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Quote by William Empson

“All languages are composed of dead metaphors as the soil of corpses, but English is perhaps uniquely full of metaphors of this sort, which are not dead but sleeping, and, while making a direct statement, colour it with an implied comparison.”

Quote by William Empson

Work

Seven Types of Ambiguity

This book delves into the multifaceted nature of ambiguity, examining its presence and impact in different areas of human thought and expression. more

Author

William Empson
William Empson

William Empson was a British literary critic born on September 27, 1906, and died on April 15, 1984. His work is known for its unique literary analysis and profound philosophical insights. more

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“Of course, the ‘living/dead’ nomenclature is itself a metaphor, in that it personifies metaphors as living beings that can ‘live’ and ‘die’. Like all metaphors, this personification metaphor is helpful in some ways but imperfect in others. It is useful because it allows us to think about ‘living’ metaphors as having some of the traits of living beings. That is, ‘living’ metaphors can be thought of as active, having effects, and able to cause changes. The personification metaphor also lets us effortlessly reason that ‘dead’ metaphors will not have effects or instigate changes. Nonetheless, in other respects the metaphor misrepresents the actual situation, because metaphors can be partly dead and partly alive.”