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Project 6: Figurative Language- Essay

Figurative language is a tool that writers use to make their work more creative and

appealing to the reader. The way that writers use figurative language is by making one thing

represent another based on the characteristics of both things. This makes the reader become more

engaged in the reading and more likely to use his or her imagination to make connections.

(Cuddon, 2013)

The Winner Takes It All

The song “The Winner Takes it All,” by the Swedish group from the 1970s, ABBA, is

one rife in figurative language. The song includes the following figures of speech: a)

personification, or giving human traits to objects,

b) rhyme, or putting words together of similar sounds; c) objectification, or the giving object

traits to humans; d) simile, or comparison; e) anaphora, or repetition of the beginning of a

sentence; f) assonance, or the echoing of a specific sound, and many metaphors. (Algeo, 2014).

The song is about accepting the end of a relationship. It is also congratulating the person

who gained the most out of the relationship; the singer refers to this person “the winner”. The

singer misuses the word “winner” as a metaphor, because winners and losers exist within the

parameters of competition. Relationships should not be about beating another person in a game,

but about a natural connection made out of love. However, this is what creative license is about,

and the singer or composer of the song has every right to use figurative language as seen fit.

(Cuddon, 2013)

Student ID Number Exam NumberStreet AddressCity, State, ZipEmail addressAbout the song

“The Winner Takes it All” made its debut on March 18th, 1981. It was written by group

members Bjorn Ulvaeus, and he was inspired by the marital separation from his wife, who is also

a group member, Agneta Fältskog. Although Agnetha is the intended recipient of the song, she is

also the singer of the song written by her ex-husband. According to Ulvaeus, Agneta sang the

song the way an actress would have played a part, and that her love for music made her see that

it was, in the end, a great song. (Ulvaeus, 2013).

The song was a major success, especially in Western Europe, Australia, Italy and Canada.

It was in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 26 weeks, and it is the second #1 song after “Fernando.”

It was the 23 most popular US single in 1981. (Songfacts, 2016)

Analysis

First stanza examples of figurative language. “Though it's hurting me, now it's history.”

The first example features metaphor and even colloquial language. Equating the memory of a

bad relationship to “history,” as in “now it is history” is something colloquially said, but it does

not mean the literal meaning of history. It may even be hyperbole, or exaggeration. No

relationship ever goes back into the annals of history unless it is a very publicly known

relationship. What the singer really means is that the relationship is now over, is in the past, and

it shall remain there.

I've played all my cards, and that's what you've done too

Nothing more to say. No more ace to play

These verses continue to use metaphor to say that the relationship was like a game of cards.

There is nothing left to do to fix things, so there is “no more ace to play,” according to the

metaphor. In other words, the relationship is now over, and nothing can be done about it.

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The winner takes it all, the loser standing small

Beside the victory. That's her destiny

In this example, the singer does not state who she is talking about, but judging by the use of the

pronoun “her”, in the phrase “her destiny,” we can assume that she is talking about herself or the

female counterpart in a relationship. This is interesting, considering that this song, written in the

early 1980’s, assumed that all relationships were male/female only. Either way, “the winner

takes it all” is a metaphor to define that, whoever ends up less beaten, less hurt, and less dejected

from a relationship is a huge winner; hence it takes all the “earnings,” or all the benefits of being

the stronger of the two. It also assumes that love is a big gamble, and some win and lose in the

process of loving. (Ulvaeus, 1980)

The other person, the “loser” stands “small” beside the victory. She visualizes the woman

of the relationship as the weaker link whose livelihood depends on the mercy of a good man.

After all, “that is her destiny.” The example we see here includes the metaphor discussed, and

the rhymes “all-small” and “victory-destiny.”

