Figurative language refers to the way a description is used to create a specific image and to elevate a person’s emotions. It seems essential to note that there are different kinds of this phenomenon. The latter may be considered as a vital part of writing, as well as of public speaking. The term itself may be referred to as ignoring literal meaning in order to provide an in-depth and broad view of a particular subject. Figurative language gives the possibility to significantly bring new ideas and deliver thoughts in a creative manner. Given the abovementioned facts, it seems apparent that figurative language may be perceived as a description that utilizes abstract terms instead of using concrete depiction. The mentioned phenomenon’s primary aim is to reach an individual’s imagination and create visual pictures in order to show the essence of what is written or spoken.
Writers and poets at all times have sought to diversify and enrich their language with the help of numerous stylistic and lexical techniques. One of the brightest and most effective techniques is a metaphor, especially an extended metaphor. It allows the writer to build a certain context for the narrative, to give his text greater expressiveness, as well as semantic harmony. Thanks to the extended metaphor, there is the opportunity to grab the attention of the reader throughout the development of one complex sentence, paragraph, or an entire novel.
The extended metaphor is a common literary device used to compare the two, as opposed to things that are commonly used in descriptive prose or poetry. Sometimes it is just one or two sentences, and sometimes it can be even longer, a paragraph or more. Extended metaphors are literary constructs, as opposed to metaphors in common language. Extended metaphors are used deliberately and sustained throughout the text or discourse. Unlike metaphors in common language, they are not a one-off use of description, which is usually made out of the need to get a message across.
A notable example of an extended metaphor may be found in Lamott’s story “Polaroids.” Polaroids are like writing an initial draft because one does not know what it will exactly be until the piece is fully developed. The following sentence supports this idea, “as the portrait comes into focus, you begin to notice all the props surrounding these people, and you begin to understand how props define us and comfort us, and show us what we value and what we need, and who we think we are” (Lamott, 1995, p. 40).
The next example given by Lamott (1995) tends to enhance the previous one, “So I showed up at this time with a great deal of interest but no real sense of what the finished article might look like” (p. 40). Here, the author stresses the parallel between polaroids and writing but focuses rather on her anticipation of what this article will be. It might be assumed that by appealing to such a creative trick from the dimension of figurative speech, Lamott is successful in drawing the reader’s attention to the topic and delivers her idea in a meaningful manner. The use of such an approach notably enriches and adorns the related passage. Thus, the utilization of figurative language can bring a plethora of benefits for writers.
Reference
Lamott, A. (1995). Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.