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FIGURES OF

SPEECH

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What is a synecdoche?

A synecdoche is a figure of speech in which

the one of the following (or its reverse) is

expressed:

A part stands for a whole

An individual stands for a class

A material stands for a thing

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In short Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which

a part is used for the whole or the whole

for a part, the special for the general or the

general for the special, as in ten sailfor

ten ships

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Examples Fifty headreferring to 50 head of cattle

Catreferring to a lion

"Can I get yourdigits [phone number]?"

Similarly, "mouths to feed" for hungrypeople, "white hair" for an elderly person,"The Press" for news media.

"Could you pass me a Kleenex[facialtissue]?"

Similarly, "coke" for soda, "castle" forhome, "bread" for food, "Judas" for traitor

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What is metonymy?

is the use of a word for a concept with

which the original concept behind this

word is associated. Metonymy may be

instructively contrasted with metaphor. Both figures involve the substitution of one

term for another. While in metaphor this

substitution is based on similarity, inmetonymy the substitution is based on

contiguity.

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In short Metonymy is a figure of speech that

consists of the use of the name of one

object or concept for that of another to

which it is related, or of which it is a part,

as scepter for sovereignty.

substitution of one word for another whichit suggests.

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Examples

Thepen is mightier than the sword.

Pen and swordrepresent publishing and

military force, respectively.

"Lend me your ear(because we use ears to

pay attention to someone's speech).

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TAKE NOTE: Synecdoche is closely related to

metonymy (the figure of speech in which a

term denoting one thing is used to refer to

a related thing); indeed, synecdoche is

often considered a subclass of metonymy.

It is more distantly related to other figuresof speech, such as metaphor.

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What is litotes? is a figure of speech in which a speaker,

rather than making a certain claim, denies

its opposite; for example, rather than call a

person attractive, one might say she's "not

too bad to look at".

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Conversely, litotes can be used as a form

ofunderstatement, strengthening or

emphasizing a statement, as in the firstexample above. The interpretation of

litotes thus depends on context, including

cultural context.

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In short Litotes is a figure of speech consisting of

an understatement in which an affirmative

is expressed by negating its opposite.

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What is a paradox?A paradox is an apparently true statement

or group of statements that leads to a

contradiction or a situation which defiesintuition.

The wordparadoxis often used

interchangeably with contradiction.

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Typically, either the statements in question

do not really imply the contradiction, the

puzzling result is not really a contradiction,

or the premises themselves are not all

really true or cannot all be true together.

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In short a statement or proposition that seems self-

contradictory or absurd but in reality

expresses a possible truth.

Use of apparently contradictory ideas to

point out some underlying truth

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Examples "If this sentence is true, the world will end

in a week."

"If there is an exception to every rule, then

every rule must have at least one

exception, excepting this one" ...is there

an exception to the rule that states thatthere is an exception to every rule?

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"Moderation in all things, including

moderation."

Why is the night sky black if there is an

infinity of stars?

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What is oxymoron?An oxymoron (plural oxymorons or,

more rarely, oxymora) is a figure of

speech that combines two normallycontradictory terms. Oxymoron is a

loanword from Greek oxy("sharp") and

moros ("dull"). Thus the word oxymoron isitself an oxymoron.

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In additionAn oxymoron is used mainly to create

humour thus, for example leading an

audience watching a play, to think about

what's happening and give them a deeper

more meaningful understanding of the

text.

Using two terms together, that normallycontradict each other

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Take note Oxymorons are a proper subset of theexpressions called contradictions in terms.

What distinguishes oxymorons from other

paradoxes and contradictions is that they

are used intentionally, for rhetorical effect,

and the contradiction is only apparent, as

the combination of terms provides a novelexpression of some concept, such as

"cruel to be kind".

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Example "And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true"

"With all deliberate speed" (i.e. "go quickly

slowly") Pretty ugly

Alone together

Deafening silence Same difference