Howard Miller
01-06-2002, 01:08 PM
(This thread is in response to a request for a discussion of figurative language and figures of speech.)
Figurative language is language which is non-literal, that is, languge in which the actual meaning is something other than what the words would seem to mean if taken literally. For instance, when Keats says, "a new planet swims into his ken," does he really mean that the planet has fins and/or flippers and that it moves by wiggling them or its tail, or that it flounders (no pun intended--really) along with a dogpaddling motion? Not really. What he means is that the planet moves with the graceful steady motion of something which possesses the capacity for swimming. In this case, he is using a metaphor, a specific type of comparison which here indicates that the motion of the planet through space is similar to the motion of a fish or otter in terms of how it moves.
Figurative language has a number of useful consequences. First, it very often creates clear, specific images. For instances, Swinburne could have said, "Spring follows winter." Instead, in this line, he says, "The hounds of spring are on winter's traces," giving us a focused image of spring pictured as a pack of hunting dogs rapidly following the trail left by winter, implicitly described as a deer or some other form of prey. Second, figurative language often extends our attention beyond the immediate situation. For example, the entire action of Dante's Commedia takes place in the world of the Christian afterlife (Hell, Purgatory, Paradise), but repeatedly throughout the work his figurative language draws us back into this world, the world in which we live and where the lessons of Christianity are to be applied, as in this simile from Canto III of the Inferno in which he describes the souls of the damned in Hell:
"As leaves in the autumn loosen and stream down
until its branch stands bare above its tatters
spread on the rustling ground . . . ."
Only in this world do things--leaves, men--die; we are being reminded of the condition of life in our world and of the necessity of being prepared for the next.
Here is a short introduction to some of the most common figures of speech. I hope others will add to and extend this list as well as contribute discussions of effective uses of figurative language.
I. Simile (pronounced "SIM uh lee," NOT "SMIL ey"): A direct comparison between two things using words such as "like," "as," or "than" which indicate a comparison is being made. In some cases, such phrases as
"it seems" or "it appears" also create comparisons.
A is like B. "My love is like a rose."
Here, the person described ("love") is compared to certain qualities of the rose, most likely the rose's beauty.
II. Metaphor: An indirect comparison between two things; there are two forms:
a) one thing is said to actually be the other:
A is B. "My love is a rose."
Unless the speaker has a flower fetish, he is again, as in the simile, comparing his human love's beauty to that of a rose.
b) one thing is substituted for the other:
B. "My rose."
This is the more common form of metaphor; it is that used in the line from Keats referred to above. No comparison is directly stated; rather, it's up to the read to recognize the statement as a metaphor with the same meaning as the previous example.
Four Specialized Forms of Metaphors:
1. Synecdoche (pronounced "sin NECK doe key"): A part of something is substituted for the entire thing:
"Hired hand" = a person hired to perform work with his hands
"Private eye" = a person hired to look for something
This device is used to emphasize that part of something which is of special importance in a particular situation, as when Housman describes a youth athlete (a runner) as "fleet foot."
2. Metonymy (pronounced "me TON o me"): One thing is substituted for a second thing when the two are closely
associated:
"The White House" = The President
"Washington" = the federal government
"the crown" = the ruling monarch
3. Personification: To attribute specifically human qualities to something which is not human. The use of the pronouns "he" and "she" when
applied to things other than humans is considered to create
personification.
"The sun smiled at the sky."
"Time holds us in his hand."
Personification is used primarily to indicate to the reader that there is a distinctly human significance to something which isn't human, as when Keats personifies the season of Autumn in his poem "To Autumn"; in this poem, the pattern of the season becomes the idealized pattern for human life.
4. Apostrophe: To speak directly to something or someone; there are two forms:
(a) to speak to something that is not human as if it were human and capable of understanding; this form always also involves personification and can never be found separately from personification:
"Roll on, thou deep and mighty ocean."
(b) to speak to a person who is not physically present for some reason; this form can never involve personification:
"Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour."
Apostrophe of either type can be identified by the presence of
one or more of the following devices:
(1) the use of the second person pronoun:
"Roll on, thou deep and mighty ocean."
"Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour."
(2) the thing or person addressed is called by name:
"Roll on, thou deep and mighty ocean."
"Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour."
