Blog 2

As I read Michael Erard’s “See Through Words”, I stumbled upon a statement that really stood out to me. On the second page of the article Erard states “They aren’t supposed to make someone remark: ‘That’s beautiful.’ They’re meant to make someone realize that they’ve only been looking at one side of a thing.” What struck me so much about this line was that I feel it debunks a common misconception about metaphors and other figures of speech; that their soul purpose in writing and in speech is to color up what it is you’re really trying to say, for the purpose of being artistic or abstract. I like that Erard clears this up and allows the reader to experience the potential for metaphors beyond the stereotypes. And, I feel that this is piece from the article in which I felt I knew exactly what Erard was articulating. However, a bit earlier in the reading that forced me to think a bit about what Erard was trying say. He says “Can metaphors be designed? I’m here to tell you that they can, and are.” When I read this at first, I had to take a moment to ask some questions of my own. “Is he using this line articulate that metaphors can be designed to fulfill specific purposes, like to manipulate the audience’s mood or focus? Or maybe, as he later states, to allow the audience to consider a new and refreshing point of view without them even realize they’re doing so. Regardless, reading these key points in the article ironically allowed me to reconsider all that metaphors are capable of.