“Swift Unbridled Sea,” #haiku, & A Discussion of Using Implied Metaphors in Haiku

Posted on July 23, 2020 by

25 Comments

Sally Cronin provided this week’s image for our Photo Prompt challenge.

Today, I want to talk about using metaphors in your poetry. First, let’s discuss what a metaphor is.

The Grammarly blog explains that “a metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in such a way that it isn’t literally true, but the description helps to explain an idea or make a comparison. A metaphor states that one thing is another thing.”

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

My favorite example of this is the saying, “You’re the black sheep of the family.” Literally, we know this to not be true because humans aren’t sheep. But, in a metaphorical sense, a black sheep is someone different from the rest of their family members. So, if someone says, “metaphorically speaking” I wouldn’t take their statement for the truth, but would think of what they said as an idea of some sort.

In haiku, we do not use the words, “like or as” to show our metaphor, and we don’t use similes. We should never use a metaphor like this when writing haiku. Instead, we should use an implied metaphor.

Literary Devices.net says:

“Implied Metaphor is a literary device used in prose and poetry to compare two unlikely things, with common characteristics without mentioning one of the objects of comparison. It is implied in the texts to make imagery rich and effective and also to make subjects relatable and understandable to the readers. In this sense, it enables them to grasp the complex phenomenon discussed in the text. Moreover, the appropriate use of implied metaphor appeals to the sense of hearing and makes readers comprehend what is being communicated to them.”

literarydevices.net

So how do we use implied metaphor in our haiku? Think of it this way. We take two objects and compare and contrast them. This creates a juxtaposition, which is an understatement, since true haiku should state nothing. The meaning is always implied and left up to the reader to interpret.

Back to Sally’s photo. I looked at the image and saw metaphors everywhere. The reason we use an implied metaphor is that the meaning is personally felt and interpreted by the reader. In poetry, we want to forge that kind of connection.

Here is my untitled 5/7/5 haiku: 

swift unbridled sea
breakers spill out with laughter
foam tickles my toes

©2020 Colleen M. Chesebro

What is the implied metaphor? If you said, breakers spill out with laughter, you’d be right. I compared the swift unbridled sea to breakers laughing as they break against the shore while the sea foam tickles my toes. In reality, waves don’t laugh, as that is a human trait. This literary technique is called personification.

I wanted to convey a sense of playfulness in this haiku. However, anyone who’s ever seen an angry sea churning away and eroding a beach during a storm knows there is nothing playful about the ocean. The sea’s destructive powers are well documented.

Examine the famous poem by Maya Angelou, “I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings.” (The poem is halfway down the page).

Literary Devices.net explains

“The poem exhibits racial segregation and social discrimination prevalent against the black community in American society.  She has used two metaphors in the poem; the first metaphor is of the “free bird” that is for the white people, while the “caged bird” is the metaphor of African American people and their detention in the social norms.

Using this implied metaphor of a bird, Maya Angelou explores the ideas of freedom, equality, and justice in the text. She skilfully contrasts the freedom of the free bird and the alienation and captivity of the caged bird by using this metaphor.”

Literary Devices.net/implied-metaphor

I used this poem not to discuss social issues, but to help explain the use of metaphor in poetry.

When we use photo prompts for our poetry, we don’t want to describe what is in the photo. The photo is for our inspiration. We want our reader to infer something from our poetry they can’t see in the photo. We want to surprise them with our observations.

Experiment with your use of implied metaphors. It will help you achieve your goal of showing and not telling.

Category: Authors Supporting AuthorsTags: , , , , , , , ,

25 Comments on ““Swift Unbridled Sea,” #haiku, & A Discussion of Using Implied Metaphors in Haiku”

  1. I read this discussion with a great deal of interest. I’d never encountered a distinction between implied and statement metaphor.

    Like

    Reply

    • All my research led me to this discovery. It makes sense to use an implied metaphor. Haiku shouldn’t use like or as, so implied adds that additional layer of meaning.

      Like

      Reply

      • I agree. The only metaphor distinction I’d learned about in college was the dead metaphor (followed, of course, by “Trust me, that metaphor is dead. Don’t use it.”).

        Like

        Reply

  8. It is so true that the ocean, well any natural body of water has many different ‘actions’. And as poets we enjoy playing with or implying many of our human attributes or moods to that wonderful flow 😀

    Like

    Reply

  9. I think personification often overlaps with metaphor – and you’ve shown that very well here. I think it may be one of the easier things to put in poetry, since poetry tends to bring things to life anyway.

    Like

    Reply

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry

“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”

—Dylan Thomas

Google Translate
We’re Listed in the TOP TEN Poetry Blogs at RankedBlogs.com! Thank You for your support.

top poetry blogs

Vote for Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry at Top Ranked Blogs

Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge Rules
Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge CheatSheet
Learn About Rhyme Schemes in Syllabic Poetry

Click: What is a Rhyme Scheme?

Tanka Tuesday Poetry Book Store

Enter your email address to follow wordcraftpoetry.com and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 16,189 other followers

Follow Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry on Twitter
Goodreads
Amazon Associate Disclaimer

Disclaimer: My book review posts contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission to fund my reading habit if you use the links on my book reviews to make a purchase. You will not be charged extra, and you’ll keep me supplied in books that I can review. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. Thank you.

Visit my author blog on colleenchesebro.com
My Poetic Community
Join us at the Saddle Up Saloon on carrotranch.com to write 99 syllable poetry
Click to Join in the Weekly Flash Fiction Challenge
Check out Marsha Ingrao’s Challenge Host Interview Series
Looking for More Writing/Poetry/Photography Challenges? Click the Image to Find More
Join the Literary Divas Library Group on Facebook
Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal – Click for Submissions
UHTS: Click to visit & find the Cattails Journal
This website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for stopping by!
Archives You Will Want to Read
Colleen M. Chesebro: Prose-Metrist, Novelist, & Word Witch
Colleen M. Chesebro

Colleen M. Chesebro

Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre flash fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry. Colleen's syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and in “Hedgerow, a journal of small poems.” She’s won numerous awards from participating in the Carrot Ranch Rodeo, a yearly flash fiction contest sponsored by carrotranch.com. In 2020, she won first place in the Carrot Ranch Folk Tale or Fable category, with her story called “Why Wolf Howls at the Moon.” Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.

Personal Links

Verified Services

View Full Profile →

I’ve been awarded the “Hearts As One Drum Beat Award” by Sue Dreamwalker. Click to visit her blog.
Fairies, Myths, & Magic ~ A Summer Celebration NEW RELEASE: Click to learn more
Click the image to read the Heart Stone Chronicles: The Swamp Fairy
Blessed BE!
%d bloggers like this: