Figurative language is important to literature in relation to understanding and analysing a text. In my study of figurative language I 've seen how it affects texts to include the multitude of meanings that language can have and how it encourages the reader to imagine what the author is saying rather than the literal meaning of the text. It is vital in the critique of works and in determining the themes and tones of a text. Figurative language enables the reader’s imagination to expand beyond the literal narrative of a story. It can be found in all aspects of stories and poems and generally uses a multitude of techniques.
Poe 's use of imagery demonstrates how the homicidal criminal 's obsession with a man 's deformity propels him to sin, creating a sense of self-hatred and guilt that overwhelms him. The madman uses " 'eye ' not as an organ of vision but as the homonym of 'I. ' Thus, what the narrator ultimately wants to destroy is the self, and he succumbs to this urge when he could no longer contain his overwhelming sense of guilt" (Chua 2). The narrator 's guilt is symbolizing with a beating heart in which " 'he places his hand upon the heart and holds it there many minutes. ' In the end, it seems to his overstrain nerves that the police officers linger inordinately in the house, chatting and smiling, until he is driven frantic by their cheerful persistence."
In addition, Bierce carefully describes the protagonist to make a connections to the readers. This connection allows the author to include stabbing imagery that has a hard impact on his audience. Ambrose Bierce produced a story full of imagery that evokes senses, includes significant meaning, and creates a heartfelt
“…We are invited to see this significance in the perspective of the poem … but through our own perspective…” (Simecek, 504). The techniques of explaining your perspective can prove to be a rather challenging task. The authors William Shakespeare and Anne Bradstreet do just this. With the use of multiple literary devices, the poets used emotions and feelings to make you understand the connections between the author and subject. The perfect examples being the two titles, “Sonnet 18” and “The Author to Her Book”.
Through the use of these literary devices the theme is set, and the emotion and mystery is felt. Subsequently, the connection of these techniques leads to the deeper meaning of the poem. Understanding the setting of any form of literature is essential to comprehending the author’s theme. At first glance,
These are, Thank You M 'am by Langston Hughes, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edger Allan Poe and The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. Characterization is the process where the author of a story systematically introduces and describes a character in their story. In short stories, characterization is important because it directly influences narrative technique that is to be employed by the author. With proper character description, it is possible to use the first person narrator for the story. This is important because, depending on the nature of the
He also disrespects O’Brien as he vividly celebrates his shooting, using italics on the word did to create emphasis. The narrator does not speak in this entire story, demonstrating his clear shock and guilt after the situation. Azar targets a clearly shaken narrator, and draws attention to the event that he is clearly ashamed, and of spits in the face of their mutual
The scarlet letter symbolizes Hester’s sin which affects the character developments of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Dimmesdale demonstrates his guild when he yells “Had I one friend- or were it my worst enemy!” (Hawthorne 200). Dimmesdale is not satisfied with himself and perceives himself as his worst enemy. Through his words, it portrays his guilt due to the fact that the town perceives him as an angel while he knows that he is a sinner and can not deal with it. Hester Prynne also affects Chillingworth because “That old man’s revenge has been blacker than my sin.” (Hawthorne 203).
I agree that both “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe can be described as short stories that value symbol over plot. Poe uses various symbols to disclose information or details to the reader, while also leaving components of the story open to interpretation. This symbolism tells its own story within the overall plot, rather than it being explained clearly by the author, cleverly adding to the interest of the read. This effective allegory allows the reader to question their literal understanding of the story, once faced with the deeper philosophical ideas. This means that in the case of these two short stories, symbols are valued over plot.
The literary communication in literature is done through carefully selected diction. In literature, therefore, it is hard to separate style from meaning. This study examines how the style of masking used in Naipaul’s collection of literary sketches, Miguel Street communicates meaning. According to Halliday (1978) style plays a significant role in communicating meaning in literature. It is through the selected style that the deeper meaning of a work of literature can be