The next stanza may not look like it has a lot of figures of speech, but it is, in itself, a

complete metaphor:

I was in your arms thinking I belonged there, I figured it made sense, building me a fence,

building me a home. Thinking I'd be strong there but I was a fool playing by the rules

Here, the singer says that being with this person was like building a “fence,” and a

“home” to where she belonged. Hence, she is using metaphor to state that this is exactly what

being in this relationship was. She also uses the words being “in his arms” which is not really

possible. It is figurative language to say that she was in a committed relationship with this

person. However, she goes back to the original metaphor of equating the act of being in love, and

Student ID Number Exam NumberStreet AddressCity, State, ZipEmail addressentering a relationship, as a game of cards. This game, she lost because she “played by the

rules.” Although it is not clear what the rules are, or how they relate (if in any way) to love. Still,

that is another way to show creative license.

In the next stanza, the figurative language is much more evident. There is deification, or

awarding supernatural or deity-type traits to something or someone

The gods may throw a dice their minds as cold as ice.

And someone way down here loses someone dear

The statement uses deification, or the attribution of godly qualities to typical things, such

as fate, luck, or circumstances. It entails that our love lives, whether in relationships, or every

day, depend on some supernatural deity that “throws a dice” deciding whether our turn is up.

These deities do not care about us, so a simile is used to describe how cold-minded they are

“their minds as cold as ice.” We then see rhyme in the words “near” and “dear” while the stanza

continues to hold to the main thesis that the value of love and relationships comes entirely from

providence. (Songfacts, 2016)

The next two stanzas lack figurative language. All they do is use regular language to

sustain the thesis of the “game” and continues to refer to the male and the female in this

particular relationship as the “winner” and the “loser” in the constant use of metaphor. Still, there

is consistent rhyming in all/fall and plain/complain.

The winner takes it all, the loser has to fall

It's simple and it's plain. Why should I complain?

The true use of figurative language is evident toward the end of the song. The singer

takes the song to full metaphor again. This time, she adds that there are “judges” and

“spectators” that are part of the final decision of whether she will ever find love again.

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The judges will decide. The likes of me abide. Spectators of the show always staying low

The game is on again, a lover or a friend; A big thing or a small-The winner takes it all

This stanza also shows juxtaposition, or the placement of opposites in the same line. A big thing

or a small/a lover or a friend. The rhymes show/low and decide/abide match similar sounds

together. Altogether, the song has simple language and its figurative language is not too

complex, either. It is a tale about love lost and sadness.

Conclusion:

“The Winner Takes It All” is a song that also tells a story; a tale about a failed

relationship told from the perspective of a female. She has presumably been either cheated on, or

left, by a man she felt strongly for. She assumes that the natural order of things is that she, the

loser in this case, will now have to stand from afar watching “the winner,” the man, take

everything that was left from this huge gamble called love. In this song, the figurative use of

language comes from the main idea that love is a gamble. It is an ongoing metaphor that

permeates the entire work, from start to finish.

The use of the gamble metaphor is met by other creative devices that include deification,

or the awarding of godly qualities to other things. In the song, love and loss are decided by

“gods” that gamble our luck mindlessly and carelessly. Similarly, there is personification and

exaggeration: at some points, the song places the relationship in some extreme conditions; as

“part of history,” as a “home” or “fence,” and similar examples.

Overall, there is rhyming throughout, juxtaposition of opposite terms, and the continuous

use of the central idea of the gambles of love. The figurative language used is simple, easy to

understand, and helps the listener to make the connections to the song quicker. We have all been

Student ID Number Exam NumberStreet AddressCity, State, ZipEmail addressin a similar situation, and the idea of love being dependent on luck, or fate is a very popular idea

that has inspired movies, poetry, and is quite universal.

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Works Cited

Algeo, J., Thomas P. (2014) The Origin and Development of the English Language. 5th edition. New York: Pearson

Cuddon, J. A. (2013) The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. London: Penguin Books.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3845 . Song-Facts.com. September 10, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.

Ulvaeus, Bjorn, (1981) The Winner Takes It All. Musical score.

Ulvaeus, Bjorn (2013) . Interview about the Creative process. Chef Magazine Online http://www.icethesite.com/2010/10/full-bjorn-interview-in-chef-magazine/ November, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2017