Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Shakespeare's use of language
Metaphors in shakespeare
Shakespeare and his use of language and imagery
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Shakespeare's use of language
A metaphor is the hidden comparison between two objects that do not necessarily relate. A simile is comparing two objects using “like” or “as”. William Shakespeare greatly uses these two aspects of literature to his advantage. He is a master at figurative language, and this is portrayed throughout his works. His literature would not be the same without both. Focusing on two of his plays, A Mid Summer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night, there are two very prominent metaphors from each. In A Mid Summer Night’s Dream there is a metaphorical comparison between the magical love potion and young love. In Twelfth Night, there is a metaphorical comparison between loss and shipwreck. Young love seems to be driven mainly by hormones that are constantly
In this love square there is Hermia, Demetrius, Lysander, and Helena. Hermia is supposed to marry Demetrius, but she is in love with Lysander who loves her in return. Demetrius loves Hermia, but she does not love him back. Instead, her good friend Helena loves Demetrius. To mix up this love square, Oberon requests of Puck to find a special flower. When found and brought to Oberon, he uses the plant’s special use as magic. This plant is referred to as “love-in-idleness”. This flower has special juice that is then used as a love potion. Talking about the flower, Oberon
Without his language, writings would not be the same and would not have the same effects on the readers. Shakespeare is a master at using figures of speech. This makes his works as popular as they are today along with the help of his creativity. His inspirable use of metaphors are seen throughout his works, especially in A Mid Summer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night. Comparing love and the love potion in A Mid Summer Night’s Dream helps readers understand and relate to the play. Likewise, the metaphor between loss and shipwreck is comparable in our lives as well. Shakespeare uses these literary skills to his advantage. This is most definitely a reason why his work is still popular
Literary Devices Identified in Hamlet’s Soliloquy O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Metaphor The purpose of a metaphor is to compare the similarities between two different ideas.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream control is unpredictable. In act two scene two Oberon tells Puck to put the flower nectar in Demetrius’s eyes and he messes up and puts it in Lysander's eyes. In the stage directions it says “ He anoints Lysander’s eyes with nectar.” (2.2.85). This shows that Puck messes up Oberon’s directions and this leads to a love triangle between Lysander, Helena , and Demetrius.
He sends his jester, Puck, to use a flower that, if its juice is dropped onto someone who’s sleeping’s eyes, will make the person fall madly in love with the first person they lie their eyes on. “Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove; A sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth; anoint his eyes; but do it when the next thing he espies may be the lady. Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on. ”(64) Puck, following Oberon’s orders, finds Lysander and Hermia instead of Demetrius and Helena.
Figurative language includes several types of figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, and personification. A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two different things using the word “like” or “as.” One example of a simile is the phrase, “It’s as clean as a whistle.” Another example of a simile is “my love is like a red, red rose.” Each of these examples use “like” or “as”; these are the indicators that the author is using a simile. Ha Jin’s simile in “The Bane of the Internet” demonstrates Yuchin’s feelings: “At the sight of that gorgeous machine, I felt as if a dozen awls were stabbing my heart.” Another type of figurative language is called a metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implied comparison between two fundamentally different things. An example of a simple metaphor is, “He is a pig.” A metaphor makes the comparison without using “like” or “as.” An author uses a metaphor to help the reader ‘see’ details. “Her burning eyes glared straight through me.” Miguel de Cervantes uses a metaphor to describe the size of the mule: “The second brother, seeing how his comrade was treated, drove his heels into his castle of a mule and made off across the country faster than the wind.” A third type of figurative language is
Infatuation is love, which is self-indulgent, obsessive and irrational. It causes people to lose their self-control and perspective. It is often a product of the senses, which is of physical infatuation rather than mental compatibility, thus it is appropriate for Oberon's love potion to be applied to the eyes which is the strongest senses a person depends on to view the world. The nature of the infatuation Demetrius has for Hermia is fickle and selfish. Demetrius' affections switch from Helena to Hermia, sparing no thought for Helena, who is deeply in love with him.
William Shakespeare utilizes literary techniques such as symbolism, imagery, soliloquies, asides, and irony to explore the themes of Good vs. Evil and Suffering in his play Macbeth. He employs these literary techniques to convey meaning, greater the effect of language, bring the audience into the mind of a character, and evoke emotions in the audience such as surprise or humour.
