Words and Tropes: Transference of

Meaning

Transference of meaning occurs when words are used to denote something different from their usual sense.Tropes – devices for transference of meaning (words are twisted from their standard literal meaning)

MetaphorMetonymySynecdocheHyperbole

A word which usually means A is used to signify B, in the process of bringing out the similarity between A and B.A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to a person, idea, or object to which it is not literally applicable.

“Your starry eyes brighten my day.”

Metaphor occurs when a word or phrase in one semantic field is transferred into another semantic field in order to talk about one thing as if it were another quite different thing.

‘to live a quiet life was the summit of his ambition’ The term ‘summit’ has been transferred from the

semantic field to do with mountains into a sentence concerning a man’s life aspirations.

The highest point of the man’s ambition is talked about as if it were the top of a mountain.

‘to live a quiet life was the summit of his ambition’

Metaphors work on the basis that there is some similarity between the two ideas that have been brought together, as can be seen in the similarity between ‘highest point’ and ‘summit’ (the highest part of a mountain). To interpret the metaphor, we look for the element of similarity between the non-literal word or phrase (here ‘summit’) and the implied idea (highest point) and transfer it into the new context.

‘I am rock’ – Paul SimonWe are unlikely to think that he is made of stone or wonder how a rock can sing. Rather, we select those aspects of a rock that might characterize how the singer may feel or want to represent himself and then transfer them to the new context. The metaphor that results vividly describes psychological or emotional experience by transferring our associations of rock – such as hardness, isolation or imperviousness – to the singer. At the same time, the obvious differences between a human being and a rock may suggest to us that the singer’s emotional condition is not to be envied or admired..

The metaphor is used when a writer wants to enhance a description of a person, place, thing, or idea.

"Dear Nature is the kindest Mother still" (Byron)

the notion Mother arouses in the mind the actions of nursing, weaning, caring

for, etc.

Nature is linked to a Mother through her attitude to a man. The action of nursing

is implied but not directly stated.

‘He’s not a human being,’ she retorted, ‘and he has no claim on my charity. I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death, and flung it back to me.’ (not true, only metaphor)

Much of the time though, metaphors have become so familiar that we use them without realising that is what they are.

A stroke of bad luckThunderous applause

A “dead metaphor” is a former metaphor now accepted as common usage

A sub-type of metaphorSomething inanimate is treated as if it has human qualities or is capable of human actions

- gives human qualities to non-human or non-living things

Why Personify?1. Creates a picture or sound effect2. More dramatic and interesting3. Conveys a certain mood4. Helps us to relate more because it is human

The trees bowed to the wind

The sun danced across the sky on a hot summer day.

The sunflowers dreamt in the garden

The friendly gates welcomed us as we entered

The sick Earth coughed and choked in all the

pollution.

The sun stretches its warmth across the land.1.What is being personified?2.What human quality is it doing?

The chair groaned as the baby bounced to and fro.1.What is being personified?2.What human quality is it doing?

A hot burning stinging tingling blow like the loud crack of a broken stick made his trembling hand crumble together like a leaf in the fire: and at the sound and the pain scalding tears were driven into his eyes. His whole body was shaking with fright, his arm was shaking and his crumpled burning livid hand shook like a loose leaf in the air. A cry sprang to his lips, a prayer to be let off. But though the tears scalded his eyes and his limbs quivered with pain and fright he held back the hot tears and the cry that scalded his throat.

(James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)

A hot burning stinging tingling blow like the loud crack of a broken stick made his trembling hand crumble together like a leaf in the fire: and at the sound and the pain scalding tears were driven into his eyes. His whole body was shaking with fright, his arm was shaking and his crumpled burning livid hand shook like a loose leaf in the air. A cry sprang to his lips, a prayer to be let off. But though the tears scalded his eyes and his limbs quivered with pain and fright he held back the hot tears and the cry that scalded his throat.

Very much like metaphor but the comparison is explicit. Introduced and signalled by words such as like, as, compare, resemble. How is it different from metaphor?

metaphor is literally impossible or untrue Simile is literally possible or true even if it not especially

appropriate or clear

Not just anxiety, but sheer panic seized them. They took of like a bullet from a gun.

