Difference between revisions of "Figurative Speech"
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*'''Step 3''': Identify the points of deviation when comparing the outcome of step 1 and step 2 | *'''Step 3''': Identify the points of deviation when comparing the outcome of step 1 and step 2 | ||
*'''Step 4''': Describe the points of deviation in historic context | *'''Step 4''': Describe the points of deviation in historic context | ||
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| + | =Sources= | ||
| + | *Leech, Geoffrey N. ''A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry''. London: Longman. 1969. 147-165, in particular: 147-157. | ||
| + | *Ludwig, Hans-Werner. ''Arbeitsbuch Lyrikanalyse''. Tübingen: Francke. 5th ed. 2005, 30-63, in particular: 47-60. | ||
| + | |||
[[Category:Handout:Literature and Culture|Figurative Speech]] | [[Category:Handout:Literature and Culture|Figurative Speech]] | ||
Revision as of 10:04, 21 October 2008
Tropes (Tropen)
any expression which implies a transference of meaning
Simile
explicit/overt comparison, ‘as’, ‘like’.
Example: I wandered lonely as a cloud (Wordsworth); "Hercules fought like a lion."
Metaphor
implicit/covert comparison without the usage of 'as' or 'like'.
Example: But ye lovers, that bathen in gladnesse (Chaucer, T&C); "Hercules was a lion in battle."
Metonymy
replaces one expression by another, which has a spatial, temporal, or logical connection with it.
Example: "I'll have a glass or two." "The whole village rejoyced."
Synecdoche
a part stands for the whole, or vice versa.
Example: The Vatican has commented on recent events.
Allegory
a set of analogies. -- an abstract concept personified and made recognisable by a set of conventional attributes.
Example: 'Justice' as a woman, blindfolded, holding a sword and scales. 'Love' as a little boy, nearly naked, with wings and a bow and arrows which he shoots in order to make people fall in love.
Symbol
an object which suggests an implied but not entirely definite meaning.
Example: It was the nightingale, and not the lark (Shakespeare, R&J). A heart as a symbol for love. The cross as a symbol for death and resurrections, Christ's triumph over death (different types of cross symbolise different Christian denominations etc.).
Analysing Metaphors
- Step 1: Separate literal from figurative use
| L: | But | ye | lovers, | that | ———— | gladnesse |
| F: | " | " | " | " | bathen in | ———— |
- Step 2: Construct tenor and vehicle, by postulating semantic elements to fill in the gaps of the literal and figurative interpretations
| TEN: | But | ye | lovers, | that | [feel] | gladnesse |
| VEH: | " | " | " | " | bathen in | [water, etc] |
- Step 3: State the ground of the metaphor
Gladness is the lovers' element which they enjoy as a simple natural pleasure
Analysing Interplay
Interplay: tension between the verse metre and the actual rhythm
- Step 1: Identify the metre (maximization principle)
- Step 2: Identify realized accentuation
- Step 3: Identify the points of deviation when comparing the outcome of step 1 and step 2
- Step 4: Describe the points of deviation in historic context
Sources
- Leech, Geoffrey N. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry. London: Longman. 1969. 147-165, in particular: 147-157.
- Ludwig, Hans-Werner. Arbeitsbuch Lyrikanalyse. Tübingen: Francke. 5th ed. 2005, 30-63, in particular: 47-60.