(3) in some instances, poems employing apostrophe have titles
of the form "To ________," with the word or name in the blank identifying that which is being addressed:
"To a Skylark"
"Ode to Melancholy"
"To the Memory of My Beloved Master William Shakespeare"
III. Hyperbole (pronounced "hi PER bow lee"): To deliberately exaggerate the truth in order to emphasize the point being made; also called Overstatement:
"I've told you kids a million times to clean up your room."
"I'll love you forever."
IV. Understatement: The opposite of Hyperbole; to make something appear to be less
important than it actually is, a more subtle form of emphasis. Understatement is most often phrased in one of two ways:
1) as uncertainty about something which is actually certain:
"Being dead, I think, isn't much fun."
"It is possible that you might not want to be sat upon by a
hippopotamus."
2) as the negative of the opposite of what is actually meant:
"She would not be unhappy to win the lottery."
V. Irony: A situation in which there is some discrepancy between what is expected and what is actually given; there are three forms:
a) Verbal Irony: What is said is the exact opposite of what is meant:
"Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit, to-who," a merry note."
Shakespeare is here describing the sound of a barn owl which is definitely neither musical nor pleasant; this type of irony requires that the reader recognize that what is said is in fact not true.
b) Irony of Situation: The outcome of a sequence of events is the opposite of what was expected.
c) Dramatic Irony: When the characters in a work expect a certain outcome of events, but the reader knows that the outcome will be
the opposite of what the characters expect.
This form takes its name from its use in Greek tragedy. The Greek audiences already knew the stories being dramatized, so when they went to the theatre to see a performance of Oedipus, for instance, they were aware from the beginning that Oedipus had already fulfilled Apollo's prophecy and had killed his father and married his mother although Oedipus himself doesn't realize this until the climax of the drama, believing in fact that he has been able to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
VI. Paradox:
In logic, a paradox refers to two statements which are completely contradictory:
"The following statement is true; the preceding statement is false."
"'All Cretans are liars,' the Cretan said."
In literature, the contradiction is only apparent; when examined closely, the contradictory elements do not really contradict each other because the statements are not intended to
be understood literally.
Two statements which appear initially to contradict each other:
"Imprison me, or I can never be free."
Specialized Form of Paradox:
Oxymoron: A paradox expressed in a short phrase, usually but not
always restricted to two contradictory words:
"Love's icy fire"
"Darkness visible"
Howard
[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 01-06-2002).]
[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 01-06-2002).]
Figurative language is language which is non-literal, that is, languge in which the actual meaning is something other than what the words would seem to mean if taken literally. For instance, when Keats says, "a new planet swims into his ken," does he really mean that the planet has fins and/or flippers and that it moves by wiggling them or its tail, or that it flounders (no pun intended--really) along with a dogpaddling motion? Not really. What he means is that the planet moves with the graceful steady motion of something which possesses the capacity for swimming. In this case, he is using a metaphor, a specific type of comparison which here indicates that the motion of the planet through space is similar to the motion of a fish or otter in terms of how it moves.
Figurative language has a number of useful consequences. First, it very often creates clear, specific images. For instances, Swinburne could have said, "Spring follows winter." Instead, in this line, he says, "The hounds of spring are on winter's traces," giving us a focused image of spring pictured as a pack of hunting dogs rapidly following the trail left by winter, implicitly described as a deer or some other form of prey. Second, figurative language often extends our attention beyond the immediate situation. For example, the entire action of Dante's Commedia takes place in the world of the Christian afterlife (Hell, Purgatory, Paradise), but repeatedly throughout the work his figurative language draws us back into this world, the world in which we live and where the lessons of Christianity are to be applied, as in this simile from Canto III of the Inferno in which he describes the souls of the damned in Hell:
"As leaves in the autumn loosen and stream down
until its branch stands bare above its tatters
spread on the rustling ground . . . ."
Only in this world do things--leaves, men--die; we are being reminded of the condition of life in our world and of the necessity of being prepared for the next.
Here is a short introduction to some of the most common figures of speech. I hope others will add to and extend this list as well as contribute discussions of effective uses of figurative language.
I. Simile (pronounced "SIM uh lee," NOT "SMIL ey"): A direct comparison between two things using words such as "like," "as," or "than" which indicate a comparison is being made. In some cases, such phrases as
"it seems" or "it appears" also create comparisons.
A is like B. "My love is like a rose."
Here, the person described ("love") is compared to certain qualities of the rose, most likely the rose's beauty.
II. Metaphor: An indirect comparison between two things; there are two forms:
a) one thing is said to actually be the other:
A is B. "My love is a rose."
