Go Figure!

So What are Figures of Speech Anyway?

Most writing, whether fiction, poetry, drama, or non-fiction, makes use of figurative language for many reasons: to emphasize a point, to dramatize a setting, to imbue a passage with some sort of mood or tone, to make a
passage more interesting or entertaining, and so on. Technically speaking, figures of speech are either departures from normal rules of speech or language, or they express a truth in an unusual or nonliteral way. Vilant-Macbeth defines figurative language as “a word or words thrown into a peculiar form. A word is used figuratively when it is brought forward in a form, construction, or application different from its first or its simplest form, construction, or application” (xl). In other words, language is figurative when there is a departure from normal rules of grammar or syntax, or when the meaning of the word is not literal.

Many rhetoricians classify figures into two groups: figures of grammar and figures of thought.
1. Figures of Grammar
2. Figures of Thought

Figures of grammar are those that depart from rules of grammar or syntax. Bullinger writes, “All language is governed by law. But in order to increase the power of a word, or the force of an expression, these laws are designedly departed from, and words and sentences are thrown into, and used in, new forms, or figures” (v). For example, polysyndeton is a figure of grammar that uses repeated conjunctions more than ordinary usage would require. Normal rules of grammar indicate that a conjunction comes between the last two nouns in a series, not between each noun. And so an overabundance of “ands” in a sentence or verse may be a figure of repetition, polysyndeton. Consider the following verse:

Joshua 7:24 (emphasis added)
And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of
Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of
gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and
his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had:
and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

In this verse, eleven nouns (or noun phrases) are linked together by the conjunction “and.” This abundant use of the word “and” in this sentence constitutes the figure polysyndeton, a figure of grammar that uses conjunctions beyond the grammatical norm. This figure emphasizes each item enumerated.

While figures of grammar are departures from normal rules of grammar, figures of thought occur when what is stated is not literally true to fact or true to its natural meaning. We use these types of figures every day. I could say “I’m tired,” but instead I say, “I’m worn out.” The dancer isn’t merely talented; you can’t hold a candle to her. And the ambitious executive isn’t decisive; he takes the bull by the horns. This is figurative language, not true to fact but true in meaning.

Now let’s consider an example of a figure of thought in the Bible:

John 21:25
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that
even the world itself could not contain the books that
should be written. Amen.

Are the words literal here--there would not be enough room in the world to hold all the books that should be written about the many other things that Jesus did? No, this is the figure of speech hyperbole, or exaggeration. In this verse, the figure is used to emphasize the significance of the “many other things” that Jesus did that were not written down.

Figures of speech, whether of grammar or of thought, enliven language and give it emphasis; they deepen expression, heighten the drama of communication, and give it freshness, vitality, and variety. They often, though not always, draw attention to what is being said.

So, how do we know if Biblical language is figurative or literal? Bullinger provides the following important insight regarding this question:

. . . whenever and wherever possible, the words of Scripture
are to be understood literally, but when a statement appears
to be contrary to our experience, or to known fact, or
revealed truth; or seems to be at variance with the general
teaching of the Scriptures, then we may reasonably expect
that some figure is employed. (xv)