figures of speech--rhetcomp review

7/30/2019 Figures of Speech--rhetcomp Review

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Figures of Speech

More Than You Ever Knew

Existed!


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SimileAn explicit comparison between two unlike

things that yet have something in common.

Example: I assumed a posture like a question

mark.


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MetaphorAn implied comparison between two unlike

things that yet have something in common.

Example: On the final exam several students

went down in flames.


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PersonificationInvesting abstractions or inanimate objects

with human qualities or abilities.

Example: The ground thirsts for rain.


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SymbolismThe use of abstract concepts, as a way to obfuscate

any literal interpretation, or to allow for thebroader applicability of the prose to meaningsbeyond what may be literally described. Manywriters, in fact most or all authors of fiction, makesymbolic use of concepts and objects asrhetorical devices central to the meaning of their

works.Example: Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism

throughout his writing.
http://www.answers.com/topic/women-s-fictionhttp://www.answers.com/topic/rhetorical-device-2http://www.answers.com/topic/rhetorical-device-2http://www.answers.com/topic/women-s-fiction


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OnomatopoeiaRepresentation of a sound by an imitation

thereof

Example:

A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch

And blue spurt of a lighted match.

-- Robert Browning


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AlliterationRepetition of the same sounds or of the same

kinds of sounds at the beginning of words

or in stressed syllablesExample:on scrolls of silver snowy sentences


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ConsonanceIt is the repetition of consonant sounds in a

short sequence of words,

Example: the "t" sound in "Is it blunt and flat?"


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AssonanceAssonance is the repetition ofvowel sounds within

a short passage ofverse or prose.

Example:

Try to light the fire. He gave a nod to the officer with the pocket. "When I get shocked at the hospital by the doctor

when I'm not cooperating when I'm rocking thetable while he's operating. Eminem

Hear the mellow wedding bells.Edgar Allan Poe Mankind can handle most problems.
http://www.answers.com/topic/versehttp://www.answers.com/topic/prosehttp://www.answers.com/topic/prosehttp://www.answers.com/topic/vowelhttp://www.answers.com/topic/versehttp://www.answers.com/topic/prosehttp://www.answers.com/topic/eminemhttp://www.answers.com/topic/eminemhttp://www.answers.com/topic/eminemhttp://www.answers.com/topic/eminemhttp://www.answers.com/topic/edgar-allan-poehttp://www.answers.com/topic/edgar-allan-poehttp://www.answers.com/topic/eminemhttp://www.answers.com/topic/prosehttp://www.answers.com/topic/versehttp://www.answers.com/topic/vowel


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PunUse of words, usually humorous, based on (a) the

several meanings of one word, (b) a similarity of

meaning between words that are pronounced thesame, or (c) the difference in meanings between

two words pronounced the same and spelled

somewhat similarly

Example: They went and told the sexton and thesexton tolled the bell.

-- Thomas Hood


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HyperboleThe use of exaggeration for the purpose of

emphasis or heightened effect.

Example: His eloquence would split rocks.


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LitotesDeliberate use of understatement, not to

decieve someone but to enhance the

impressiveness of what we say.

Example: I am a citizen of no mean city.


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AntithesisThe juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often

in parallel structure.

Example: Though studious, he was popular;

though argumentative, he was modest,

though inflexible, he was candid, and

though metaphysical, he was orthodox.


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Juxtaposition when two images that are otherwise not

commonly brought together appear side by

side or structurally close together, therebyforcing the reader to stop and reconsider

the meaning of the text through the

contrasting images, ideas, motifs, etc. Example: He was slouched alertly.


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ParadoxAn apparently contradictory statement that

nevertheless contains a measure of truth.

Example: Art is a form of lying in order to

tell the truth.

Pablo Piccaso


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Oxymoron combining incongruous or contradictory

terms

Example: a deafening silenceand amournful optimist


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MetonymySubstitution of the name of an object with a word closely

associated with it.

Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword"; pen is a

metonym for "discourse/negotiation/persuasion" andsword is a metonym for "war".

"The White House", to refer to the President of the U.S. andhis or her advisors.

"The press", to refer to the news media (especiallynewspapers).

