Figurative Language

Metaphors are considered to be one of the most important forms of figurative languages used in everyday speech, prose, fiction, and poetry. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, a metaphor is “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison” (Van Engen, 2008). Metaphors are used to enhance imagination of the reader when reading stories and poems. Metaphors make imaginative comparisons between two completely different objects; one object said to be another. For instance, in the poem Casey at the Bat, the author uses a metaphor to compare players to objects by stating the players are those actual

He is trying to give the readers a better idea of how bad things are. The second example of figurative language is a simile, “We can't let them kill us like that, like cattle in the slaughterhouse”(Wiesel 31). It impacts the reader by making them think how cruel cattle in a slaughterhouse is. The guards could just kill them right on the spot without them getting a chance to tell them not to just like cattle in the slaughterhouse.

In chapter one of the novel, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, the author incorporates figurative language to develop the characters and the setting. The first example that portrays figurative language is, “The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads without sound, black and glistening as blood.” This example uses a metaphor to compare the water on the walls to glistening blood. In return, the readers can get a visual of the rooms setting and what the walls look like. Another example from chapter one is, “Their hair was white and their faces were cracked as the clay of a dry river bed.”

According to Merriam-Webster, Metaphor is defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. Hayes begins his poem with a

Captain Lincoln Steers the Ship to victory. “Where on the deck my captain lies Fallen cold and dead.”(7-8) This quote from the story refers to the assassination of President Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was President during the Civil War, and is considered to be one of the greatest presidents of all time. President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14,1865 and was in a coma for 9 hours before he died. With the death of the President the nation lost it’s most important man and a great father and husband. The elegy “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman is an extended metaphor about President Lincoln’s presidency because it compares Lincoln to a ships captain, the Union

Authors use figurative language to describe the objects and characters in the stories. In the passage “Uncle Timothy’s Ships,” by Summer Woodford, figurative language reveals the significance of the bottled ships, Woodford reveals the significance of the bottled ships by using metaphors, extended metaphors, and personification. The first piece of figurative language that Summer Woodford uses are metaphors. A metaphor is to compare two things without using like or as.

Figurative language is a language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. When the author uses literary language, he or she is stating the facts as they are. Figurative language is very common in poetry, and is also used in prose and nonfiction as well. In the stories “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myer and “ The Contender” by Robert Lipsyte the authors use figurative language to describe the mood, setting, and the characters.

Figurative language is language that which expressions with a different meaning from what it may seem like at if taken literally. By using figurative language, it allows for authors to better develop points, ideas, actions, or scenery. In the stories “Canyons” written by Gary Paulsen and “Treasure of Lemon Brown” written by Walter Dean Myers the authors use figurative language to develop the scene and characters in a creative way and more interesting way for the reader.

Figurative Language is the art of using figures of speech, loaded words, appeals, etc. they are used to have more of an impact and to persuade the listeners to join your side. in his speech, Patrick Henry tried to appeal to the audience by bringing up God into

One example of figurative language is repetition. Although there were multiple lines of repetition the one that stood out the most was “piece by piece” which was featured in the most important parts of the song, which is the title of the song, part of the chorus and the bridge. One line in the song is “But piece by piece, he collected me” (line 7) which is part of the chorus. She is talking about how her father left her in pieces and her husband is the one who put her back together. Another important part is “Piece by piece, he restored my faith” (line 14). Her husband was the one to show her how a true man should act and how a good father should be, unlike Kelly’s own

In this poem, Robert Frost never specifies who the speaker is, but the speaker seems to be a person observing the events as they happen. When the speaker talks, it isn’t from the boy’s point of view, or the sisters. The poem is written third person. The use of the words “he” shows the poem is written in third person. One way the poem shows the speaker is an observer is when the speaker says “Call it a day, I wish they might have said to please the boy by giving him the half hour that a boy counts so much when saved from work.” The speaker is talking about how he wishes the family would have let the boy be done with work for the day.

“O Captain! My Captain!” is one of the most popular poems ever written by Walt Whitman. Upon the initial reading of this poem, one may perceive the poem to be about a loyal captain who leads his crew on a treacherous, but successful, voyage which ends in devastation. If interpreted literally this is the poem’s only meaning, but for those who look further there is an underlying story behind the words of Whitman. Whitman uses multiple literary elements throughout this poem in order to unmask the story of Abraham Lincoln’s journey and ultimate death as a result of the Civil War and his fight to end slavery.

Now we can have a look at the different figurative language used in this poem, for example

The poets also use metaphors when writing poems. Metaphors refer to the use of certain words to mean otherwise in the context of the poem. However, metaphors are sometimes hidden in the poem such that they require the reader to figure out their existence in the poem. This will be easy when the poet employs the physical environment that is well understood by the reader. In addition, metaphors will strengthen the ideas that the poet wants to pass across. Metaphors will therefore make it easier for the readers to interpret and understand the meaning that the poet intended to communicate. Shelley has used a metaphor in his poem where he states ‘…Pestilence-stricken multitudes’. He states this to indicate to the reader that he is not just addressing a pile of leaves. Therefore, this helps to understand the deeper meaning of the poem.

In this research, the researcher discusses the figurative language based on Perrine’s perception. According to Perrine (1977:61-109), figurative language consists of 12 kinds, they are: simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy, symbol, allegory, paradox, hyperbole/overstatement, understatement, and irony.