Lets talk of Cabbages and Kings:
Making Use of Imagery in Your Speech
"The time has come,"
the Walrus said, "to talk of many things, of sailing ships and sealing
wax, of cabbages and kings. Of why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs
have wings."
These are lines from 'The Walrus
and the Carpenter', a poem recited by the characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee
in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (popularly known as "Alice in
Wonderland"). To me, these lines simply mean two things: one, you should
be able to talk about anything under the sun if its not way off your scope and
two, most importantly, you should be able to use picturesque words to make an
impact on the reader or listener.
Do these words sound very
different from normal usage? Why?
Let’s look at them closely.
1) To talk of many things- It gives
the impression that something important follows, but its actually an
understatement that follows.
2) Sailing ships and sealing wax
of cabbages and kings . This statement is a climax, and there is a musical
qualityto it due to the repeated sound of /s/ and /k/.
3)
Cabbages and kings – - This is a strange combination almost like an oxymoron.
It draws attention due to the uncommon juxtaposition of words.
This
statement immediately follows the one ending with the word kings. An
understatement again. This statement looks
unimportant but sounds important. The ultimate impact is due to the effect of
conversion of various figures of speech and imagery.
Interesting read. While I appreciate the art of the writing by Carroll, is it appropriate only in books like Alice in Wonderland, where the reader has already suspended his imagination and is ready to be transported to a "magic" land?! Or can it be used in regular speech without having to see confused expressions on the faces of your audience? Sometimes I feel, this form of expression is not very well appreciated since it is not direct and requires some form of explanation. Would love to know your views.
ReplyDeleteNikhil, confusion happens when you do not allow the people you want to take on your journey understand what you are trying to depict/convey. Imagery and imaginative language is not only about using imagery of a complex nature. Very simple but "beautiful" language which uses very easy to understand and imagine images will also do the trick. I have a dream speech by Martin L King is a very good example. Strong, powerful, evocative, exciting, memorable and yet so simple and inspiring:)
DeleteI agree. I think there is scope for me to use imaginative lang in that case:) ML King's example is a clincher !
DeleteThere are so many inspiring speeches to look up to: John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address where he said "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country", The pledge of George Washington to protect the new nation's "liberties and freedoms", Quit India address by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8th 1942 and the famous No Easy Walk to Freedom Speech by Nelson R. Mandela. I personally feel so inspired when I read such speeches.
DeleteWe had this for our 10th boards and i adore this poem ... Even though its written ages ago, just goes on to show how sweet talkers will take the innocent for a ride with their honey coated words ... Its a humororus poem but so Deep in meaning ... Loved you Linguistic and stylistic analysis though ... You are the reason why i took Linguistics for my Masters and scored so well ... Awesome and extremely informative post indeed!!
ReplyDeleteUsing language effectively is the key to making an impact on your audience/reader. You can persuade, convince, inspire and inform if you use the right linguistic choice from the colorful array in the language palette. Make a cocktail of imagery, rhythm, imagery, intriguing syntactic structures and splash it on the contents. The results will be lip smacking:) Now this is imagery and metaphorical:) Thanks Batul for enjoying my ling & sty analysis. You scored well because you were interested and imaginative:)
ReplyDeleteNow that's very interesting! There are times when one's brain goes bonkers over some ethereal imaginations and stunning imagery but words fail to do them any justice.... There are times when this can make a person quite frustrated! When I say words fail, I don't mean just verbal...
ReplyDeleteThe other day I got a strange theory flashing.... Whenever there are some great imaginations and strangely stunning stories running through my head, my brain behaves like a new born baby trying to figure out how to put them in words! It is said that creativity and vocabulary work from two different branches of the human brain... I wonder if one overshadows the other at times!
Hi Kishoreonshore:) Thanks for visiting my blog. I find your comment pretty interesting.If you have creativity, I think you are a very very lucky person, because few people can create, most can express.. verbally or non verbally. Language has no barriers and neither should creativity. No matter how you express your feelings about something, you will always feel you could have done better:) But that should not prevent one from expressing. You can only get better:)let your brain get used to speaking out what you feel and one day it will outgrow the habits of a new born baby:)
ReplyDelete