Visual Metaphor Research- Verbal Metaphors

Five Verbal Metaphors
1. I'm as free as a bird
Target: I'm
Source: bird
Ground: they both feel freedom from something earthly
Tension: a person and a bird aren't related too much physically
The statement conveys a sense of being able to see the sky from the viewpoint of bird in a way, and the sky never seems to have any limit.

2. All the world's a stage
Target: the world
Source: stage
Ground: they both have entrances and exits
Tension: People aren't actually walking on planks of wood all the time or are surrounded by curtains
The statement gives the sense of the world not seeming real in a way, as if how we're all living is just an act.

3. I'm dying to know
Target: I'm
Source: dying/death
Ground: they both can relate through anxiousness
Tension: the person does not actually want to die
This statement conveys a strong sense of want, to the extreme of death being involved.

4. She's the apple of my eye
Target: she
Source: apple of my eye
Ground: they are both valued in a special way; apples are valued in taste while the girl is valued in appearance
Tension: she most likely doesn't have any physical resemblance to an apple
This statement conveys a sense of relation between a sweet fruit and the pleasantness of the woman this is aimed at.

5. It's raining cats and dogs
Target: the rain
Source: cats and dogs
Ground: they both are heavy in appearance
Tension: even the heaviest of rain couldn't compare to a cat or dog falling on someone
This statement emphasizes the heaviness of the rain, and exagerrating it by comparing it to animals falling from the sky gives a message of the rain not being safe to be in.