TITBITS ON METAPHOR, PERSONIFICATION AND IRONY 1 METAPHOR: It indirectly compares two things by saying that one is the other. E.g. (1). “Usain Bolt was a horse in the race. “ (2). “Agbeko was the lion in the fight.” (3). “Usain Bolt galloped his way to win the race.” Metaphor can be Expressed or Implied. An expressed metaphor is the one in which the range of the two things being compared are mentioned, while in an Implied metaphor, it is only one of these things which is mentioned. Instead of the name of the other thing, its attribute or characteristic is rather given to give us a clue as to what is being implied. Compare examples 1 and 3. You realize that though in both instances, Usain Bolt is being compared to a horse. The two metaphors are not exactly the same. This is because in (1), while both names are given i.e. Usain Bolt and a horse, in (3), we only have one name i.e. Usain Bolt. Instead of a horse in (3), we have the verb “galloped”, and since it is a verb that describes the way a horse runs, it gives us a clue that Usain Bolt is being compared to a horse. 3. PERSONIFICATION: It describes an object or an inanimate (lifeless) entity as though it were a living human being. Such entities are given human attributes. The attributes could be either BEHAVIOUR of human beings or the use of POSSESSIVE PRONOUN for the lifeless objects. For instance: (a). The moon was still smiling brightly at Dome. (b). The rain has not honoured her promise yet. 4. IRONY: When someone says something but means the exact opposite of what he says, he uses irony or said to sound ironic. E.g. (a). Gloria is the most beautiful girl in our class (when you actually mean to say Gloria is the ugliest in the class). We have verbal, situational and dramatic irony. Verbal irony describes a statement whose intended meaning is opposite to the words spoken. Situational irony is the situation where the characters’ expectation and hope turns out to be the opposite of what actually happens. Dramatic irony is the occurrence or situation where the audience is aware that the truth is different from what the characters believe.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 19:19:27 +0000
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