--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by…" description: "\"Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of language derive therefrom.\" — I. A. Richards" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png" --- # Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the… ![“Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of language derive therefrom.” quote by I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png) > “Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of language derive therefrom.” [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Metaphors shape thought by linking ideas through comparison, driving language meaning. **In simple terms:** Metaphors help us understand by comparing. Key Takeaway Use vivid comparisons to clarify complex ideas. Themes language thought metaphor comparison Mood analytical creative Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - writing - teaching - public speaking - creative brainstorming - analysis Key Concepts Cognitive linguistics semantic theory Questions to Reflect On - What metaphors shape your worldview? - When do metaphors become limiting? A Different Perspective Overreliance on metaphor can obscure literal truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Metaphoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphoric/) [Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that a work of art, like metaphors in language, can ask the most serious, difficult questions in a way which really makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-believe-that-a-work-of-art-like-metaphors-in-language-can-ask-the/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Metaphors are dangerous. Love begins with a metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/metaphors-are-dangerous-love-begins-with-a-metaphor/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [But, like all metaphoric wars, the copyright wars are not actual conflicts of survival. Or at least, they are not conflicts for survival of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/but-like-all-metaphoric-wars-the-copyright-wars-are-not-actual/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [I was in the studio so much, it was about the search for air in a metaphoric sense, and the breathing has more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keren-ann/i-was-in-the-studio-so-much-it-was-about-the-search-for-air-in-a/) [Keren Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keren-ann/) > [Alan Moore does have a sheen of class. He's a smart guy, and I'm sure there was a metaphoric level, I'm not denying that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-brown/alan-moore-does-have-a-sheen-of-class-he-s-a-smart-guy-and-i-m-sure/) [Chester Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-brown/) > [Literature is conscious mythology: as society develops, its mythical stories become structural principles of story-telling, its mythical concepts, sun-gods and the like, become habits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-conscious-mythology-as-society-develops-its-mythical/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“You might be surrounded in a room of utter darkness, but if you light only one match, all the darkness is defeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-ivezic/you-might-be-surrounded-in-a-room-of-utter-darkness-but-if-you-light/) Michelle Ivezic > [Much more than an entertaining set of exaggerated facts, fiction is a metaphoric method of describing, dramatizing and condensing historical events, personal actions, psychological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/much-more-than-an-entertaining-set-of-exaggerated-facts-fiction-is-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A poem in form still has to have voice, gesture, a sense of discovery, a metaphoric connection, as any poetry does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/a-poem-in-form-still-has-to-have-voice-gesture-a-sense-of-discovery-a/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [What this means is that children, homemakers, executives, farmers, and long-living persons can all have high ego strength and good mental health if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-samples/what-this-means-is-that-children-homemakers-executives-farmers-and/) [Bob Samples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-samples/) > [“Nothing abstruse or ambivalent about it, not a speck of the metaphoric or the symbolic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/nothing-abstruse-or-ambivalent-about-it-not-a-speck-of-the-metaphoric/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Journeys up the Metaphoric River are hugely enjoyable and highly recommended. Since every genre is nourished by its heady waters, a paddle steamer can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/journeys-up-the-metaphoric-river-are-hugely-enjoyable-and-highly/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Our job as writers and thinkers in the time is how to bring about the occasions that let people have that first-person experience -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/our-job-as-writers-and-thinkers-in-the-time-is-how-to-bring-about-the/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [Where hunger is imposed by external circumstances, the act of starvation remains literal, a tragic biological event that does not serve metaphoric or symbolic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/where-hunger-is-imposed-by-external-circumstances-the-act-of/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [“The darkness surrounding can envelop one,but if you light only one match, you have defeated it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-m-r-ph-l/the-darkness-surrounding-can-envelop-one-but-if-you-light-only-one/) M.I.M. Răphæl ## More by I. A. Richards > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [It is never what a poem says that matters, but what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/it-is-never-what-a-poem-says-that-matters-but-what-it-is/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [Poetry is a perfectly reasonable means of overcoming chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/poetry-is-a-perfectly-reasonable-means-of-overcoming-chaos/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [Contempt is a well-recognized defensive reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/contempt-is-a-well-recognized-defensive-reaction/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [We want to do something and a definition is a means of doing it. If we want certain results then we must use certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-want-to-do-something-and-a-definition-is-a-means-of-doing-it-if-we/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [In the simplest formulation, when we use a metaphor we have two thoughts of different things active together and supported by a single word,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/in-the-simplest-formulation-when-we-use-a-metaphor-we-have-two/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) [Explore all 7 I. A. Richards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) ## More Comparison quotes > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I like to say that women are those who form life in their wombs - and this is a comparison I make - they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-like-to-say-that-women-are-those-who-form-life-in-their-wombs-and/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [President Obama's achievements and failures must be evaluated by comparison to those chief executives who have come before him and not be measured against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/president-obama-s-achievements-and-failures-must-be-evaluated-by/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Composing a piece of music is very feminine. It is sensitive, emotional, contemplative. By comparison, doing housework is positively masculine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kolb/composing-a-piece-of-music-is-very-feminine-it-is-sensitive-emotional/) Barbara Kolb > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [The insolence of base minds in success is boundless; and would scarce admit of a comparison, did not they themselves furnish us with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-insolence-of-base-minds-in-success-is-boundless-and-would-scarce/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [The wise man does not permit himself to set up even in his own mind any comparisons of his friends. His friendship is capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/the-wise-man-does-not-permit-himself-to-set-up-even-in-his-own-mind/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [It’s always going to be easy to live like others or other’s life, because creating or innovating something of own is always difficult in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/it-s-always-going-to-be-easy-to-live-like-others-or-other-s-life/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [The streets, at least in this part of town, seemed impossibly clean in comparison to London. The public telephones were unvandalised. For a London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-streets-at-least-in-this-part-of-town-seemed-impossibly-clean-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [It is only through contact and comparison that the relative value or worthlessness of the various cultural elements can be clearly and critically seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/it-is-only-through-contact-and-comparison-that-the-relative-value-or/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [I feel I'm in 2006 form to be honest. I hear a lot of comparisons to 2004, but I never changed. Last year was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alecko-eskandarian/i-feel-i-m-in-2006-form-to-be-honest-i-hear-a-lot-of-comparisons-to/) Alecko Eskandarian > [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Browse all 1,152 Comparison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of language derive therefrom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "I. A. Richards" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-comparison-and-the-metaphors-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comparison" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-comparison-and-the-metaphors-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc2/i-a-richards-51222_comparison_thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-co_1848092.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of language derive therefrom.” — I. A. Richards", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "I. A. Richards", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-comparison-and-the-metaphors-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/thought-is-metaphoric-and-proceeds-by-comparison-and-the-metaphors-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```