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Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
The Praise of Folly
Explanation and Analysis—A Sort of Comedy:
Folly uses an extended metaphor that compares human life to a “sort of comedy.” Arguing that a certain degree of foolishness is necessary for a functioning society, she compares a wise individual to an unruly member of an audience:
If a person were to try stripping the disguises from actors while they play a scene upon the stage, showing to the audience their real looks and the faces they were born with, would not such a one spoil the whole play? [...] The actor who played a woman would now be seen a man; he who a moment ago appeared young, is old [...] Destroy the illusion and any play is ruined. It is the paint and trappings that take the eyes of spectators. Now what else is the whole life of mortals but a sort of comedy [...] ?
Any society, Folly claims, is reliant upon a degree of foolishness, as only foolishness allows an individual to accept the various fictions, deceptions, and illusions that tie people together. The citizens, for example, must believe that the King is wise even if he is foolish. She compares these various convenient falsehoods to a play, and more specifically, a comedy. An individual who desires to gain wisdom, she argues, is dangerous to a society, because he or she will seek the truth and undermine the collective fantasy. The wise individual, she claims, can be thought of as an ill-behaved member of the audience who attempts to remove the “disguises from the actors while they play upon a scene,” an act which could “spoil the whole play.” Folly’s metaphor, then, suggests that wisdom can be a civic liability.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Honey and Spice:
In praising the personal and civic benefits of flattery, Folly uses a metaphor which imagines flattery as “the honey and spice of all human intercourse”:
My flattery raises the dejected spirit, it soothes those who are grieving, freshens the faint, quickens the dull, eases the suffering, mollifies the fierce, joins loves together and keeps them so joined. It allures childhood to pursue the study of literature, it cheers the old, and, under the color of praise, it warns and instructs princes without offense. In brief, it acts to make every man more pleasing and more dear to himself; this is indeed the main point of happiness [...] To conclude, it is honey and spice of all human intercourse.
Throughout her speech, Folly has claimed the concept of flattery, or insincere praise, as one of her primary gifts to mankind. Here, she expounds upon the various advantages of flattery. Flattery, she claims, is able to bring relief to those who are “grieving” or “suffering,” and so too does it bring people together and maintain all interpersonal relationships. Folly, then, believes that there is a degree of insincerity in the kind words that people exchange with each other, though ultimately these polite deceptions make everyone happier. Flattery, she concludes, is the “honey and spice” that brings sweetness to all social interactions, a metaphor which suggests that false compliments make everyday encounters pleasurable, much as honey and spice make food enjoyable.
Related Themes:
