Monday, April 15, 2024

To the Lighthouse: A Rhetorical Device, Double Entendre

A double entendre is a  rhetorical device that involves two different meanings or interpretations of a word, phrase, sentence or statement, wherein one meaning is readily apparent and the other is more risqué in nature.

For example, 

If I said you have a beautiful body, would you hold it against me? 

Comment: One interpretation of this question is that "the speaker’s wondering if they will be judged for commenting on the recipient’s physical appearance. But in the secondary meaning, the speaker is asking for the recipient to embrace them intimately" (for more example, see Examples of Double Entendre)


Another example:

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XLIX: "lifestyle"

the hottest cover 
of a lifestyle magazine:
with a flirty smile
the Israeli model holds
a M-16 rifle

Comment: As the tanka effectively builds line by life to "the Israeli model" in L4, the word, "hottest" in L1 apparently means "sexiest," then unexpected yet thematically significant and visually and emotionally disturbing L5 not only implies a new meaning, "most popular or discussed,"  not necessarily "controversial"  when evaluated in the geo-sociopolitical context of Israel as one of the most militarized countries in the world (for more, see Haaretz, April 14: Why Israeli Women Love Posing With Their Guns), but also upends the (non-Israel) reader's understanding/perception of a "lifestyle" magazine in L2.

This tanka works well as a sequel to the following entry, XXXVIII: "Israeli strikes" 

dating profile photo:
a smiling twentysomething
with a M4
in front of mushroom clouds
from Israeli strikes in Gaza



For more, see Haaretz, March 24: "We're Not Only Here to Fuck Hamas": How Israeli Militarism Took Over Online Dating

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