The impact of M. Black's theory of metaphor ("Metaphor" in 'Models and Metaphors', Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1962, 25-47) is assessed. Black argued against comparative and substitutive theories of metaphor. Black's idea of the creative power of metaphor is supported, but his means of accounting for it in terms of a special cognitive content or meaning is questioned. Other possible approaches to metaphorical interpretation are discussed. (Copyright 1992, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.) (B. Annesser Murray in LLBA 1992, vol. 26, n. 3)