Synesthesia is a figure of speech that is part of word pictures. It is associated with a mixture of sensations related to the senses: touch, hearing, smell, taste and sight.
Thus, this figure of speech establishes a relationship between different sensory planes.
It is widely used as a stylistic resource and, therefore, appears in several poetic and musical texts. In the Symbolist movement, synesthesia was widely used by writers.
In addition to synesthesia, other word pictures are: a metaphor, a metonymy, a Comparation, a catachresis and the periphrasis (or antonomasia).
Examples
Check below some examples of synesthesia in the literature:
- “And a sweet wind, which had risen, set in the flooded and glossy leaves a joyous and sweet shiver.” (Eça De Queiros)
- “Through a single glazed window, (…) gray and muted lights came in, without shadows.” (Clarice Lispector)
- “Purple insomnia. The light to crease in fear. / The aroma went mad, rose in color, broke / They scream at me sounds of color and perfume.” (Mário de Sá-Carneiro)
- “The words felt, that the eyes spoke / I don't want, I can't, I shouldn't tell.” (Casimiro de Abreu)
- “This little drizzle of living water kicking light and still with the taste of far away bush, half vanilla, half manaca, half lavender.” (Mário de Andrade)
- “The sky would envelop her until it communicated the sensation of blue, caressing her like a husband, leaving her the scent and delight of the afternoon.” (Gabriel Miró)
- "What a sadness of jasmine odor!" (Juan Ramón Jiménez)
Synesthesia in Medicine
Synesthesia is a term also used in the medical field. It is a neurological condition (not considered a disease), usually with a genetic (hereditary) cause.
It causes a cognitive or sensory neurological stimulus to provoke a response in another cognitive or sensory pathway. It is, therefore, a mental confusion.
Thus, a stimulus in one sense provokes reactions in another, creating a combination of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
People who have this neurological condition, for example, hear colors and feel sounds.
Curiosities
From the Greek, the term “synaisthesis” is formed by the words “syn” (union) and “esthesia” (feeling). Thus, the word is related to the union of sensations.
The term “kinesthesia” (with c) is related to body perception through the action of muscles and body support.
Complement your research on figures of speech by reading the articles:
- Figures of Language
- Thought Figures
- Word Pictures
- Syntax figures
- Sound Figures