However, the ideal relationships are not immune to experiencing unharmonious periods. Despite this, the ideal couples eventually found harmony which allowed them to experience a joyous ending. Lysander and Hermia have a harmonious relationship in that they display similar desires and mindsets. In the beginning, after declaring their love for one another Lysander and Hermia devise a plan to run away and elope (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.156-178). Even when they are not of the same mindset Hermia and Lysander find an amicable solution. After becoming lost in the forest, Lysander’s desire is for them to sleep together, Hermia refuses for fear of the disgrace that would be placed upon her if for some reason they did not become married. Even though Lysander is a reluctant he respects her wishes (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.47-67). On the other hand, the relationship between Oberon and Titania in spite of being plagued by dysfunction comes to a harmonious agreement. At the beginning Titania and Oberon are quarreling over the control of an Indian changeling boy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.18-31). While under the influence of an enchantment that Oberon had placed on her Titania relinquishes the control of the changeling boy to Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 4.1.56-60). After the enchantment is removed from her Titania no longer has feelings of defiance toward Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s
...and works very seriously. William Shakespeare is the best writer of all time in the field and time he resigned in. He is widely known as the best and is very famous for his works. He used humor to create the laughter from his audiences. He wrote many works with humor called comedies. His comedies transformed into different type of comedies. Another one of Shakespeare’s techniques is the use of irony. He uses dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony. Irony plays a very large role throughout all of his works along with comedy. He has contributed so much to the English language and literature. William Shakespeare uses everything from new words to new techniques. He created many new words and phrases. Now the English language can always thank the one and only great William Shakespeare for all that he has done for the English language throughout all his works.
Metaphor is a literary device which is often used in poems to give us a better understanding of how the author is feeling. Metaphor is a figure of speech which is often given to a object or action that cannot literally be done. When Maya Angelou says “ You may cut me with your eyes” this was a example of a type of metaphor because you cannot literally cut someone with your eyes. She is using this device
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares. In today’s society, the concept of dreaming and dreams, in general, has been featured in a variety of different mediums, such as literature, film and even music. While the mediums of film and music are both prime examples of this concept, the medium of literature, on the other hand, contains a much more diverse set of examples pertaining to dreams and dreaming. One key example is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While the portrayal of dreams, in general, plays a prominent role in Shakespeare’s play, the exploration of many aspects of nature, allows readers to believe that dreams are merely connected to somewhat unconventional occurrences.
In the beginning Lysander and Hermia run off to the forest to try to escape the king’s commandments, so they can be together. They believe if they can escape their problems and go somewhere where there is no rules they can finally be happy together. In an essay Bouloussa states how the Athenian lovers (Hermia & Lysander) attempt to escape their problems because they believe this is where there happiness lies. But Helena tells Demetrius and he goes after them, which leads Helena to follow. One day while out Puck and Oberon see Helena and Demetrius fighting and Oberon decides to use the love potion on Demetrius to attempt to fix the love mess. Initially, Puck is only supposed to use the love potion on Demetrius not Lysander. But of course Puck messes up, and ends up using the love potion on both of them, which causes them both to chase after Helena for her love and affection. Furthermore, when she sees them acting this way she believes they are mocking her, so she rejects their
"Sonnet 73" by William Shakespeare contains many metaphors to form a descriptive image. Shakespeare used conceits, which are "fanciful extended metaphors" (567), used in love poems of earlier centuries. Shakespeare used these beautifully in "Sonnet 73." A metaphor is a "brief, compressed comparison that talks about one thing as if it were another" (554). Shakespeare expresses three major metaphors in this sonnet. The first is about age, the second about death, and of course, love follows. These three metaphors create an enjoyable poem.
Fairies, mortals, magic, love, and hate all intertwine to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare a very enchanting tale, that takes the reader on a truly dream-like adventure. The action takes place in Athens, Greece in ancient times, but has the atmosphere of a land of fantasy and illusion which could be anywhere. The mischievousness and the emotions exhibited by characters in the play, along with their attempts to double-cross destiny, not only make the tale entertaining, but also help solidify one of the play’s major themes; that true love and it’s cleverly disguised counterparts can drive beings to do seemingly irrational things.
Shakespeare has perhaps contributed the most to the English language of any writer known to man – literally. Over 1000 words and phrases that he coined as part of his plays and prose are now in common use across the globe. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, added on previously unheard-of prefixes and suffixes and in some cases made words out of nothing. Even culturally sensitive words such as ‘ode’ (The ANZACS) and scientific jargon (‘epileptic’) are in fact products of Shakespeare. Bernard Levin probably summed this up best when he wrote: “If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle… had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, … - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare;…” (Bernard Levin. From The Story of English. Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. Viking: 1986).
He sends Puck out to find a plant called love-in-idleness, the juice of which makes any person love next creature he or she sees. Oberon takes his revenge on Titania by making her fall in love with bottom who has an ass's head. Puck explains what he has done to Oberon, who is pleased with the way his plan has turned out Everything seems perfect, until Demetrius and Hermia walk past, Hermia believing Demetrius has harmed Lysander,