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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.
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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.
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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.
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