Assignment 2: " Figurative Language versus Literal Language " Angie H. Dr. C.K. PHI210– Critical Thinking January 24, 2013 Figurative language is an important part of the English language and it allows a person to better express their thoughts. Although, there are some people who are quite thoughtless in using figurative language and they cause confusion and misunderstandings. That is probably the reason why so many non-English speakers say that the English language is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Why, because we would rather use figurative language to explain something INSTEAD of using the literal language to explain themselves.
Another commonly used rhetorical device is parallelism. This device connects parts of a sentence, or longer pieces, by using the same structure throughout. Parallelism is often used to build force through repetition. It is commonly found in political speeches, as well as religious texts such as the Bible. The benefits of well-used parallelism can easily be lost, however, by failing to properly match the form between each element.
Lovely bride!” bring the story into the present tense and the use of short sentences make the words more powerful. Also the phrase “She hurried at his words…” gives the reader a sense of time- by using a mixture of dialogue and the author saying that someone has spoken gives the poem more depth, showing that some points are more relevant than others. Keats did this as to point the reader at the points which create the story. The phrase “’Hark! ‘tis an elfin-storm from faery land…” has a bit of ambiguity about it.
Some allusions, however, were harmful to the plot or to the reader, most often by confusing the reader if they did not know the context of the original quotation. These allusions can be better understood if they are examined more closely. The literary allusions in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 essentially can be broken down into two categories: those that helped or those that hurt the reader’s understanding of the novel. There were a number of literary allusions in Fahrenheit 451 that helped the reader’s understanding of the novel. Some of the literary allusions that helped the reader’s understanding of the novel added depth to the characters, provided relatable experiences to the reader, and referenced familiar stories.
Figurative Language versus Literal Language Domonic Lastoria Dr. John Becker Critical Thinking 4/28/2013 Figurative Language versus Literal Language In this assignment, I will be going over the misuse of figurative language. The misuse of figurative language a lot of times makes it rather difficult for others to think productively about certain topics and issues. Throughout this assignment, I will provide many different types of figurative language and describe how they are used and examples of how they could lead to misunderstanding. The first is Idioms. “An Idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally” (LoveToKnow Corp, 2013).
A Different Language The language of poetry is not the same language that is written in novels or short stories; it is a language where even the smallest word choice can change the piece entirely—and that is the point. Rather than just simply stating a laundry list of blatant descriptions, the poet may “sneak in” tiny words to create a picture of the central character instead. John Updike’s poem, “Ex- Basketball Player” and Robert Hayden’s poem, “Those Winter Sundays” are both prime examples of how subtle, yet powerful word choices can be just as effective, if not more effective, that explicitly telling us who these characters are and/or how they feel. In his poem, “Ex basketball Player”, Updike doesn’t dive right into a vivid description of his main character, but instead uses certain words for the reader to use in order to infer characteristics about an ex-basketball player who sells gas because he never lived up to his potential after graduating high school. Likewise, Hayden doesn’t key us into physical attributes
There are different types of language. First, we will define figurative language. Figurative language is defined as "a word or phrase that departs from everyday literal language for the sake of comparison, emphasis, clarity, or freshness" (Wiehardt, 2013). According to ("Examples of figurative," 1996-2012) there are seven categories of figurative language. They are: • Imagery • Simile • Metaphor • Alliteration • Personification • Onomatopoeia • Hyperbole A metaphor is simply an implied comparison between two things (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007).
Literal language is straightforward speech where words are interpreted according to their normal, dictionary definition. Listed below are ten types of figurative language. Idiom Idioms are groups of words whose meaning is different from the ordinary meaning of the words. The context can help you understand what an idiom means. For example: "Put a lid on it."
Figurative language versus Literal Language Terra Bradley PHI 210 Critical Thinking Professor Michael Volpe 10 September 2012 Figurative language versus Literal Language In this report I will define the meaning and function of the terms idiom, analogy, metaphor, simile, cliché, amphiboly, “flame word”, hyperbole, euphemism and colloquialism. I will provide an example for each term. I will also describe the appropriate circumstances for using the example for each term and when it might lead to misunderstanding. Idiom Idiom is a figurative expression. The expressions are separate from the literal or the definitions of the words of which it is made.
The use of figurative languages could be considered a double edged sword when it comes to engaging in productive thinking. While the use of them may seem pertinent at the time, sometimes the meanings of the words are lost on those that are conducting a brainstorming session with you, and force the group to think harder as a whole to try and understand the reasoning behind the use of the word. Below are definitions and examples of figurative languages that could be misconstrued or misunderstood when engaging in productive thinking exercises. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own. Idioms exist in every language.