By: Sofia Garcia
We use figurative language on a daily basis without realizing it. Figurative language are words or phrases that are not meant literally. There are many different forms of figurative language. The most commonly known names of these are similes, metaphors, hyperboles, and personification. The others that we use widely, but the names are not common are onomatopoeia, metonymy, and synecdoche. Honestly, I could go on forever naming types of figurative language, but I am not going to. I will just focus on those that I have previous knowledge on.
The poem that stood out the most that put figurative language into context was Hafez’s “Ode 44” which was translated from Persian to English by Richard Le Gallienne. Since this poem is translated from Persian to English some of the original meaning may have been lost. Additionally, some lines such as the very first line, “Last night, as half asleep I dreaming lay,” (Hafez, line 1) sound strange in English. I am very unsure of what that line is supposed to mean.
In the third line in order to describe the woman’s lips the poet uses a synecdoche to say there is “tilted glass, and verses on her lips;” in other words, he is admiring the woman’s lips. He continues to admire her most importantly her face in line 5 using the metaphor, “Narcissus eyes…Filled with frolic to her wine-red lips” (Hafez, line 5). One can assume he is comparing her to wine in all aspects so far in this first stanza. Admiring this woman is the speaker’s way of showing her love. So far, one can also assume the narrator enjoys wine. In the second stanza, the poet literally refers to wine as the poet says he, “drank whatever wine she poured out of me” (Hafez, line 12.) He extends the metaphor between the woman and the wine by saying that the wine is out, “Of Heaven’s own vine” (Hafez, line 14). His love for that woman is of high quality like wine “Of Heaven’s own vine” (Hafez, line 14). He continues to provide proof of his love by saying, “Drunkards we are by divine decree” (line 20). He can mean this line literally or it can be a metaphor conveying to the reader how much he loves this woman. Putting the third stanza into context, it also seems like the poet is saying that his love and the woman’s are pure because they are drinking Holy wine, literally together and whatever sins they both had were forgiven. In other words, by drinking Holy wine they repented all of their sins. It has a both a figurative sense and a literal sense. One can literally repent their sins, but not by drinking holy wine or by so called holy wine like the poet. Hafez ends the poem by complimenting the woman’s “knotted locks, filled like a flower with scent” (Hafez, line 27) which is a simile. Overall, the poet seems to demonstrate his love through compliments to his significant other.
Introduction to Poetry 