Take It Literally

Be Word Wise

When you write, there are two major ways to approach description: you can use literal or figurative language.

In everyday expressions, especially in spoken language, we use a mixture of literal and figurative language all the time – usually without even thinking about it.

For example:

• ‘Run the vacuum over the carpet’ is literal

• ‘Run over the carpet with the vacuum’ is figurative (think about it).

Figurative language is brilliant; it adds colour and interest to our speech and writing. Poetry wouldn’t exist without it.

We all learned the basics at school.

Remember these?

• Simile: when you compare two things, using ‘like’ or ‘as’ – for example, ‘He ran like the wind’ or ‘She was as light as a feather’

• Metaphor: when you describe something in terms of something else – for example, ‘She was a pig at mealtimes’ or ‘He is my rock’

• Hyperbole: when you use exaggeration for colour and emphasis – for example, ‘He laughed his head off’ or ‘She died of embarrassment’.

The big question is this: Why would you take a colourful figurative expression and ruin it completely by suggesting it’s literal?

Apart from the fact that it isn’t literally true, it rather defeats the purpose.