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Figurative Language

Figures of speech that shape meaning in language, culture, and thought.

Key Premise

Literary study trains us to attend to language closely.

Figures of Speech

Crucial tools for interpretation, including metaphor, simile, metonymy, and personification.

Understanding Figures

Helps us see how meaning is created, not just discovered.

Figurative Language Scope

Not confined to poetry; it pervades all communication, thought, and culture.

Poem Summary of 'The Lamb'

A child speaks to a lamb, asking 'Who made thee?' and answers that God/Christ made both.

The Lamb Symbolism

The lamb represents innocence, purity, and divine creation.

Surface Meaning of 'The Lamb'

A childlike, simple, religious poem reinforcing divine innocence and purity.

Figurative Complexity in 'The Lamb'

The poem's innocence is produced by figurative language, not literal description.

'Proper' Meaning

Literal, expected sense of a word.

'Figurative' Meaning

Twisted, transferred, or extended sense of a word.

Example of Metaphor

Calling a football player a 'tiger' implies aggression, not literal identity.

Metaphor in 'The Lamb'

'Clothing of delight' — wool as 'clothing' transfers human characteristics to the lamb.

Personification in 'The Lamb'

'Making all the vales rejoice' describes valleys as humanlike and emotional.

Apostrophe in 'The Lamb'

The entire poem addresses a lamb that cannot respond, twisting language from its proper function.

Simile

Comparison using 'like' or 'as,' more explicit and controlled than metaphor.

Metonymy

Refers to something using association, such as 'the crown' meaning king.

Second Stanza Analysis

Appears 'literal,' but still depends on figurative structures.

Historical Figurative Meanings

Words like 'bless,' 'meek,' and 'mild' have figurative histories.

Main Argument: No Sharp Divide

Every word's meaning depends on systems of comparison and contrast.

Language as a System

Language is a system of relationships, not direct naming of reality.

Language Shapes Reality

We create categories that define how we see the world.

Language

The system through which we experience and organize reality.

Figurative categories

Reflect cultural values and biases.

Gender Example

Society links 'woman' to 'chick, cat, fox, bitch.'

Arbitrary assignments

Figures that seem 'natural' but are value-laden.

Philosophy and Science

Even 'objective' disciplines rely on figures.

Idea

From Greek idein, meaning 'to see', shows metaphorical roots.

Concepts

Are tropes; Paul de Man states 'Concepts are tropes and tropes concepts.'

Freud's dream processes

Mirror figurative functions.

Identification

Metaphor (connecting by similarity).

Displacement

Metonymy (connecting by association).

Language as social tool

Language is shaped by social and political power.

Rhetoric and Persuasion

Figures persuade emotionally, not logically.

McDonald's ad example

Connects the assembly of a burger to human reunions.

Emotional connection

Leads to product appeal.

Political dimension of figures

Figures can reinforce or expose power.

Poetry's role

Calls attention to figures and reveals constructed meaning.

Critical awareness

Recognizing figures allows for critical resistance.

Counter-metaphors

Can create new value systems.

Figures in creativity

Tools for creativity, critique, and empowerment.

Metaphor

Transfer of meaning based on shared category.

Personification

Giving human traits to nonhuman things.

Apostrophe

Address to absent or nonliving thing.

Figurative History

Words retain traces of earlier meanings.