figurative sense

2022

What is the figurative sense?
Examples of figurative sense
Poems with a figurative sense
Figurative sense and literal sense

We explain what the figurative sense of language is, what codes it responds to, examples and its use in poetry. Also, the literal sense.

The figurative sense is part of the creative uses of language.

What is the figurative sense?

In linguistics, the figurative sense or Figurative language it is the non-literal or explicit interpretation of a word or a phrase, that is, to its metaphorical, creative or "in code" use. For this reason, the figurative meaning of words implies the search for a hidden meaning, not evident, which can be found through the use of the imagination or by resorting to the tradition cultural reflected in the language.

The figurative sense is very common in our use of the language verbal, and is not exclusive to literary or poetic works, such as poems, verses or songs. In everyday speech we use many expressions intended to be non-literal, that is, they consist of a metaphorical use of the word that our interlocutor is generally aware of because they are common places in the language.

There is also a margin of creativity allowed in the use of language, which allows us to formulate our own "codes" with our friends, for example.

The figurative uses of the language can respond to different "codes" within the language, such as:

Common places of the language. Many coming from yesteryear and that have lost their real reference, but they continue to exist as a linguistic turn, a set phrase whose meaning we still use. For example, “put the ox behind the cart”, a Hispanic expression to indicate that things are done the other way around.
Dialects or regional uses of the language. They vary from place to place. A perfect example of this is the name given to the genitalia in the different Spanish-speaking countries.
Sociolects or slang. Determined by social class, urban tribes or diverse social groups They are usually distinguished from each other by the way they speak. An example of this is the name given to the police in the different urban tribes.
Personal creative uses. In which the language allows us a certain margin of originality when speaking, being able to create our own rhetorical figures and our own figurative senses. Some of them can be understood on the fly, while others will require an explanation from us.

The figurative sense can have different purposes, such as hiding the message so that third parties do not understand it, or emphasizing what was said, or expressing something that is felt in an original way. In this way, it is part of the creative uses of verbal language, and it is also key in tongue twisters, games of words and verbal amusements.

So, appealing to the figurative sense, we can say that we are "cold to death" without the other interpreting that we have just died from frostbite, but that we are simply very cold, but we express it through an exaggeration to emphasize the message.

Examples of figurative sense

Some examples of phrases with a figurative meaning are:

"Get like a beast." Expression whose figurative meaning refers to a fit of rage, indignation, anger or some emotion of a violent nature: "Mom was freaking out when I told her."
"Jump into the water." Expression that is conventionally called the act of getting married: "It seems that Maria and Pedro finally jump into the water."
"Bite the bullet."Another conventional expression of the Spanish language, whose figurative meaning is to gather courage or determination: "Miguel made a big deal out of his heart and broke up with his girlfriend."
"Fall off the kick." It is another common phrase in which the figurative sense expresses that someone or something did not please us: "The fall in the price of Petroleum We fell from the kick ”.

Poems with a figurative sense

The figurative sense, as we said before, is particularly common in poetic or literary language, which uses it as a form of embellishment and empowerment, that is, to make its particular message unique and beautiful.

The only detail is that, in some cases, these creative uses of the language do not have a completely clear meaning, which is why it is often considered the poetry like a mysterious genre, a bit hermetic.

Next, we can observe it in a couple of examples taken from poems:

From “Poema 1” by Pablo Neruda:

Woman's body, white hills, white thighs,
you resemble the world in your attitude of surrender.
My body of a wild peasant undermines you
and makes the son jump from the bottom of the earth.

The figurative sense is appreciated in the comparison of the female body with "white hills" or with "the bottom of the earth", from which the son "jumps" when the poet, who imagines himself as a "wild peasant", that is, a primitive peasant, sows in it the seed. The verses allude to sex and eroticism, appealing to a rural language, of sowing.

From "A los jealousos" by Góngora:

Oh fog of the most serene state,
Hellish fury, evil born serpent!
Oh poisonous hidden viper
From green meadow to fragrant bosom!

In this case, the figurative use is based more than anything on metaphors, when it comes to "baptizing" jealousy: he compares it with a "fog" (something that he does not allow to see), with a "infernal fury" (coming from the devil, from evil), with a "badly born snake" or “Poisonous viper” (something that injects poison, takes time to heal or kills little by little).

All these are figures to describe more emphatically how jealousy is lived, which nests in the most intimate corners: “… poisonous hidden viper / green meadow in smelly bosom”.