LessonsImplicit and Imaginative Metaphor: Competing Accounts and al-Sakkaki’s DefinitionsQuiz

The expression can be separated into three elements:
1. Overt words: both “death” and “claws” are stated.
2. Unstated image: the predatory animal is not named.
3. Intended force: death is depicted as gripping its victim inescapably.

If “claws” is interpreted as a sign directing the hearer to the predator, the analysis emphasizes movement from attribute to source. If the focus is the imagined act of assigning claws to death, the analysis concerns figurative predication. These are related but technically different explanations.

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What is actually expressed in “claws of death”?

Implicit and Imaginative Metaphor: Competing Accounts and al-Sakkaki’s Definitions

The expression can be separated into three elements:
1. Overt words: both “death” and “claws” are stated.
2. Unstated image: the predatory animal is not named.
3. Intended force: death is depicted as gripping its victim inescapably.

If “claws” is interpreted as a sign directing the hearer to the predator, the analysis emphasizes movement from attribute to source. If the focus is the imagined act of assigning claws to death, the analysis concerns figurative predication. These are related but technically different explanations.