Figurative Language I

There are many types of figurative language. In this post we will look at six types, namely: metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe, metonymy, and synecdoche.

Simile & Metaphor

If I say the sun is like an orange, then an orange becomes a symbol for the sun. They are similar in color and in form (spherical). When I use terms such as "like", "as", "than", "resembles", we call it simile. "The sun is like an orange", is an example of a simile. When I omit such words of reference, and merely say X = Y, it is a metaphor. For example, "The sun is an orange" is a metaphor.

Sound & Sense (p. 72-74) explains that metaphor can take one of four forms, “depending on whether the literal and figurative terms are respectively named or implied.”

Personification

When a thing, animal or something abstract (e.g. Truth), is given the attributes of a human, it is called personification. In Dickinson’s poem “Apparently with no surprise” the flowers are described as “happy”; this is an example of personification.

Apostrophe

Apostrophe is a way of speaking to someone (dead) or something which one does not ordinarily speak to. For example, if I speak to my chair, or if I speak to Elvis Presley, it is called apostrophe. When I speak to my pet cat it would not be considered apostrophe because people often speak to their pets. However, if my cat is dead and I then speak to it, it would be considered apostrophe.

Synecdoche & Metonymy

Sound & Sense (p. 78) explains: “In contrast to the preceding figures that compare unlike things are two figures that rest on congruences or correspondences. Synecdoche (the use of the part for the whole) and metonymy (the use of something closely related for the thing actually meant) are alike in that both substitute some significant detail or quality of an experience for the experience itself.”

If I ask you to give me a hand, your "hand" stands for the whole of you – this is called synecdoche. Similarly if you bought a new car and I compliment your new car by saying “Nice wheels!” then the "wheels", which is a part of the car, represents the whole car. This is another example of synecdoche.

When I describe the library as “a house of pens”, it is metonymy. A library is not a house of pens; rather it is a house of books. However, pens are associated with writing and with books. Pens and books are therefore closely related although not actually part of the same thing. When figures are compared that are closely related (although not part of the same thing), it is called metonymy.

Consider the following questions from the "Reviewing Chapter Five" section in Sound & Sense:

1. Distinguish between language used literally and language used figuratively, and consider why poetry is often figurative.
2. Define the figures of comparison (simile and metaphor, personification and apostrophe), and rank them in order of their emotional effectiveness.
3. Define the figures of congruence or correspondence (synecdoche and metonymy).
4. Review the four major contributions of figurative language.