Pretend Play and Metaphor

The importance of pretend play has long been noted as an important milestone in children's development.  Pretend Play allows children to experiment with social situations, strengthen vocabulary and build critical thinking skills. A child who engages in pretend play is also beginning the process of metaphorical thinking. 

One cannot think without metaphors. Metaphors are our way of making connections with the rest of the world; it is our way of understanding new ideas and learning. George Lakoff, another of my favorite linguists, explains the concept of metaphor and its relationship to our thinking. But what he doesn't do is talk about the process of becoming metaphorical.

That's where pretend play comes in.

When children pretend, they are basically accepting that one thing is another. Take the child who creates a "castle" by spacing chairs around in a circle or square. When the children are playing "castle", they simply refuse to enter the castle through anything but the space where the "door" is located. They have, in their creative play accepted that the "door" is the door and the chairs are in fact the walls. The rules are known and the children abide by them. Even the very small child who takes a block and pushes it on the ground and says "vroooom" is beginning metaphorical thinking. By accepting that the block is in fact a 'car', the child has taken the first step in understanding, "My love is like a red, red rose," or "It is the east and Juliet is the sun." 

We know that Juliet is not the sun. We know that Romeo is a love sick teen who believes she is his life and he is comparing her to the sun. But we accept it because it is a picture we can relate to, and so in relating to that picture we can understand how Romeo feels.

As adults, we don't often play. Our creativity gets a little stifled in the real world. When my daughter begs me to play Barbies or store, I'm often hesitant to do so. I already live those things and don't need toys to experience the adult world. But in playing with her, I'm allowing her to understand rules and experiences. I'm helping her build confidence. So the other day when she heard a song on the radio (which are full of metaphors) she asked why the girl kept saying "bleeding love." We talked about getting your feelings hurt and the hurt from a cut. Suddenly the song made a little more sense.

Maybe that's why we enjoys movies and plays so much. For a brief time, we too can engage in pretending that world consists of those three walls and all that it in the them. Or, if you are really adventurous, you can go to a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and pretend yourself!

Tina

Wikipedia: metaphor, synecdoche, simile, allegory, parable