Figure of speech

"Figures of speech" redirects here. For the hip hop group, see Figures of Speech.

A figure of speech is the use of a word or a phrase, which diverges from its literal interpretation. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, or synecdoche. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a rhetorical figure or a locution.

Not all theories of meaning have a concept of "literal language" (see literal and figurative language). Under theories that do not, figure of speech is not an entirely coherent concept.

Style of speech

A figure of speech is able to imbue a given speaker with certain distinctiveness of spoken language which could be considered his/her style. Two readily understandable examples are use of atypical grammatical structures (Yoda's "OSV" grammar) and poetic expressions (V's alliterative monologues). Note that these two examples have little do with rhetoric and more to do with the manner of speech itself.

Examples

The figure of speech comes in many varieties. The aim is to use the language inventively to accentuate the effect of what is being said. A few examples follow:

• "Around the rugged rocks the rugged rascal ran" is an example of alliteration, where the consonant r is used repeatedly.

Whereas, "Sister Suzy sewing socks for soldiers" is a particular form of alliteration called sibilance, because it repeats the letter s.

Both are commonly used in poetry.

• "She would run up the stairs and then a new set of curtains" is a variety of zeugma called a syllepsis. Run up refers to ascending and also to manufacturing. The effect is enhanced by the momentary suggestion, through a pun, that she might be climbing up the curtains. The ellipsis or omission of the second use of the verb makes the reader think harder about what is being said.
• "Military Intelligence is an oxymoron" is the use of direct sarcasm to suggest that the military would have no intelligence. This might be considered to be a satire and a terse aphorism.
• "But he's a soldier, so he has to be an Einstein" is the use of sarcasm through irony for the same effect. The use of hyperbole by using the word Einstein calls attention to the ironic intent.

"An Einstein" is an example of synecdoche, as it uses a particular name to represent a class of people: geniuses.

• "I had butterflies in my stomach" is a metaphor, referring to my nervousness feeling as if there were flying insects in my stomach.

To say "it was like having some butterflies in my stomach" would be a simile, because it uses the word like which is missing in the metaphor.

Categories of figures of speech

Scholars of classical Western rhetoric have divided figures of speech into two main categories: schemes and tropes. Schemes (from the Greek schēma, form or shape) are figures of speech that change the ordinary or expected pattern of words. For example, the phrase, "John, my best friend" uses the scheme known as apposition. Tropes (from the Greek trepein, to turn) change the general meaning of words. An example of a trope is irony, which is the use of words to convey the opposite of their usual meaning ("For Brutus is an honorable man; / So are they all, all honorable men").

During the Renaissance, scholars meticulously enumerated and classified figures of speech. Henry Peacham, for example, in his The Garden of Eloquence (1577), enumerated 184 different figures of speech. Professor Robert DiYanni, in his book "Literature - Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay" wrote: "Rhetoricians have catalogued more than 250 different figures of speech, expressions or ways of using words in a nonliteral sense.".

For simplicity, this article divides the figures between schemes and tropes, but does not further sub-classify them (e.g., "Figures of Disorder"). Within each category, words are listed alphabetically. Most entries link to a page that provides greater detail and relevant examples, but a short definition is placed here for convenience. Some of those listed may be considered rhetorical devices, which are similar in many ways.

Schemes

Main article: Scheme (linguistics)

• accumulation: Summary of previous arguments in a forceful manner
• adnomination: Repetition of a word with a change in letter or sound
• alliteration: Series of words that begin with the same consonant or sound alike
• adynaton: hyperbole taken to such extreme lengths as to suggest a complete impossibility
• anacoluthon: Change in the syntax within a sentence
• anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another
• anaphora: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
• anastrophe: Inversion of the usual word order
• anticlimax: Arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance
• antanaclasis Repetition of a single word, but with a different meaning each time
• anthimeria: Transformation of a word of a certain word class to another word class
• antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order
• antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses (see epistrophe)
• antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas
• aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a word
• aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect
• apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience and to a personified abstraction
• apposition: Placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first
• assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
• asteismus: Mocking answer or humorour answer that plays on a word
• asterismos: Beginning a segment of speech with an exclamatory word
• asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses
• cacophony: Juxtaposition of words producing a harsh sound
• cataphora: Co-reference of one expression with another expression which follows it (example: If you need one, there's a towel in the top drawer.)
• classification: Linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article
• chiasmus: Word order in one clause is inverted in the other (inverted parallelism)
• climax: Arrangement of words in order of increasing importance
• commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded
• conduplicatio: Repetition of a key word
• conversion (linguistics): An unaltered transformation of a word of one word class into another word class
• consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
• dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis
• ellipsis: Omission of words
• enallage: Substitution of forms that are grammatically different, but have the same meaning
• enjambment: Breaking of a syntactic unit (a phrase, clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or between two verses
• enthymeme: Informal method of presenting a syllogism
• epanalepsis: Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence
• epanodos: The repetition of a word or two similair words.
• epistrophe: (also known as antistrophe) Repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive clauses. The counterpart of anaphora
• epizeuxis Repetition of a single word, with no other words in between
• euphony: Opposite of cacophony - i.e. pleasant sounding
• half rhyme: Partially rhyming words
• hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when the normal structure would be a noun and a modifier
• hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea
• homeoptoton: in a flexive language the use the first and last words of a sentence in the same forms
• homographs: Words that are identical in spelling but different in origin and meaning
• homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation and spelling, but differing in origin and meaning
• homophones:Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation, but differing in spelling, origin and meaning
• hypallage: Changing the order of words so that they are associated with words normally associated with others
• hyperbaton: Unusual or inverted word order
• hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement
• hypozeuxis Every clause having its own independent subject and predicate
• hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal order between two elements
• isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses
• internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence
• kenning: A metonymic compound where the terms together form a sort of anecdote
• merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts
• onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or boom)
• paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair "neither" and "nor"
• parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses
• paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause
• parenthesis: Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence
• paroemion: Resolute alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter
• parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, or apologizing for doing so (declaring to do so)
• pleonasm: Use of superfluous or redundant words
• polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root
• polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions
• pun: When a word or phrase is used in two(or more) different senses
• repetition: Repeated usage of word(s)/group of words in the same sentence to create a poetic/rhythmic effect
• rhythm: A synonym for parallelism
• sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration
• sine dicendo: A statement that is so obvious it need not be stated, and if stated, it seems almost pointless (e.g. 'It's always in the last place you look.')
• solecism: Trespassing grammatical boundaries
• spoonerism: Interchanging of (usually initial) letters of words with amusing effect
• superlative: Declaring something the best within its class i.e. the ugliest, the most precious
• synathroesmus: Agglomeration of adjectives to describe something or someone
• syndeton Two conjuncts joined by a conjunction
• symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning and the end of successive clauses
• synchysis: Interlocked word order
• synesis: Agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form
• synecdoche: Part for whole and whole for part
• synizesis: Pronunciation of two juxtaposed vowels or diphthongs as a single sound
• synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence
• tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice
• tmesis: Division of the elements of a compound word
• zeugma: The using of one verb for two actions