One word substitutes anotherInvolve part-and-whole relations and associationsTwo concepts are already closely associated.

“crown” may stand for 'king or queen‘“cap” or “glass” for 'the drink it contains‘“the pen is mightier than the sword”

The truck hit me from behind. The press has made my life hell. Today, we will be performing Shakespeare. Bush has launched an attack. I couldn’t catch his tongue.

"Miss Tox's hand trembled as she slipped it through Mr. Dombey's arm, and felt herself escorted up the steps, preceded by a cocked hat and a Babylonian collar."

(Dickens) Stand for the wearer of the articles in question Point out the insignificance of the wearer rather than

his importance, for his personality is reduced to his externally conspicuous features, the hat and red collar

"Then they came in. Two of them, a man with long fair mous taches and a silent dark man... Definitely, the moustache and I had nothing in common."

(Doris Lessing, "Retreat to Innocence") Again we have a feature of a man which catches the eye, in

this case his facial appearance: the moustache stands for the man himself.

The function of the metonymy here is to indicate that the speaker knows nothing of the man in question, moreover, there.is a definite implica tion that this is the first time the speaker has seen him.

Julius Caesar: when Mark Antony, after the death of Caesar, addresses the people 'Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears',

he wants the people to listen to what he has to say.

The Sergeant in Macbeth while talking about the king: 'Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution‘

He is referring to Macbeth's sword

"Out, Out—" by Robert Frost uses metonymy in the following lines when the main character of the poem has cut his hand off in a buzz-saw:

      The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,     As he swung toward them holding up the hand     Half in appeal, but half as if to keep     The life from spilling out.

Can you identify the metonymy? What are the two terms (A and B) of this figure?

There is a subtle difference between metonymy and metaphor. Metaphor uses the similarity between two objects, while metonymy

uses contiguity or proximity.

Shut your trap. (metaphor or metonymy?)

In metonymy, it’s the commonly recognized association between two things that counts.

I have deep respect for the royal crown.

Metonymy transfers a whole set of associations which may or may not be integral to the meaning.

There is no connection between a trap and a mouth except that both can open and shut, and are of a particular size.

Crown is so closely associated with monarchy that instead of saying the king or the queen, you can simple say crown.

What's the best metaphor to describe your life thus far? Who are you, metaphorically? Fill in the following line:

I am...Use a metaphor that is evocative and comprehensible. How far would you have to go to make your sense perfectly comprehensible to a reader? Try to be economical without being clichéd. The key is to make sense as well

It's your metaphor for your life: choose it wisely. And remember to avoid those words that convert metaphors into similes (like and as).

I am a sword,Sharper than a tongueNobody can defeat me,Because I am a sword,I can not be hurt by what people sayAbout me, I will not show my angerAgainstSomeone else.

By Alex

I am a diamondYou never see what I am worthUntil you dig deeperTo find the treasure inside

I am the shorts that come up to your kneeNeither too longNeither too shortJust in between

I am a tigerI may seem viciousBut I’m very lazy

I am the wind blowing through the treesSometimes creepyMaybe a sigh of reliefMaybe a sigh of exhaustionBut for now,A sigh of self contentFor finishing this poem

Sometimes used as a traditional term for part-and-whole metonymy.

Synecdoche covers cases where the whole entity is referred to by the name of one of its constituent parts, or the whole entity is referred to by the name of the whole.

hands. workers (The hired hands are not doing their jobs)

heads cattle (There are over fifty head of cattle in that strange and wild herd)

thread clothing

mouths to feed hungry people

One of the most common ways to characterise a fictional character.

Someone will be consistently described by a single body or feature e.g. eyes, which represents the person

A part of something is used for the whole. white hair elderly The Press news media

The whole is used for a partthe police a handful of officers the smiling year springthe Pentagon the top-ranking generals in the Pentagon

building

The genus is used for the speciescreature personmilk cow’s milk

The material of which an object is made is used for the complete objectwillow cricket batcopper pennyivories piano keysplastic credit card

Make your synecdoche clear by choosing an important and obvious part to represent the whole. Compare::

His pet purr was home alone and asleep. His pet paws [whiskers?] was home alone and asleep. If I had some wheels, I'd put on my best threads and ask for

Jane's hand in marriage. The army included two hundred horse and three hundred

foot. It is sure hard to earn a dollar these days..

