Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Metaphors for Freedom

As the European Enlightenment rolled in, poets struggled for ways to communicate the idea of freedom. One very popular metaphor was the idea that "every man is a king". In other words, you're like a king because no one is the boss of you.

In America, as the 19th century unfurled, the ruling metaphor for freedom seemed to be the frontier - the freedom of "wide open spaces" where you could do what you want without any neighbors around to bug you.

In both periods, the ancient contrast of "free man" vs. "slave" was a very live image as well.

Do we need some new metaphor today? Or can we get by with adaptations of these?

What is a metaphor for?
How does it open a mental door?

1 comment:

sasha said...

thanks that was useful! can you please write more metaphors for freedom..... it will be very greatful of you.....