What is a love-as-natural-force metaphor?

What is a love-as-natural-force metaphor?

Definition
	A conventional metaphor in which love is represented as a storm, flood, or wind, thus highlighting the aspects of the intensity of love and the lack of control of those in love.

Examples
	Here are some examples in English:
	She swept me off my feet. Waves of passion came over him. She was carried away by love. It was a whirlwind romance. She let herself go.

Generic
	A love-as-natural-force metaphor is a kind of
	What is a metaphor for love?

Source
	Kovecses 1986

Context for this page:

Concept module: love-as-natural-force metaphor
In modular book: Metaphors in English, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H. Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Lexicon

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 September 1998