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Figurative Devices

Figurative Devices. Part II. What is Figurative Language?. Figurative language is a name given to a class of literary conventions that are… not meant to be interpreted literally, but rather by utilizing the reader’s imagination or sense of irony …

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Figurative Devices

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  1. Figurative Devices Part II

  2. What is Figurative Language? • Figurative language is a name given to a class of literary conventions that are… • not meant to be interpreted literally, but rather by utilizing the reader’s imagination or sense of irony… • …or by drawing parallels to other, seemingly unrelated, events and ideas.

  3. Apostrophe • Addressing someone or some personified abstraction that is not physically present • Example: • ”O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

  4. Pun • A verbal gag where a word may have two or more meanings • Mercutio: ” Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.“ • At PHUHS, also known as a “Macfarlaneism”

  5. Oxymoron, Paradox • Using contradiction in a striking manner that oddly makes sense • A statement constructed in phrase or sentence form is usually called a paradox: • “Without laws, we can have no freedom." • “I must be cruel only to be kind.” • A pair of words indicating this concept is called an oxymoron: • “O brawling love, O loving hate…”

  6. Metonymy • In which something closely related to a subject is being substituted for it • Think of the idea of a metaphor, only with a comparison of similar ideas, rather than dissimilar ones • The use of the word crown for royalty, the pen is mightier than the sword.

  7. Synecdoche • A figure of speech which uses a part of a physical object to represent the whole • The criminal was placed behind bars • the gossiping neighbor was a “wagging tongue.”

  8. Metonymy and Synecdoche • Metonymy and synecdoche may overlap and thus become difficult to distinguish. Visualize a haughty minister entering a rowdy tavern: • “As those pursed lips came through the swinging door, the atmosphere was suddenly soured.” • The “pursed lips” signal the presence of the minister, and are therefore a synecdoche, but they also suggest a sense of sin and guilt that makes the tavern patrons uneasy. So, as they could be construed as tying into religion in this context, they would also be metonymy. • When this overlap occurs, the device is usually labeled a metonymy.

  9. Metonymy and Synecdoche • Remember, similes and metaphors use dissimilar items or ideas for comparison. Metonymy and synecdoche use related or similar items or ideas for comparison.

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