiveness.