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Hyperbole
Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Chapter 8 (Ocho)
Explanation and Analysis—Blood of Spring:
In this dense passage, the author uses personification, a metaphor, and an idiom to convey the unsettling influence of spring on both the natural world and on Antonio’s Márez brothers. Antonio explains, warily:
The lime-green of spring came one night and touched the river trees. Dark buds appeared on branches, and it seemed that the same sleeping sap that fed them began to churn through my brothers. I sensed their restlessness, and I began to understand why the blood of spring is called the bad blood.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16 (Dieciseis)
Explanation and Analysis—Cold Blood:
When Antonio tries to warn Ultima about what Tenorio intends to do to them, she dismisses his concerns. To explain why, she uses a simile comparing Tenorio to a wolf, and an idiom to describe the cowardliness of his murder of Narciso:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[...] [D]o not worry about Tenorio’s threats, he has no manly strength to carry them out. He murdered Narciso because he ambushed him in cold blood, but he will not find me so easy to ambush—He is like an old wolf who drags around the ground where he has made his kill, his conscience will not let him rest.
Related Themes:
