Tibetan folk songs, in common with folk songs of other nationalities, share a popular use of mood, imagery, metaphor and simple language. But Tibetan folk songs are unique in their form of expression and description. Here we will examine five characteristic rhetorical devices commonly employed in the songs.

Figurative expressions are widely used in Tibetan folk songs, adding a vivid touch by describing the nature of one thing in terms of another. For example.

Blame not the tree for being felled,

Blame not the bird for being left nestles;

For the tree has been cut to the root

By the powerful noble we fear.

Here, "tree"and "bird"act as metaphors for two youngsters in love, hence the "powerful noble's" cutting down of the tree is the cause of their separation.

Tibetan folk songs use things with familiar characteristics to express abstract concepts such as feelings or the inner nature of people. Popular analogies are taken from the nature of environment, e. g. flowers , grass, trees, birds, animals, the sun, moon and stars, mountains, rivers and lakes, wind, rain and lightning, and sometimes gods, demons and spirits from the supernatural word. The Tsangpo River, Kampala Pass, Lake Yamdok Tso, and the goddess Tara and Princess Wencheng also often occur in folk songs, and are closely related to the lives of the Tibetans. Vivid analogies make the songs more appealing, easier to remember and thus easier to spread.

More rhetoric devices are applied in Tibetan folk songs by means of "open analogy,"hidden analogy" and "borrowed analogy."

In open analogies the actual object and analogical object are clearly distinguished by the use of formal comparison. For example:

The life of a maiden

Is like an early spring blossom;

Before it is offered up at the altar,

It is spoiled by snowflakes.

In a hidden analogy the actual object and analogy both appear but there is no formal comparison. This kind of metaphor has a greater effect on the imagination. For example:

By bringing the game to bay

The hunter shoots innocent beasts;

By bringing the tenants to bay

The noble robs innocent people.

The borrowed analogy consists solely of the analogy used as a substitute for the actual object. For example, in the song Hope the Clouds Will Gather For Rain the terms "rain" "mist" , "heavy snow" and "willow catkin" all stand for beloved ones and enemies. This device requires effort on the part of the listener to deduce the actual object, and is thus more powerful.