Chapter 1 - Survey of metaphor using both historical and contemporary sources. Chapter 2 - Analysis of figurative transfer in the STUN group of words using data from the Historical Thesaurus of English. Additional analysis of figurative transfer of the adjectives STURDY and STOUT. Examination of the phonaesthetic groupings of words with initial ST - with especial reference to STUN, STURDY and STOUT. Chapter 3 - Analysis of the HOT/COLD metaphor to express EMOTION using data from the Historical Thesaurus of English. Chapter 4 - A phonaesthetic analysis of all words with initial SW - using data taken direct from OED. A diachronic analysis of same and a series of synchronic analyses to ascertain the phonaesthetic/non-phonaesthetic ratio of initial SW - words throughout time. Chapter 5 - Implictions and suggestions for further research on metaphor, phonaestheme and the possible overlap between these two linguistic mechanisms. Chapter 6 - Conclusions.