Unless the speaker has a flower fetish, he is again, as in the simile, comparing his human love's beauty to that of a rose.
b) one thing is substituted for the other:
B. "My rose."
This is the more common form of metaphor; it is that used in the line from Keats referred to above. No comparison is directly stated; rather, it's up to the read to recognize the statement as a metaphor with the same meaning as the previous example.
Four Specialized Forms of Metaphors:
1. Synecdoche (pronounced "sin NECK doe key"): A part of something is substituted for the entire thing:
"Hired hand" = a person hired to perform work with his hands
"Private eye" = a person hired to look for something
This device is used to emphasize that part of something which is of special importance in a particular situation, as when Housman describes a youth athlete (a runner) as "fleet foot."
2. Metonymy (pronounced "me TON o me"): One thing is substituted for a second thing when the two are closely
associated:
"The White House" = The President
"Washington" = the federal government
"the crown" = the ruling monarch
3. Personification: To attribute specifically human qualities to something which is not human. The use of the pronouns "he" and "she" when
applied to things other than humans is considered to create
personification.
"The sun smiled at the sky."
"Time holds us in his hand."
Personification is used primarily to indicate to the reader that there is a distinctly human significance to something which isn't human, as when Keats personifies the season of Autumn in his poem "To Autumn"; in this poem, the pattern of the season becomes the idealized pattern for human life.
4. Apostrophe: To speak directly to something or someone; there are two forms:
(a) to speak to something that is not human as if it were human and capable of understanding; this form always also involves personification and can never be found separately from personification:
"Roll on, thou deep and mighty ocean."
(b) to speak to a person who is not physically present for some reason; this form can never involve personification:
"Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour."
Apostrophe of either type can be identified by the presence of
one or more of the following devices:
(1) the use of the second person pronoun:
"Roll on, thou deep and mighty ocean."
"Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour."
(2) the thing or person addressed is called by name:
"Roll on, thou deep and mighty ocean."
"Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour."
(3) in some instances, poems employing apostrophe have titles
of the form "To ________," with the word or name in the blank identifying that which is being addressed:
"To a Skylark"
"Ode to Melancholy"
"To the Memory of My Beloved Master William Shakespeare"
III. Hyperbole (pronounced "hi PER bow lee"): To deliberately exaggerate the truth in order to emphasize the point being made; also called Overstatement:
"I've told you kids a million times to clean up your room."
"I'll love you forever."
IV. Understatement: The opposite of Hyperbole; to make something appear to be less
important than it actually is, a more subtle form of emphasis. Understatement is most often phrased in one of two ways:
1) as uncertainty about something which is actually certain:
"Being dead, I think, isn't much fun."
"It is possible that you might not want to be sat upon by a
hippopotamus."
2) as the negative of the opposite of what is actually meant:
"She would not be unhappy to win the lottery."
V. Irony: A situation in which there is some discrepancy between what is expected and what is actually given; there are three forms:
a) Verbal Irony: What is said is the exact opposite of what is meant:
"Then nightly sings the staring owl,
To-whit, to-who," a merry note."
Shakespeare is here describing the sound of a barn owl which is definitely neither musical nor pleasant; this type of irony requires that the reader recognize that what is said is in fact not true.
b) Irony of Situation: The outcome of a sequence of events is the opposite of what was expected.
c) Dramatic Irony: When the characters in a work expect a certain outcome of events, but the reader knows that the outcome will be
the opposite of what the characters expect.
This form takes its name from its use in Greek tragedy. The Greek audiences already knew the stories being dramatized, so when they went to the theatre to see a performance of Oedipus, for instance, they were aware from the beginning that Oedipus had already fulfilled Apollo's prophecy and had killed his father and married his mother although Oedipus himself doesn't realize this until the climax of the drama, believing in fact that he has been able to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
VI. Paradox:
In logic, a paradox refers to two statements which are completely contradictory:
"The following statement is true; the preceding statement is false."
"'All Cretans are liars,' the Cretan said."
In literature, the contradiction is only apparent; when examined closely, the contradictory elements do not really contradict each other because the statements are not intended to
be understood literally.
Two statements which appear initially to contradict each other:
"Imprison me, or I can never be free."
Specialized Form of Paradox:
Oxymoron: A paradox expressed in a short phrase, usually but not
always restricted to two contradictory words:
"Love's icy fire"
"Darkness visible"
Howard
[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 01-06-2002).]
[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 01-06-2002).]