Using figurative language is an effective way of communicating an idea that is not easily understood because of its abstract nature or complexity. Although figurative language does not offer a literal explanation, it can be used to compare one idea to a second idea to make the first idea easier to visualize.
Figurative language compares things in order to give them more detail. We use figurative language to help the reader better understand what we are trying to describe.
You can use figurative speech, or abstract writing, in your academic text if you're comfortable with it enough to do it well. But there are some do's and don'ts to be careful of so you don't make common mistakes, such as: Don't use a metaphor or an analogy to base the foundation of your content on.
Figurative language is a way of expressing oneself that does not use a word's strict or realistic meaning. Common in comparisons and exaggerations, figurative language is usually used to add creative flourish to written or spoken language or explain a complicated idea.
Updated on February 12, 2020. Figurative meaning, by definition, is the metaphorical, idiomatic, or ironic sense of a word or expression, in contrast to its literal meaning.
“Metaphorically” implies that the comparison being made actually uses a metaphor, ie. an object or concept that's used as a parallel to the subject to illustrate a point. “Figuratively” conveys more of a sense of the hypothetical, ie. an example used to illustrate a point.
The Logic of Metaphor uses techniques from possible worlds semantics to provide formal truth-conditions for many grammatical classes of metaphors. It gives logically precise and practically useful syntactic and semantic rules for generating and interpreting metaphors.
Figurative language helps writers make a point or describe an image that a normal sentence couldn't. It's an essential skill to develop in creative writing. Figurative language, deftly used, incites emotions in the reader, according to the intentions of the author.
Commemorative Speaking and the Future
As you may have guessed, language becomes an essential part of effective commemorative speeches. Using stories, illustrations, and figurative language helps the audience to share your experience.
Figurative language means using literary devices, techniques, and figures of speech to heighten sensory response and add meaning, clarity, or impact to your writing. Figures of speech color your prose, giving a sense of immediacy to readers. They evoke a strong emotional reaction.
Formal language is characterized by the use of standard English, more complex sentence structures, infrequent use of personal pronouns, and lack of colloquial or slang terms.
Formal language is less personal than informal language. It is used when writing for professional or academic purposes like graduate school assignments. Formal language does not use colloquialisms, contractions or first-person pronouns such as “I” or “We.” Informal language is more casual and spontaneous.
Formal language is less personal, and is more likely to use the 'we' as a pronoun rather than 'I': For example: We can assist in the resolution of this matter. Contact us on our help line number [formal] I can help you solve this problem.
The chief function of figurative language is to communicate the writer's message as clearly as possible. That might be by putting a foreign concept into familiar terms that a reader or listener can easily grasp, or it might be by creating imagery that's vivid and visceral.
Figurative language also makes ideas and concepts easier to visualize. It can bring clarity to abstract ideas, concepts, and feelings. Devices like imagery and onomatopoeia form a clear picture in the mind. Comparisons through metaphors, similes, and symbolism make complex ideas easier to understand.
Why Do Writers Use Figurative Language? Sometimes literal language isn't enough to convey a message or intent, and more vivid imagery is necessary to help readers understand the scope of your narrative. This is where the use of figurative language comes in.
Figurative language is a literary device that is used to create layers of meaning which the reader accesses through the senses, symbolism, and sound devices. It brings the reader deeper into the theme of the work, without the author having to explicitly lay out the theme for the reader.
Figurative language uses figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive, and impactful, whereas imagery uses figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas to appeal to our senes. As a reader you should be able to visualize and understand what the writter is saying.
Similes use the words 'like' or 'as' to compare. Metaphors differ by saying that something is something else. Both allow an author to emphasize, exaggerate, and add interest. They create a vivid picture in the reader's mind.
Answer and Explanation: Figurative language allows a writer to draw parallels between what a character is going through and something that the reader might be more familiar with. This helps the reader understand what a character is feeling even if the reader has never experienced what that character is experiencing.
Metaphor, which allows writers to convey vivid imagery that transcends literal meanings, creates images that are easier to understand and respond to than literal language. Metaphorical language activates the imagination, and the writer is more able to convey emotions and impressions through metaphor.
Metaphoric speech or writing emphasizes the similarities between two fundamentally different things, by having one stand for, or represent, the other.
Logic is the discipline that aims to distinguish good reasoning from bad. Good reasoning is not necessarily effective reasoning. In fact, as we shall see in a subsequent chapter on logical fallacies, bad reasoning is pervasive and often extremely effective—in the sense that people are often persuaded by it.
Literal language means exactly what it says, while figurative language uses similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification to describe something often through comparison with something different.