International Journal Of Literature And Languages
22
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue01 2025
PAGE NO.
22-25
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue01-05
Metaphorical similes based on the similarity between
living and non-living things
Tilegenova Altinay Ernazar qizi
PhD student at KSU, Uzbekistan
Received:
22 October 2024;
Accepted:
24 December 2024;
Published:
14 January 2025
Abstract:
This article presents the study of the works of poets, enriching them with the characteristics of the use
of artistic means in contemporary Karakalpak lyric poetry, which reveals the current artistic level of similes, their
types, and the object of comparison, and the methods by which they are most often used.
Keywords:
Poetics, character, tropes, simile, metaphorical similes.
Introduction:
In modern Karakalpak lyric poetry,
metaphorical similes are a form that has elevated
similes to a new level in terms of imagery and
expressiveness. Metaphorical similes are considered as
similes that carry the properties of metaphor, which is
distinguished by syntactic mobility, imagery, and the
ability to define the word related to it with
metaphorical
adjectives.
When
identifying
metaphorical similes, the primary task is to determine
the quality of the metaphor rather than the elements
of the comparison. This is because the elements of a
simple simile are relatively clear and apparent, whereas
identifying the metaphorical quality in a simile requires
logical analysis. Let us attempt to demonstrate this
through examples:
You are brimming! Undulating...
Like a flower-shaped goblet filled with nectar.
Emotions surge and swell,
You yourself are nectar... My beloved... [1:19]
Even my feet, like plane trees,
Have spread roots into the ground. Reaching
the skies,
Storks have built their nests above me. [2:41]
Like a wistful beauty -
Bare willows,
Winter has buried your surroundings in snow.
Now - the once playful winds
Can no longer rustle your leaves. [3:12]
In the examples, we see excellent instances of
metaphorical similes. In the first poem, the beloved is
likened to wine. In the lyrical hero's consciousness, the
beloved's actions, allure, and radiance evoke the image
of a cup filled with wine. In the song, the metaphor
manifests through the transference of the natural
properties of a wine-filled glass to a figurative meaning,
resembling the beloved. The metaphor is realized as
the characteristics of the wine-filled glass take on a
symbolic meaning in relation to the beloved. The
patterns and shape of the cup reflect the face and
external appearance of the beloved, while the wine
inside represents the beloved's inner world and beauty.
The lyrical hero compares the charming figure before
him to a flower-shaped cup designed for pouring wine.
The poet has deliberately chosen a cup with external
features that closely resemble the girl, while the inner
meaning of the simile is revealed through wine and the
feelings of the beloved. Wine, with its natural
properties and composition, has the ability to
intoxicate a person and fully captivate their
imagination; these characteristics are also determined
by the sensations of wine. A woman, like wine, can
enchant with her grace and love, delighting the spiritual
world of a young man. In terms of these qualities, the
poet has successfully employed this simile. The
difference between this metaphorical simile and a
simple simile lies in the ability to shift the metaphorical
meaning between the objects being equated and the
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
equating one, in the transfer of the inner meaning to
the metaphorical meaning, that is, the properties of the
cup in which the wine is poured are compared to the
charming, the charming wine is reflected as a full glass,
the internal properties of the wine and the girl are
compared.
In the second example, the feet of the lyrical hero take
root in the ground like plane trees. This simile may
seem to contain an absurd image, as root spreading is
a characteristic unique to trees and plants, while
humans don't have roots that burrow into the ground.
The song is titled “Situation” and it narrates the lyrical
hero’s later years, describing his condition in old age.
The natural qualities of the plane tree are
metaphorically transferred to the lyrical hero, to the
human: the plane tree’s longevity, its deep rooting in
the earth, its branching out and spreading beauty - all
of these are embodied in the lyrical hero. The natural
features of the old tree and the old man are compared,
as seen in the final lines of the song:
But to bend to the table,
And my feet, rooted in the earth,
My twisted hair won't let me. [4:41]
- he presented. The main spiritual connection between
the plane tree with its head touched by the greens and
the storks nesting on its head and the lyrical hero is
closely related to the last moments, days of his life, and
old age. The details of the knees and twisted hair that
make it impossible to bend over the table are proof of
our opinion. In this example, the metaphorical
comparison arose from the figurative transfer of the
property of an inanimate object to a person.
