Recent metaphor research is surveyed demonstrating that the traditional, substitutional conception of the metaphor is inaccurate since metaphors are linguistically and cognitively elementary constructs. A definition of the metaphor is proposed, its cognitive function is examined, and a typology of metaphors is proposed applying semantic criteria and adopting Heinrich F. Plett's (1975) classification. Examples from German, English, French, and Latin political, poetic, and advertising texts are adduced to illustrate the interlingual, intertextual, and transcultural nature of the metaphor. The occurrence of metaphors in political speeches by Joseph Goebbels on 19 April 1945 and Richard von Weiszäcker on 8 May 1985 is examined in more detail, showing how the same metaphors and metaphorical fields can be used to convey negative and positive messages, respectively. Suggestions are made for metaphor analysis in German as a native language instruction at the secondary level. (LLBA 2000, vol. 34, n. 3)