Figurative language

Figurative language is used to expand ideas as 'metaphorical' rather than the literal meaning. Figurative language, thus, explains an idea by comparing it to another idea (or something else). Shakespeare uses figurative language an not ornamental but more as an indepth meaning to express the way the characters think or the interal or external relationships between characters. An example in Hamlet is when Polonius calls Ophelia "a green girl." Shakespeare demonstrates the metaphor to reveal the dominance in the family. He refers to Ophelia as inferior and basically expresses his mentality that Ophelia's words are not worth his time. Shakespeare intertwines figurative language to connote personality characteristics, like Polonius's dominate and confident trait.