"A dish", to refer to an entree.


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Synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part is used

for the whole (as handfor sailor), the whole

for a part (as the lawfor police officer), thespecific for the general (as cutthroatfor

assassin), the general for the specific (as

thieffor pickpocket), or the material for thething made from it (as steelfor sword).


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Metonymy vs. Synecdoche When the distinction is made, it is the following: when A is

used to refer to B, it is a synecdoche if A is a part of B and ametonym if A is commonly associated with B but not a part ofit.

Thus, "The White House said" would be a metonymy for thepresident and his staff, because the White House (A) is not

part of the president or his staff (B), it is merely closelyassociated with them because of physical proximity. On theother hand, asking for "All hands on deck" is a synecdochebecause hands (A) are actually a part of the men (B) to whomthey refer.

There is an example which displays synecdoche, metaphor

and metonymy in one sentence. "Fifty keels ploughed thedeep", where "keels" is the synecdoche as it takes a part (ofthe ship) as the whole (of the ship); "ploughed" is themetaphor as it substitutes the concept of ploughing a fieldfor moving through the ocean; and "the deep" is themetonym, as "deepness" is an attribute associated with theocean.


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AsyndetonDeliberate omission of conjunctions between

a series of related clauses.

Example: I came, I saw, I conquered.

Julius Caesar


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PolysyndetonDeliberate use of many conjunctions.

Example: This semester I am taking English

andhistory andbiology andmathematics

andsociology andphysical education.


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ParallelismSimilarity of structures in a pair or series of

related words, phrases, or clauses.

Example: He tried to make the law clear,precise, and equitable.

Thoughstudious, he waspopular; though

argumentative, he wasmodest, thoughinflexible, he wascandid, and thoughmetaphysical, he wasorthodox.


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AnaphoraRepetition of the same word or group of

words at the beginning of successive

clauses.Example: We shall fighton the beaches, we

shall fighton the landing-grounds, we shall

fightin the fields and in the streets, weshall fightin the hills.

Winston Churchill


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EpistropheRepetition of the same word or group of

words at the ends of successive clauses.

Example: As long as the white man sent you

to Korea, you bled. He sent you to Germany,

you bled. He sent you to the pacific to fight

the Japanese, you bled.

Malcolm X


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Anadiplosis Repetition at the beginning of a phrase of

the word or words with which the previous

phrase ended Example: He is a man of loyaltyloyalty

always firm.


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EpanalepsisRepetition of the beginning word of a clause

or sentence in the end. The beginning and

the end are the two positions of strongeremphasis in a sentence, so by having the

same word in both places, you call special

attention to it.Example: The king is dead, long live the king.

Severe to his servants, to his children severe.
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Inversion / AnastropheInversion of the normal syntactic order of

words

Example: echoed the hills" to mean "the hillsechoed"


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AntimetaboleRepetition of words, in successive clauses, in

reverse grammatical order.

Example: Ask not what your country can dofor you; ask what you can do for your

country.

John F. Kennedy


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EllipsisDeliberate omission of a word or of words

which are readily implied by the context.

Example: And he to England shall along with

you.

Hamlet, III, iii, 4


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IronyUse of words in such a way as to convey a

meaning opposite to the literal meaning of

the word.

Example: For Brutus is an honorable man. So

are they all, all honorable men.

Julius Caesar,III, iii, 88-89


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Rhetorical QuestionAsking a question, not for the purpose of enlisting

an answer, but for the purpose of initiating

thought or reflection on the part of thereader/listener.

Example: How can the poor feel they have a stake

in a system which says that the rich may have due

process but the poor may not?

Edward Kennedy


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Apostrophean absent person, a personified inanimate

being, or an abstraction is addressed as

though presentExample: Envy, be silent and attend!

Alexander Pope


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AllusionAn indirect reference to some piece of knowledge

not actually mentioned. Allusions usually come

from a body of information that the author

presumes the reader will know.

Example: An author who writes, She was another

Helen, is alluding to the proverbial beauty of

Helen of Troy.
http://www.answers.com/topic/helen-of-troyhttp://www.answers.com/topic/helen-of-troy

figures of speech--rhetcomp review

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