A figurative language is a word or phrase that departs from a literal meaning to express a comparison, add clarity, or make a transcript more attractive. With proper use, it serves as an economical way to refresh a banal plot. Its task is to create layers of values through which a reader gets access to feelings of the personages.
Exemplification
Shakespeare was known as one of the greatest masters of metaphorical language. Evaluating vocables, introducing or forming by him, it should be remembered that he did not write for learned scientists, but for the motley crowd of the parterre, which was filled mainly with apprentices. A well-known litterateur could be compared to a musician who, performing a complicated work on a relatively simple instrument suddenly elicits from it a great wealth and variety of sounds.
Mastering the phrases’ semantics allowed a prominent tragedian to widely employ so-called “word-play”. The replicas of his clowns are full of puns. Typical in this respect is the conversation among valets, beginning his tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”. Here each word represents a whole picture.
For instance, during the story, Romeo resorts to personification for describing the beauty of his beloved. Metaphors are also often found in the language of the protagonist. Watching the light in Juliet's window, he compares it to the east while the girl herself to the sun. Through visual images, the young man seeks to show that being so shiny and warm she could ward off the darkness.
Hyperbolas are designed to convey the fascination and power of love, which beloved ones experience. For instance, Romeo is convinced that Juliet has a power to destroy the envious pale moon as the brightness of her cheeks disgrace the heavenly stars. The mentioned technique demonstrates the birth of affection, turning a girl into an object of worship. Although we remember that the author sought to show the embarrassment of the main heroine in the Capulet masquerade.
Juliet also uses a visual language in her monologue about the significance of the name. The girl wondered if Romeo's belonging to another clan should impact on her feelings. Overhearing her, the youngster applies own imagination to shorten the distance between them. At the same time, despite the lack of dialogue, it seems that principal hero is addressing her directly. He sees how love flickers in her eyes and wants to fill their emptiness.
In his tragedy, Shakespeare managed to visualize love as much as possible. When the main hero swears by the moon in own feelings, Juliet rejects a heavenly body as unstable and too changeable. The girl wants their feelings to remain constant. He compares joy and pain of being with her with the attitude of schoolchildren towards learning. But protagonist aspires to identify his lover with a pet, constantly living in a native home.
Thus, a figurative language could transform ordinary descriptions into memorable events, amplifying an emotional meaning of phrases and turning prose into poetry. It may also help a reader grasp a basic symbolism of the scene or the author's idea. This is a way of reuniting the viewer with the spectacle.
Author: Angel Bell