Figures of Speech - 17 & 18
Not everything is literalistic, but it is literature.
I need to shift back down to first gear. As a younger man, I taught Sunday school to junior-highers. And I wanted them to think about following rules when reading the Bible. So I set before them this example of a love letter.
Dear Becky,
From the moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were the girl for me. Huckleberry Finn said you wuz no good for me, but he never knew you before. I knowed you’d climb the highest mountain to be by my side, because you’re my sunflower. If ever I saw an angel it would have the name Becky.
Meet me by the parking lot tomorrow or I’ll die. Come before noon and wear you’re pretty yellow dress. My heart will be open and I will welcome you into it. Please don’t bring Sally or Jennifer with you.
Luv,
Tom Sawyer
P.S. Eat this note after you read it.
If our goal is to follow “rules” in order to respect the intended meaning of the writer, then some things must immediately jump out at us. For instance, whether he appreciates it or not, Tom uses figures of speech in his writing. The things he is saying are not all literal. Rather, he uses words and phrases for more vivid effect.
Hyperbole is one figure of speech in which exaggeration is used. Tom saying that Becky would climb the highest mountain to be with him is an example of hyperbole. It is an exaggeration or overstatement. It is unlikely that Becky could climb a mountain at all, let alone the highest, but Tom intends simply to stress how much he knows Becky cares. It is also hyperbole for Tom to say, “Meet me by the parking lot tomorrow or I’ll die.”
Tom uses metaphors in his letter too. A metaphor is also a figure of speech. It is when a word or phrase is applied to an object or action in a symbolic way and not literally applicable. Tom’s uses the sunflower and an angel as metaphors to describe his lovely, Becky.
I suspect, from the letter, that Becky owns a dress that is yellow, that there is a literal parking lot and two girls: one Sally and another Jennifer. I doubt that Tom really thinks Becky should eat the letter, but considering the behavior of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, we will leave that as questionable.