Figurative Language in Hamlet

Figurative language is when a literary devise used to compare two things together but in an incredibly exaggerated way. Different than metaphors and similes, this comparison ultimately exaggerates the compared object, changing the way the object effects the reader. One example of figurative language in Hamlet is during Hamlet's speech when he reveals the pain he has been through since the loss of his father, along with the pain he must now endure that his mother and uncle have been married and his uncle is now King. 


"My fate cries out, 
and makes each petty artery in this body 
as hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve" (Act 1 Scene 4)


As Hamlet compares his pain to that of Nemean lion's nerve, he deepens the extent of his pain, although this amount of pain truly can't be real. After researching, I found that the Nemean lion was one of Hercules's labors. The lion was unharmed by any of Hercules's sharp objects, but could only be harmed by his own claws. Hamlet's self destructive nature and pain is portrayed through this exaggerated comparison.