imagery/figurative language

Imagery and figurative language build the metaphorical aspects of a story. Imagery provides the reader with descriptive senses to draw him closer to the story. Figurative language uses literary devices such as hyperbole, personification, and metaphor to exaggerate certain features and characteristics. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses a lot of figurative language and imagery to create vivid scenes in the reader's mind. "I lov'd Ophelia: forty thousand brothers could not, with all their quantity of love, make up my sum." (pg 817). Hamlet express his love for Ophelia through hyperbole to truly show how much he cares about her. Shakespeare uses overstatement to make the scene seem more dramatic and animated to the reader.