In the last example, the feelings of the beautiful, the
woman, are transferred to the willows. The transfer of
human emotions to a tree is, of course, a metaphor.
The poet does not just compare the willows to a girl,
here subjective feelings are more equated than objects.
The mental state of the beautiful beauty is compared
to the natural state of the willows on a winter day,
initially based on these similarities, the feelings of the
longing beauty are transferred to the willow, and then
the willow is equated to the beautiful. Therefore, by
the first metaphorical method, the inner content of the
person being compared to the object (willow) is
transferred, and then an artistic simile is formed based
on similarities. The song also involved beautiful, naked
epithets, the epithet also creates imagery, but we
cannot analyze this as an epithetical comparison, if so,
the two objects of comparison must be interconnected
by epithets (beautiful and naked), they must fall into a
spiritual connection. However, the words naked and
beautiful are not combined with the comparison, on
the contrary, using similes, two images are
metaphorically connected: words defining the
beautiful and the willow, as well as those images, the
quality of one being transferred to the other. Since
metaphorical comparisons are somewhat difficult to
identify, they require deeper analysis, logic, and artistic
perception. Russian literary critic V.M. Jirmunsky
correctly assessed: “In
-depth analysis does not limit
itself to defining one or another art, but implies
understanding the aesthetic function of that art, its
meaning, and precisely what this art means”
. [5:425]
In metaphorical comparisons, the difference between
living and non-living things, the actions are constantly
changing, and the quality of one is complemented by
the other. For example:
Hurricanes running in tears...
Those blizzards are stupid. [6:27]
In the first line, hurricanes act as nouns and serve to
animate, while in the second line, animation as a verb
has now entered the composition of similes. The
similarity (unpleasantness) between the natural
unpleasant, noisy voice of the hurricanes and the
crying, nostalgic voice of a grieving mother is
compared. In order to more vividly depict this situation
of the hurricane, the author translates the sad voice of
a sobbing woman, not an ordinary woman. The
involuntary missing and crying of a sane woman is an
insulting and piteous situation. This whistle of the
storm is a natural phenomenon, there is no sound from
it, it should be accepted as simple, but the poet, who
sought imagery and artistry, created a wonderful
means of artistry by transferring this natural noise,
which seemed to us ordinary, to the figurative meaning
of the state of a sane woman. In this example, the sign
of living life is transferred to an inanimate
phenomenon, and sometimes it is the opposite. The
properties of inanimate matter and animals are copied
and compared to humans:
It was a quiet evening. We must say good-bye,
The moonlight dried my tears.
Measures ended, events ended,
My mother said good-bye like a swan. [7:21]
In the song, the characteristics of the swan, its state
before death, are transferred to the state of the
mother's death. This seems to be a metaphorical
analogy, but knowing the swan's death philosophy
helps to understand that it is a metaphorical simile.
Philosophical concepts such as the death of the swan
and the swan poem were formed in ancient literature.
It was first used in the image of Aesop. His philosophy
of swan death can be seen in the title: “I have heard
that swans sing before they die”. [8:2
92] The swan's
very character is a philosophy, and his death is a
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
philosophy. The swan (the song of the swan) has
become a separate genre in Western literature. When
a swan loses its mate, it prepares itself for death and
dances, then commits suicide. In the song, the lyrical
hero equates himself and his mother to a pair of swans,
which is undoubtedly used to reflect the high love
between mother and child. This is why his mother is
likened to a swan, and his mother’s death is likened to
the aesthetic death of a swan. This metaphorical
epithet - the death of a mother like a swan - forces a
deeper analysis, while the simile of a mother and child
to a pair of swans leads to an expansion of ideas about
the swan, which are symbolic characters.
My soul is a musical instrument. If possible
I'll take off my wings!
When I remember I like you,
I'm like a mournful goose losing its mate.
