Download or read book Figuratively Speaking written by Robert J. Fogelin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-02-24 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, the author examines figures of speech that concern meaning--irony, hyperbole, understatement, similes, metaphors, and others--to show how they work and to explain their attraction. The author contends that figurative language derives its power from the insistence that the reader participate in the text, looking beyond the literal meaning of the figurative language to the meanings that are implied. He demonstrates that the intellectual and aesthetic force of figurative language is derived from the opportunity it provides for unlimited elaboration.