Get in here this instant or I'll spank your body. Put Beethoven on the turntable and turn up the volume. He drew his steel from his scabbard and welcomed all comers. Patty's hobby is exposing film; Harold's is burning up gasoline in his

dune buggy. Okay team. Get those blades back on the ice.

Make your synecdoche clear by choosing an important and obvious part to represent the whole.

His pet purr was home alone and asleep. His pet paws [whiskers?] was home alone and asleep.

If I had some wheels, I'd put on my best threads and ask for Jane's hand in marriage.

The army included two hundred horse and three hundred foot. It is sure hard to earn a dollar these days.. Get in here this instant or I'll spank your body. (whole for part)Put Beethoven on the turntable and turn up the volume. (composer

substituted for record)He drew his steel from his scabbard and welcomed all comers.

(material for thing made) Patty's hobby is exposing film; Harold's is burning up gasoline in his

dune buggy. (part for whole)Okay team. Get those blades back on the ice.

When A is used to refer to B:

Synecdoche if A is a part of B

Metonymy if A is commonly associated with B but not a part of it (naming by association).

The White House said metonymy for the president and staff (because the White House is not part of the president or his staff but is closely associated with them.

All hands on deck a synecdoche because hands are actually a part of the men to whom they refer.

Idioms of OverstatementThe word hyperbole has its origin in the Greek language and

means excess or exaggeration. By definition, a hyperbole is exaggeration to make or reinforce a point. It puts a picture into the "reader" mind.

These books in your bag weigh a ton. I am so tired I could sleep for a year. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse right now. He is older than the hills.I will die if she asks me to dance.You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated to create an impact and are not supposed to be interpreted literally.

Hyperbole is frequently used in humorous writing.

POETRY

Hyperbole is common in humorous poetry. It can make a point in a light-hearted way. It can be used to poke fun at someone or something.

It's a slow burg - I spent a couple of weeks there one day.

Carl Sandburg, "The People, Yes"

Why does a boy who’s fast as a jetTake all day – and sometimes two –To get to school?

- John Ciardi, “Speed Adjustment”

Hyperbole can emphasize a truth by exaggerating it.

Here once the embattled farmers stood

And fired the shot heard round the world.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Concord Hymn"

POETRY

Hyperbole is a useful device for poets to intensify emotions, values, physical features, the weather, or virtually anything. W.H. Auden’s “As I walked Out One Evening” includes this hyperbolic declaration of love:

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you Till China and Africa meet,And the river jumps over the mountainAnd the salmon sing in the street

PROSEHyperbole is used for emphasis or humorous effect. With

hyperbole, an author makes a point by overstating it.Hyperbole is common in tall tales. At three weeks, Paul Bunyan got his family into a bit of

trouble kicking around his little tootsies and knocking down something like four miles of standing timber.

Hyperbole is often used in descriptions. It emphasizes some qualities of a person or thing by exaggerating them, as in this selection

The skin on her face was as thin and drawn as tight as the skin of onion and her eyes were gray and sharp like the points of two picks.

Flannery O’Connor, "Parker’s Back"

PROSE

Hyperbole can also be used to describe a person’s emotions. In the following selection, a boy is pulling a man up from a

deep hole. See how hyperbole is used to describe the boy’s thoughts as he struggles.

It was not a mere man he was holding, but a giant; or a block of granite. The pull was unendurable. The pain unendurable.

James Ramsey Ullman, "A Boy and a Man"

What is exaggerated in the following example?

Yet there was something very engaging about these great simple-hearted creatures, something attractive and lovable. There did not seem to be brains enough in the entire nursery, so to speak, to bait a fishhook with; but you didn't seem to mind that, after a little, because you soon saw that brains were not needed in a society like that, and indeed would have marred it, hindered it, spoiled its symmetry -- perhaps rendered its existence impossible.

Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

What is exaggerated in the following example?

People moved slowly then. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Write your own hyperbole on

1. loud

2. cold

3. late