Precis Tropes Monikers Like \"The

Precis Tropes

Monikers like "The King" for Elvis rely on the use of figurative language. Figurative language is used under the assumption that no one would mistake the image for reality. Figures of speech, known as tropes, are usually described as being opposed to common, "literal" or "ordinary language. Thus, figures of speech are portrayed as deviant uses of language even though figures of speech pervade human communication. Some philosophers like Nietzsche suggest that all language is at its essence figurative and that truth cannot be conveyed without the use of figures of speech. Human beings may not be able to interpret or communicate about the world without figurative language. In fact, human perception is mediated by the figures of speech commonly used to describe physical reality.

Figurative language includes tools like hyperbole, metaphor, simile, metonymy, and anthropomorphism. Metaphors are figurative relationships between one thing and another. Similes announce their being figurative through the use of keywords "like" or "as." Metonymy is a figure of association in which one thing is discussed in terms of its relationship to another. Anthropomorphism refers to the figurative attribution of human traits to non-human entities. Hyperbole is figurative exaggeration, including those that apply kingly or godly monikers to rock-and-roll stars. More obscure types of figurative language abound in poetry. For example, paronomasia refers to the use of homophones to evoke each word's nuances or the subtle relationships between them. Poetry like that work of Emily Dickenson reveals the power of figurative language.

Literary studies depends on a fundamental understanding of figurative language. Literary criticism, for example, analyzes the effectiveness and impact of figurative language on a narrative. Figurative language is not simply decorative; it is integral to the telling of a story, integral to conveying the truth. The meaning of a text cannot be separated from the language used to convey it.

Language has the power to transform reality and especially figurative language. Figurative language can also illuminate areas of life that are taken for granted, ignored, or made invisible. Language can "de-familiarize" the world and encourage viewing reality with a new and potentially paradigm-shifting perspective. Similarly, language can be systematically analyzed, dissected, picked apart, and deconstructed to reveal the deeper layers of meaning behind the words people use. Phrases and turns of speech or single words denote multiple layers of meaning. Those layers are overlooked when language is used flippantly. Nietzsche commented on the "dead" metaphors that pervade common speech: human beings no longer think deeply about the language we use and thus fail to appreciate the power language has over our interpretation of reality. At the most extreme, a misuse of language is referred to with the term "catachresis." Even the word "literal" can be used in a figurative way as Joyce did judiciously in "The Dead. Using "literal" to exaggerate a dead metaphor signals how far listeners take for granted the figures of speech used in everyday language.