LessonsMajaz and Istiara: Literal Meaning, Relationship, Contextual Evidence, and Types of MetaphorQuiz

«فَأَمْطَرَتْ لُؤْلُؤًا مِنْ نَرْجِسٍ، وَسَقَتْ وَرْدًا، وَعَضَّتْ عَلَى الْعُنَّابِ بِالْبَرَدِ»
She rained pearls from narcissi, watered a rose, and bit upon a jujube with hailstones.

Here pearls refer to tears, narcissi to eyes, rose to the cheek, jujube to lips, and hailstones to teeth. The names of familiar objects are transferred to human features because of resemblance in appearance.

A sound reading analyzes each borrowed term separately rather than treating the entire poem as one undifferentiated metaphor.

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The pearls-and-flowers poetic example

Majaz and Istiara: Literal Meaning, Relationship, Contextual Evidence, and Types of Metaphor

«فَأَمْطَرَتْ لُؤْلُؤًا مِنْ نَرْجِسٍ، وَسَقَتْ وَرْدًا، وَعَضَّتْ عَلَى الْعُنَّابِ بِالْبَرَدِ»
She rained pearls from narcissi, watered a rose, and bit upon a jujube with hailstones.

Here pearls refer to tears, narcissi to eyes, rose to the cheek, jujube to lips, and hailstones to teeth. The names of familiar objects are transferred to human features because of resemblance in appearance.

A sound reading analyzes each borrowed term separately rather than treating the entire poem as one undifferentiated metaphor.