Figures of Speech 2

1.
ANAPHORA [a-naf-6-ra], a rhetorical *FIGURE of repetition in which the same word

or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses, or
sentences. Found very often in both verse and prose, it was a device favoured by
Dickens and used frequently in the FREE VERSE of Walt Whitman.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it
was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring
of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to
Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern
cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
2. APOSTROPHE [a-pos-tro-fi], a rhetorical *FIGURE in which the speaker addresses
a dead or absent person, or an abstraction or inanimate object. In classical
*RHETORIC, the term could also denote a speaker's turning to address a particular
member or section of the audience. Apostrophes are found frequently among the
speeches of Shakespeare's characters, as when Elizabeth in Richard III addresses the
Tower of London:
Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes

Whom envy hath immured within your walls.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;”
The above lines are from the sonnet, ‘Death, be not proud’ by John Donne. He addresses
death, an abstract idea, in the sonnet.
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,”
The poet, Walt Whitman’s poem, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’ is an elegy written to
remember and honour the death of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln. It is also a perfect
example of the use of apostrophe.
3. EPIGRAM, a short poem with a witty turn of thought; or a wittily condensed
expression in prose. Originally a form of monumental inscription in ancient Greece, the
epigram was developed into a literary form by the poets of the *HELLENISTIC age
and by the Roman poet Martial, whose Epigrams (86-102 CE) were often obscenely
insulting.
"There are no gains without pains.” – Benjamin Franklin

“The Child is father of the Man.” – William Wordsworth
“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde
“If we don’t end war, war will end us.” – H. G. Wells
4. METONYMY [met-on-imi], a *FIGURE OF SPEECH that replaces the name of one

thing with the name of something else closely associated with it, e.g. the bottle for
alcoholic drink, the press for journalism, skirt for woman, Mozart for Mozart's music,
the Oval Office for the US presidency.
Here are a few examples of metonymy for your reference. Check them out, try to
analyse and comprehend how it works.
o “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

The above sentence should be very familiar to you. It is from ‘Cardinal Richelieu’, a
play by Edward Bulwer Lytton. The words – ‘pen’ and ‘sword’ contribute to the effect
of metonymy. The two words are not used in a literal sense. On the contrary, the term
‘pen’ refers to written words and the term ‘sword’ refers to military aggression.
o Everyone should pledge their allegiance to the crown.

The ‘crown’ here refers to the ruler – the king or queen and not literally the object.
o We loved the special exotic dish we had at the party.

Here, the word ‘dish’ refers to the particular food served in a dish at the party.
5. SYNECDOCHE [si-nek-doki], a common *FIGURE OF SPEECH (or *TROPE) by
which something is referred to indirectly, either by naming only some part or
constituent of it (e.g. 'hands' for manual labourers) or—less often—by naming some
more comprehensive entity of which it is a part (e.g. 'the law' for a police officer).
Usually regarded as a special kind of *METONYMY, synecdoche occurs frequently in
political journalism (e.g. 'Moscow' for the Russian government) and sports commentary
(e.g. 'Liverpool' for one of that city's football teams), but also has literary uses like
Dickens's habitual play with bodily parts: the character of Mrs Merdle in little Dorrit is
referred to as 'the Bosom'. Adjective: synecdochic.
6. EPITHET, an adjective or adjectival phrase used to define a characteristic quality or

attribute of some person or thing. Common in historical titles (Catherine the Great,
Ethelred the Unready), 'stock' epithets have been used in poetry since Homer. The
Homeric epithet is an adjective (usually a compound adjective) repeatedly used for the
same thing or person: 'the wine-dark sea' and 'rosy-fingered Dawn' are famous
examples.
7. HYPERBOLE [hy-per-boli], exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a * FIGURE

OF SPEECH not meant literally. An everyday example is the complaint 'I've been
waiting here for ages.' Hyperbolic expressions are common in the inflated style of
dramatic speech known as *BOMBAST.
She’s going to die of embarrassment
I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you

Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street.
8. ANTITHESIS: “Antithesis” literally means “opposite” – it is usually the opposite of a

statement, concept, or idea. In literary analysis, an antithesis is a pair of statements or
images in which the one reverses the other. The pair is written with similar grammatical
structures to show more contrast. Antithesis is used to emphasize a concept, idea, or
conclusion.
That’s one small step for a man – one giant leap for mankind. (Neil Armstrong, 1969)
In this example, Armstrong is referring to man walking on the moon. Although taking
a step is an ordinary activity for most people, taking a step on the moon, in outer space,
is a major achievement for all humanity.
To err is human; to forgive, divine. (Alexander Pope)

This example is used to point out that humans possess both worldly and godly qualities;
they can all make mistakes, but they also have the power to free others from blame.
The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address)

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1.

ANAPHORA [a-naf-6-ra], a rhetorical *FIGURE of repetition in which the same word

Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

"There are no gains without pains.” – Benjamin Franklin

4. METONYMY [met-on-imi], a *FIGURE OF SPEECH that replaces the name of one

o “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

o Everyone should pledge their allegiance to the crown.

o We loved the special exotic dish we had at the party.

6. EPITHET, an adjective or adjectival phrase used to define a characteristic quality or

7. HYPERBOLE [hy-per-boli], exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a * FIGURE

She’s going to die of embarrassment

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you

8. ANTITHESIS: “Antithesis” literally means “opposite” – it is usually the opposite of a

To err is human; to forgive, divine. (Alexander Pope)

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