Abstract Language

Abstract Language: Describing ideas and qualities rather than obsevations or specific things, people, or places. The observable or "physical" is usually described in concrete language.

SONNET 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; 
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare. 

Shakespeare's sonnet contains a lot of abstract language because he uses other words to describe his mistress. LIke her breast are dun, which means that her breast are dark, wires grow in her hair, she has nappy and hard hair. He also says that no such roses see I in her cheeks, which means that her cheeks are not rosey. SHe also smells but he uses "delight" instead. You can tell that she's big because she treads on the ground. SHe has a heavy step. And that she is red, just like their love. But he uses rare instead of saying that their love was wrong. SInce she is a colored woman and he is merried and whith children. 

Denotation

Denotation: The strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word.

"And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each."

This poem has examples of denotation because of the meaning of the word "wall" .The wall in this poem is actually a wall that's between them.

Consonance

Consonance: The repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.



" Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? "

This is an example of consonance because of the consonance letter"p". The sound of the "p" is used in all the sentences of this tongue twister. 

Connotation

Connotation: The non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning.



"True! uneasy, very, very strangely uneasy I had been and am; but why will you say that I am lacking stability? The ailment had honed my senses, not consumed, not lessened their strength. Above all was the sense of hearing really good. I heard everything in the air and in the ground. I heard many things in the underworld. How then am I lacking stability? Listen and observe how wonderfully, how calmly, I can tell you the whole story."
(The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe)


In this excert Poe gives some words a different meaning of what they actually mean.  For example "unseasy" could be another word for worried. "Stability" in this case could mean sence. "Air" is substitued for the word sky, or for Heaven. And "ground" for Earth. THis shows some of the examples of connotations.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole: Figure of speech using deliberates exaggeration or overstatement. Not intended literally, hyporbole may be humorous or serious.


"Baby you can ask me to take a break
I’ll give it all away, don’t care what the people say
I’ll be a million, billion, trillion miles away"
(Make Me Proud, Drake and Niki Minaj)

This song has an example of hyporbole because she is exxagerating on how for she will go. She could not possibly be a million miles away from him. Thats not possible. Not here on Earth. But shes just trying to make a point.

Alliteration

Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words. The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, and/or supply a musical sound.


"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,"

(The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe)

In this sentence is clear there is some alliteration. The repetition of the "n" sound in 'nodded', 'nearly',and 'napping' makes this alliteration. 

Sarcasm

Sarcasm: (from the Greek, "to tear the flesh") Sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something. It may use irony as a device, but not all ironic statements are sarcastic, that it, intending to ridicule. When well done, sarcasm can be witty and insightful; when poorly done, it is simply cruel.

"wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?"
(The Bible, Exodus 14:11)

This quote has sarcasm, they tell the king have they run out of graves, and is that the reason that they are taken to the wilderness to die. He says it in a way that is supposed to make the other person feel some type of way.