Chapter 12-Figures of Speech
Poets love figures of speech. A figure of speech says one thing in terms of something else. For instance, a person might say “The diner strongly expressed anger at the waiter.” If the speaker used a figure of speech, he might say, “The diner leaped from his table and roared at the waiter.” The diner almost comes across as a lion or some type of animal which would be saying one thing in terms of something else, describing an angry diner in terms of an animal they might resemble.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterday’s have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow. a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
From MacBeth-William Shakespeare
Macbeth is obviously disillusioned with life and rather than saying everything is pointless, he expresses the idea of being just an actor on a stage that struts and frets for a little hour and then they’re off the stage and the audience doesn’t know any more about them. It’s a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. This is his very poetic, very figurative way of saying life just doesn’t mean anything to him anymore. Macbeth’s wife has just died, seemingly by suicide, and life doesn’t mean anything to him anymore. He could say that in one sentence, or he can use this poetic, beautiful way of talking about the disillusionment of life in a much more figurative and provocative way.
Similes and metaphors are two other common figures of speech. Similes consist of comparisons using words such as “like,” “appears,” or “seems like,” so the author says something resembles something else. Just remember that a simile states similarity. “A sip of Mrs. Cook’s coffee feels like a punch in the stomach,” where a metaphor just says something is something. “A sip of Mrs. Cook’s coffee is a punch to the stomach.” Which does Macbeth do? Does he say, “life is” or does he say, “Life is like?” That would tell the reader if he used simile or metaphor. It doesn’t make a difference to the meaning, but it helps the reader identify the author’s technique. Authors use different types of metaphors. They use implied metaphors as in “He brays his refusal to leave,” implying he’s a mule or a donkey. The sentence didn’t say he’s a donkey but rather implied it because of the words used to talk about his actions.
Authors use extended metaphors or controlling metaphors. In the poem, “Catch” by Robert Francis, two boys play ball. What Franics is really talking about a poet and the reader of his poem.
Catch
Two boys uncoached are tossing a poem together,
Overhand, underhand, backhand, sleight of hand, everyhand,
Teasing with attitudes, latitudes, interludes, altitudes,
High, make him fly off the ground for it, low, make him stoop,
Make him scoop it up, make him as-almost-as possible miss it,
Fast, let him sting from it, now, now fool him slowly,
Anything, everything tricky, risky, nonchalant,
Anything under the sun to outwit the prosy,
Over the tree and the long sweet cadence down,
Over his head, make him scramble to pick up the meaning,
And now, like a posy, a pretty one plump in his hands.
The reader sees how a poet writes his poem and does things he wants the reader to catch. Sometimes the reader really has to work to catch them, sometimes it’s easy, but this is an extended metaphor, controlling metaphor, because the entire poem carries the metaphor through as the poem being a ball the two boys are playing with.
Along with similes and metaphors, authors use puns, a play on words relying on a word having more than one meaning or sounding like another word, as in this instance: “I was struggling to figure out how lightning works but then it struck me.”
Authors use synecdoche when they use part of something to signify the whole. People do use synecdoche all the time, such as when a reporter says, “boots on the ground.” He or she really means the entire soldier is in the battle zone, but just talks about his boots. Talking about the boots creates an abbreviated and colorful way to get a point across, more poetic. It invokes more of a picture.
When something closely associated with the subject is substituted for it as in “The crown issued a statement” for “The King issued a statement,” the author is using metonymy. Because the King is always associated with the crown, readers know what the speaker or authors means.
The word apostrophe can mean a piece of punctuation but also a figure of speech, addressing someone absent or something non-human that cannot understand. For instance, when Juliet says, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” she doesn’t think he’s there. He is, but she doesn’t know it, so she uses apostrophe by addressing someone who’s not here. Most people have done something similar. A person receives an irritating email or voicemail, and they yell at the sender even though the sender isn’t present. That’s apostrophe.
Hyperbole overstates or exaggerates. “I was quaking from head to foot and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far.” Clearly, the speaker’s eyes did not stick out that far. The speaker is using hyperbole. Paradox is a statement which initially appears self-contradictory but on closer inspection turns out to be true, such as “I resist anything but temptation” by Oscar Wilde. Oxymorons use two contradictory words together, but the meaning is still clear. “I am a deeply superficial person.” Andy Warhol. Deeply and superficial are contradictory words, and yet he’s getting his meaning across. it’s the same thing as “jumbo shrimp.” Jumbo and shrimp seem contradictory, and yet the reader knows what the label means. These figures of speech help the poet get his meaning across quickly in a few words since poetry uses so few words and still makes it interesting and creates clear images for the reader to see in his or her mind.
