When a statement is made for the sake of the effects in
emotion and attitude, it is called the emotive use of language. The word “emotive” is related to
emotion. It is this use of language that
is relevant in poetry. When Iago
remarks, “Ah, I like not that!” in the
play ‘Othello’ the effect of the simple-seeming
statement is far reaching. It is upon
this statement or comment that the whole play moves. Like a pricking nail the remark troubles
Othello. Similarly the words “I gave commands and all her smiles stopped” [in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning]
tell us a lot of things. Similarly when
words are arranged in different ways, a poet can produce various moods: in the
play “Julius Caesar”, Mark Antony makes his oratory
appealing by the use of irony. When he
continuously says ‘Brutus is an honourable man’, the effect upon the Roman mob
is a fine example of the emotive use of language. They finally declare that Brutus is not
honourable.