Figurative Language: Chapter 4 Superordinate Hyponyms

Tropes O, my love’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June; Which trope is being used in the poem below? How do you know? O, my love’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June; O, my love’s like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune. http://www.robertburns.plus.com/voicemyluv.htm

Literary Analysis Identify the stylistic features and give a brief analysis of the extract below. O, my love’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June; O, my love’s like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune. Robert Burns (1759-1796) Consider the context – who is writing it, what is the purpose? Look for stylistic features – tropes, rhyme, etc Write ONE or TWO paragraphs

An Example of Stylistic Analysis This is a verse/extract/stanza from a love poem. The poet is expressing his feelings for his loved one/beloved/girlfriend. Using two similes he compares her to a red rose and a sweetly played tune. When comparing her to a rose he makes us think of her beauty/freshness/rarity. The melody reminds us of harmony, and sweetness. The verse is symmetrical in that there are two couplets: each containing a new idea. Each couplet consists of an eight syllable line followed by a six syllable one. There is end rhyme in lines 2 and 4. Other poetic devices he uses are: alliteration and repetition to stress the redness of the rose ‘red, red, rose’, and onomatopoeia ‘O’ to show how he is sighing with longing/love.

Metaphor and Simile A metaphor states that something is equivalent to another thing which is not usually associated with it. A simile states that something is like another thing which it is not usually associated with. For example, 'The man is a lion' is a ___________. 'The man is like a lion' is a ___________ .

The man is a lion I. A. Richards - tenor, vehicle and ground Tenor is the thing that the metaphoric word or phrase refers to i.e. the subject of the metaphor - ‘The man ….’ Vehicle is the metaphoric word or phrase, the means for making us look at the subject in a new way – ‘lion’ Ground the common properties of the two objects the vehicle of the lion indicates that the tenor ('the man') possesses a quality or qualities that one associates with the lion, such as braveness (which is the traditional association in the English language), fierceness, having a big appetite, etc.