Home › Glossary › Letter E

embodied metaphor

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A metaphor that uses the human body or physical presence as its basis

Detailed Definition
An embodied metaphor links an abstract idea to a physical experience or bodily sensation, allowing readers to “feel” the concept; for instance, “her loneliness was a hollow ribcage” merges emotional state with visceral anatomy, deepening the metaphor’s emotional and sensory impact.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “Hope is the thing with feathers,” Dickinson’s embodied metaphor gives hope wings and song; In “The Road Not Taken,” the path embodies life choices; In “O Captain! My Captain!”, the ship embodies the nation; In “Because I could not stop for Death,” the carriage embodies the journey to afterlife.
Additional Notes
Embodied metaphor: A metaphor that connects abstract thought to tangible, bodily, or sensory experiences.
Also Known As
Incarnate metaphor Living figure Concrete likeness Concrete metaphor
Skip to main content