Subject index
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Browse the library by subject. An article may appear under several subjects. For linguistic types of metaphor, see Metaphor Categories.
Explore the illustrated Metaphor Atlas for visual starting points and connected reading routes. The Comparative Metaphor Library brings subjects together to compare barriers, repeated movement, agency, shelter and belonging.
Earth, landscape and place
- Containers
- Houses, Rooms and Hidden Spaces
- Islands, Castaways and Exile
- Elevation
- Hurts
- Tunnels
- Rocks
- Valleys
- Hills and Mountains
- Fields
- Fields and Field Idioms - practitioner commentary
- Paths and Trails
- Crossroads, Detours and Dead Ends
- Brick Walls
- Swamps
- Beaches & Shorelines
- Garden of Eden
- Dungeons
- Mazes and Labyrinths
- Fences, Boundaries and Borders
- Foundations and Ground
- Pits, Holes and Trenches
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Air and weather
- The Firmament
- Atmospheres
- Echoes, Silence and Unheard Voices
- Tornados & Whirlwinds
- Hurricanes and Gales
- Vacuums
- Flight
- Clouds
- Ice, Snow and Frozen Landscapes
- Fog and Mist
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Fire, heat and light
- Deserts
- Volcanoes
- Pressure, Compression and Explosion
- On Fire
- Lightning
- The Sun
- Light, Darkness and Visibility
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Water
- Swallowed by a Fish/Whale
- Fish Gods
- Aquatic Gods
- Rivers and Civilisations
- Oceans
- Islands, Castaways and Exile
- Lakes
- Rain
- Wells
- Goldfish Bowl
- Currents, Tides and Undertows
- Floods, Dams and Breaking Banks
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Spirit, death and the unseen
- The Astral Plane
- Gottfried Leibniz Ontological Proof
- The Living Death Metaphor
- Rainbows
- Ghosts
- Graveyards
- Shadows
- The Hermit, Lanterns and Solitude
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Beings, creatures and nature
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Body and anatomy
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Movement and transport
- Trains
- Ships
- Cars
- Rockets
- Falling
- Gravity, Balance and Support
- Clocks, Seasons and Waiting Rooms
- Bridges
- Maps, Compasses and Lost Bearings
- Stairs and Ladders
- Anchors and Moorings
- Wheels, Treadmills and Roundabouts
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Objects, constraints and resources
- Obstructions
- Poisons
- Tables
- Food, Hunger and Nourishment
- Ties and Binds
- Burdens
- Gravity, Balance and Support
- Pressure, Compression and Explosion
- Clocks, Seasons and Waiting Rooms
- Marionettes
- Money
- Doors, Gates and Thresholds
- Nets, Webs and Traps
- Locks and Keys
- Mirrors and Reflections
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Scale, distance and movement
- Scale and Proportion: Shrinking, Looming and Being Dwarfed - relative size, fit and viewpoint
- Distance and Proximity: Closeness, Separation and Reach - nearness, boundaries and access
- Speed, Pace and Momentum - rate, effort, direction and control
- Fictive Motion: When Stationary Things Move - motion language for stationary scenes
Sound, rhythm and humour
- Music, Rhythm and Harmony - coordination, recurring patterns and musical imagery
- Metaphor and Humour - comic comparisons, puns and changes of interpretation
Literary journeys
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - changing size, access, direction and word play
- The Pilgrim's Progress - burdens, paths and gates in Bunyan's Christian allegory
- The Odyssey - voyages, restraint, homecoming and recognition