Beware of metaphor overload
I’ve written before about using metaphors to help make abstract concepts easier for readers to grasp.
However, you have to be careful not to overload your writing with metaphors, as The Wall Street Journal’s online editorial page illustrates with a Metaphor Alert in today’s Best of the Web:
“The bears would have us believe the sub-prime credit virus heralds the end of the world. They are wrong. The stock market—which I still believe is the best barometer of the health of business and the economic future—has behaved surprisingly well during this difficult stretch of turbulence.. Yes, profits are getting sloppy. And yes, there are some credit shocks out there yet to be revealed.. The animal spirits may have had their wings clipped a bit by the credit crunch, but there is still plenty of sizzle and juice in that story. It’s very easy to be totally pessimistic and bearish right now. That is precisely why I will avoid falling into that trap.”
—Larry Kudlow, National Review Online, Sept. 14
Fifteen metaphors in 123 words. That’s overdoing it, I think.
Roy Jacobsen
in Writing in its natural habitat
|
Post a Comment
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments