A literary figure is a rhetorical device.
Figure is a concept that comes from the Latin word figūra . Although it has several uses, in this case we are interested in its meaning as something that means or represents something else .
The concept of literary , for its part, comes from the Latin litterarius . This adjective is used to describe what is linked to literature : the artistic expression that is developed through verbal manifestations.
A literary figure , in this framework, is a resource that involves the use of words in an unusual way . The terms are used with their most common meanings, but together with certain semantic, grammatical or phonetic issues to distance them from their current framework and thus produce a different expression .
Characteristics of a literary figure
Literary figures are important for rhetoric : that is, for the construction of a speech capable of moving or convincing. In this way, these are tools that, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by language, serve to construct images that are beautiful according to aesthetic criteria or are capable of generating emotions or sensations .
It is common for the literary figure to be associated with the trope . The difference is that, while in the literary figure the words are used with their common meaning, in the trope they are given a different meaning to the one to which they belong, although maintaining a link with it by similarity or correspondence . In any case, this differentiation is subtle and is sometimes not taken into account.
According to their properties , literary figures are classified in different ways. Broadly speaking, literary figures of thought and literary figures of speech are distinguished. At the same time, in these groups you can recognize the literary figures of omission , transformation , accumulation or amplification , among many others.
Literary figures usually appear in books, although they are also used in colloquial language.
The metaphor
Metaphor is one of the best-known literary figures. In this case, the meaning of one term is moved to another based on a certain similarity.
Suppose someone refers to the final of a soccer championship and mentions: “The game was a battle.” In this way it refers to a sporting event that was disputed, fought or violent. Of course, the match was not a battle in the warlike sense (a confrontation between armed forces), but it is argued that it had some features that could be defined symbolically as typical of a war.
Other common metaphors place the positive in a higher place (above) and the negative, in a lower area (below): “The rock band is at the top thanks to its new album,” “I'm on the floor, they fired me from the work” , “Politicians always rise socially by taking advantage of public resources” .
Irony, another popular literary figure
Although there is a tendency to relate literary figures to literature itself (that is, to books), the notion appears in everyday life. An example is what happens with irony , a literary figure that consists of implying something different or opposite to what is said.
Let's take the case of a person who, in order to clean a phone, places it inside the washing machine (the washing machine). The result, obviously, is disastrous: the device ends up broken. Upon finding out what happened, someone comments to him: “You are a genius.” As you can see, he is not actually highlighting the genius of the subject, but rather pointing out the opposite.