Figurative Devices in "Part of Your World"

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The tune Part of Your World is from the movie The Little Mermaid and is sung by the primary character, Ariel. This tune embodies the ultimate goal of Ariel throughout the entire film, which is to be a part of the world above the sea, land. As the song states, Ariel wishes to be "where individuals are". The title of this tune comes straight from the lyrics themselves, in the chorus. In the tune Ariel is singing to her buddy, Flounder.

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She is attempting to convey to him why she thinks the world on land is better than under the sea.

She says "Flippin' your fins, you do not get too far, Legs are required for jumping, dancing," this shows us some of what she would be able to do if she had legs rather of fins. She desires to be a human, not a mermaid. Another idea is that this song has a deeper significance other than being a part of this world above the sea.

As much as she is attempting to persuade Flounder of the appeals of the land, the metaphor of the tune is revealing us that to follow your dreams can be exciting. There are many other things to experience other than what is right in front of us.

In this song there are lots of end rhymes; one particular example is this line "Isn't it cool? Wouldn't you believe my collections complete?" Neat and total is an example of rhyming. Rhyming happens when there is a repeating of the concluding sounds.

Neat and total both seem like consume. End rhymes take place when the rhyming syllable is at completion of the line in the poem. This is a best example of end rhyme. Another poetic sound device in Part of Your World is repetition, which is discovered throughout this tune.

For example “Up where they walk, up where they run, Up where they stay all day in the sun,” the term “up where they” is repeated several times. Repetition is also found in this line “I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see them dancin',” I wanna is used throughout creating a beautiful poetic sound. This song makes great use of alliteration. Alliterations happen when a beginning consonant is repeated like in this example “Flippin' your fins, you don't get too far. The repetitive use of the letter f creates a fun and exciting poetic sound device. Rhyming, specifically end rhyming, repetitions, and alliterations are three important poetic devices that are found in this song. These help the song flow along smoothly and make the song more interesting for the listener. Previously I mentioned the use of a metaphor. Metaphor is an example of a figure of speech or figurative device. Another example of this is a hyperbole.

Hyperbole is used in this song to better emphasize just how much Ariel would like to be a part of this new world she describes. “Bet'cha on land they understand, Bet they don't reprimand their daughters” is a hyperbole; hyperbole is an over-exaggeration used to better emphasize a point. Metaphor and hyperbole are two figurative devices used in this song. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the writers of Part of Your World, use these various poetic and figurative devices beautifully in order to give you a better idea of Ariel’s desires and life goals.

Jodi Benson does a beautiful job, as well, of conveying Ariel’s longing to visit this land above. One might believe the goal of this song truly is to allow the listener to look more broadly at his or her own life and decide if all needs are met. The figurative language in this song, hyperbole and metaphor, greater emphasize her goals and the poetic devices used make the song more enticing to the ear. This song gives the listener a hope for a greater future.