Metaphoric Criticism - Conducting Metaphoric Criticism

Conducting Metaphoric Criticism

In Rhetorical Criticism, Sonja K. Foss outlines a four-step procedure for applying metaphoric criticism to texts:

1. First, the critic reads or views the entire artifact with specific attention to its context.

2. Second, to the critic isolates the metaphor(s) within the text, both obvious and more subtle substitutions of meaning. Here Foss invokes Max Black’s interaction theory of "tenor" (the principal subject or focus) and "vehicle" (secondary subject or frame for the metaphor), a method to analyze ways in which the related dissimilar objects actually share similar characteristics.

3. Third, the critic sorts the metaphors and look for patterns of use within the text. The more comprehensive the text, the longer this step will take.

4. The critic analyzes the metaphor(s) or groups of metaphors in the artifact to reveal how their structure may affect the intended audience. Foss writes, "Here, the critic suggests what effects the use of the various metaphors may have on the audience and how the metaphors function to argue for a particular attitude toward the ideas presented."