I'd suggest that we don't confuse 'implicatures' with metaphorical usage.
Metaphorical usage is not something confined to poetry but is often found
in every-day talk, as we can learn from Lakoff's "Metaphors we live by."
Grice at any rate didn't think that his analysis was applicable to
'fictions.'
O.K.
On Thu, Apr 30, 2015 at 1:20 PM, Redacted sender Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx for
DMARC <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
We are considering what I call Quintilian's Paradox:
"literally", adv. fig. figuratively.
In a message dated 4/28/2015 4:28:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
"Lily was literally run off her feet."
I would play with this:
We have Joyce:
i. Lily was literally run off her feet.
I would simplify to the present continuous.
ii. Lily is running off her feet.
We have then two options: To add 'figuratively' is otiose, and Joyce would
not use it.
iii. Lily is figuratively running off her feet.
The implicature is alleged to be "to run off one's feet", to be very busy.
It would be even more otiose for Joyce to add the implicatum after the
utteratum:
iv. Figuratively, Lily is running off her feet: she is too busy.
As for the 'literally', we have variants. We have Joyce and we have:
v. Literally, Lily is running off her feet.
Dickens apparently had already used 'literally' to mean 'figuratively', so
this would however not be a _first_. I'm not surprised if Quintilian was
the first.
Now, (v) may be interpreted literally. The obvious comparison is with
Grice,
vi. You're the cream in my coffee.
vii. Literally, you're the cream in my coffee.
While it IS possible for an utterer to address one's cream in one's cup of
coffee, or mug of coffee, and utter, "You are literally the cream in my
coffee", the utterance may be viewed as otiose (and flouting one or two of
the
conversational rules): on the assumption that the utterer thinks or
expects that his addressee will hear the utterance (and cream does not
have
ears), it may be further argued that if cream had ears, and a
consciousness to
match, cream would KNOW already that cream is the cream in the utterer's
coffee. Whereas to regard it as addressed to one's sweetheart can be
derogatory if emphasised by 'literally'.
In the case of Joyce:
i. Lily was literally run off her feet.
The issue arose when Rachael Dowling played the role in the film version of
the story.
"How am I supposed to do that?", she asked, on first reading the
screenplay.
It was a good thing her father was a film director, and gave good
instructions. In the filmed version you can actually see Ms. Dowling (what
a
brilliant actress, she can do most things on screen) literally run off her
feet.
The director later commented, "We thought of taking Joyce literally, for a
change."
I append the cast in ps, because many of the characters are also seen as
doing literally difficult (if not figurative) things, thanks to the genius
of
John Houston -- including Bartell D'Arcy (played by Frank Patterson,
another versatile actor).
Cheers,
Speranza
Anjelica Huston ... Gretta Conroy
Donal McCann ... Gabriel Conroy
Dan O'Herlihy ... Mr. Browne
Donal Donnelly ... Theodore Alfred "Freddy" Malins
Helena Carroll ... Aunt Kate Morkan
Cathleen Delany ... Aunt Julia Morkan
Ingrid Craigie ... Mary Jane
Rachael Dowling ... Lily
Marie Kean ... Mrs. Malins
Frank Patterson ... Bartell D'Arcy
Maria McDermottroe ... Molly Ivors
Sean McClory ... Mr. Grace
Katherine O'Toole ... Miss Furlong
Maria Hayden ... Miss O'Callaghan
Bairbre Dowling ... Miss Higgins
Lyda Anderson ... Miss Daly
Colm Meaney ... Mr. Bergin
Cormac O'Herlihy ... Mr. Kerrigan
Dan O'Herlihy ... Mr. Browne
Paul Grant ... Mr. Duffy
Paul Carroll ... Young Gentleman
Patrick Gallagher ... Mr. Egan
Dara Clarke ... Miss Power
Brendan Dillon ... Cabman
Redmond M. Gleeson ... Nightporter
Amanda Baird ... Young Lady
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