Pasigurive

Pasigurive is a term used in literary analysis and linguistics to describe a stylistic approach that combines passive voice with figurative language. In pasigurive writing, the syntactic structure tends to foreground the acted-upon entity, while imagery and metaphor carry the primary interpretive load, creating a layered texture that invites meanings beyond the literal sentence.

The term is a relatively recent coinage, emerging in early 21st-century critical discussions. It blends the notions of passivity and figurativity to name a recurring practice in contemporary poetry and experimental prose, where form and meaning reinforce one another through a controlled tension between syntax and imagery.

Usage and characteristics commonly cited include a dominant passive clause paired with a vivid figurative image, and a semantic layering that rewards close reading. In poetry, pasigurive lines might obscure agency by design, presenting actions as receiving rather than performing, while the figurative content conveys the poem’s core emotional or conceptual impact. In prose, writers may use passive frames to shift focus toward circumstance, memory, or collective voice, rather than individual agency.

Examples are often cited to illustrate the pattern, such as: “The coast was whispered about in the old papers, as if the sea itself remembered more than it could say,” where the passive structure coexists with a rich sea-and-memory metaphor. Another example might be, “A decision was weighed by the wind,” which links passive syntax to personified weather.

Relation to other concepts is important: pasigurive intersects with metaphor, personification, and the study of voice and stance in narrative. Critics note that while the label can be useful for analysis, it may require clear criteria to avoid vagueness.