A cause can be named when an effect is intended, or an effect can direct attention back to its cause. Rain, for example, can be associated with vegetation and growth through a causal relation.
However, a statement about an actual cause is not automatically figurative. The analyst must determine whether the word truly carries a transferred sense in context.
Ask: What is the assigned sense? Which cause or consequence is actually intended, and how does the context establish the transfer?
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Literal and Figurative Usage: Metonymy and Types of Metaphor
A cause can be named when an effect is intended, or an effect can direct attention back to its cause. Rain, for example, can be associated with vegetation and growth through a causal relation.
However, a statement about an actual cause is not automatically figurative. The analyst must determine whether the word truly carries a transferred sense in context.
Ask: What is the assigned sense? Which cause or consequence is actually intended, and how does the context establish the transfer?