[9:397]
The song uses both metaphor and metaphorical simile,
the first line is a metaphor, and the last line is a
metaphorical simile. The lyrical hero is not compared to
the goose, but to the movement of the goose and its
actions and state. In this case, the state of the goose
when losing its partner, the anxiety of the lyrical hero,
is transferred to the state of longing for the beloved,
and then, like a goose, he becomes impatient and
suffers. The song aims to compare their emotions
rather than objects. One of the main features of
metaphorical simile is that it simulates internal actions,
although objects are similar in form, their feelings,
states, and actions are similar, arising from the
comparison of internal content.
In modern Karakalpak lyric poetry, we observe that
metaphorical similes are more often used in landscape
lyric poetry, in describing natural phenomena and
phenomena. According to Aristotle, just as man learns
everything from nature, natural phenomena affect the
poet with constant changes, actions, and states. They
act in the same life as a human being as a factor of life.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that creators see the
expression of their inner feelings in them. J. Izbasqanov
is a skilled master of depicting natural phenomena in
our lyrics, especially spring and autumn are constant
objects of depiction. For example:
Why did you stay here “sad”?
It’s like there’s
ice on your feet.
Spreading her hair by the flowing water,
Like girls coming to have a swim. [10:117]
The song is about cypress willow. The poet chose the
best of the willows to depict the character. The cypress
willow is a conical, coniferous tree. [11:234] The
cypress willow differs from other willows in that its
leaves are long, thin, and always bent. This scene
involuntarily reminds the poet of a girl with scattered
hair. A wonderful metaphorical simile was created in
order to liken the natural appearance of a tree to some
wonderful state. The poet’s artistic fantasy is that only
the scattered hair and bent leaves are similar in
structure and appearance, and this position of the
willows is likened to a girl adapted for swimming. The
metaphorical character in the song is manifested in the
movement of the girls who spread their hair and tried
to swim, moving to the natural state of the willow, and
then resembling the willow to that movement.
The skill of creating such metaphorical similes from
natural landscapes is also characteristic of the lyrics of
B. Genjemuratov and K. Karimov. In K. Karimov, as in
the lyrics of J. Izbasqanov, attention is paid to love,
beauty, and aesthetic pleasure, while in B.
Genjemuratov, philosophical thoughts are more
focused on conveying sad, anxious feelings. For
example:
If the willows think they have many leaves,
what will happen to the nightingales?
The dawns grow dark like an unloved girl,
if the nightingale thinks there's too much
sound. [12:88]
How pleasant the wind is,
What do I say, buds whisper
A white willow, swinging like youth,
Why did the wind blow the glass? [13:11]
Both songs represent the image of the willow. The
object is the same, the images and comparisons are
similar, and the author’s thoughts are different.
The
first example discusses strict laws of the universe,
environmental issues, and the philosophy of the
universe. Both the willow and the nightingale have
their own vital functions, and the willow shade and the
pleasant air that comes from it are as necessary to the
nightingale as its sweetness is useful to man. The
nightingale, unlike other birds, is a bird that tends to
sing and live in beautiful places. The beauty and
expressiveness of the willows’ nature are depicted
figuratively with nightingales and birds. We cannot
analyze the images of the willow and nightingale as
about love for the image of a girl and a boy, but the
analysis that the biological connection, the inseparable
connection of the world of plants and birds, and their
interdependence are reflected in the poem from the
point of view of world philosophy allows us to reveal
the author’s idea and understand the feelings of the
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
lyrical hero. In this case, the metaphorical comparison
is manifested in the series of sad mornings like a girl
without a lover. The poet transfers, compares, and
resembles not the willow and the girl, but the willow’s
natural-biological, human-emotional state, and the
girl’s psychology. In the second example, the
comparison between the willow and the girl stems
from the appearance, beauty, natural inner content,
and aesthetic influence of both. The word “adult” is a
metonymic description of girls, their shining until they
reach adulthood, their beauty is compared to their
state before the end of the last days of winter and the
arrival of spring, the opening of buds. Unlike the
previous example, the main focus is on the artistic goal
of reflecting the beauty of natural phenomena on the
eve of spring.
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