Tropes

Main article: Trope (linguistics)

• allegory: Extended metaphor in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject
• allusion: Indirect reference to another work of literature or art
• ambiguity: Phrasing which can have two meanings
• amplification: Expanding upon an initial statement
• anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker
• analogy A comparision
• anapodoton: Leaving a sentence unfinished
• antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses
• anthimeria: Substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb
• anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism)
• antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed grammatical order
• antiphrasis: An ironic name or a phrase used ironically.
• antonomasia: Substitution of a phrase for a proper name or vice versa
• aphorism: Tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion, an adage
• apophasis: Invoking an idea by denying its invocation
• appositive: Insertion of a parenthetical entry
• apostrophe: Addressing a thing, an abstraction or a person not present
• archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word (a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare's language)
• auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term
• bathos: Pompous speech with a ludicrously mundane worded anti-climax
• burlesque metaphor: An amusing, overstated or grotesque comparison or examplification.
• catachresis: Blatant misuse of words or phrases.
• cliché: Overused phrase or theme
• circumlocution: "Talking around" a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism or periphrasis
• commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience
• correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is epanorthosis
• dehortatio: discouraging advice given with seeming sagacity
• denominatio: Another word for metonymy
• diatyposis: The act of giving counsel
• double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an expression and it is the repetition of negative words
• dirimens copulatio: Juxtaposition of two ideas with a similar message
• dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more disagreeable term for another. Opposite of euphemism
• ekphrasis: Lively describing something you see, often a painting
• epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the tongue
• encomium: A speech consisting of praise; an eulogy
• enumeratio: A sort of amplification and accumulation in which specific aspects are added up to make a point
• epitrope: Pretending to agree with an opposing debater or invite one to do something
• erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question
• erotesis: Rhetorical question expressing approvement or refusal of belief in
• euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another
• grandiloquence: Pompous speech
• exclamation: An emphatic parenthetic addition that is complete in itself, exclamation differs from interjection in that it usually involves an emotional response.
• humour: Provoking laughter and providing amusement
• hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together are separated from each other for emphasis or effect
• hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis
• hypocatastasis: An implication or declaration of resemblance that does not directly name both terms
• hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length
• hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of hyperbaton
• innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not
• inversion: A reversal of normal word order, especially the placement of a verb ahead of the subject (subject-verb inversion).
• irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning
• kataphora: Repetition of a cohesive device at the end
• litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite
• malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar
• meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something
• merism: Statement of opposites to indicate reality
• metalepsis: Referring to something through reference to another thing to which it is remotely related
• metaphor: Stating one entity is another for the purpose of comparing them in quality
• metonymy: Substitution of an associated word to suggest what is really meant
• neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism
• non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding
• onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning
• oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other
• parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson
• paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth
• paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe
• paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking or reframing of the beginning
• paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over
• parody: Humouristic imitation
• paronomasia: Pun, in which words similar in sound but with different meanings are used
• pathetic fallacy: Using a word that refers to a human action on something non-human
• periphrasis: Using several words instead of few
• personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena
• praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis
• procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument
• prolepsis: Another word for procatalepsis
• proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic
• proverb: Succinct or pithy expression of what is commonly observed and believed to be true
• pun: Play on words that will have two meanings
• rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Asking a question which already has the answer hidden in it. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect)
• satire: Humoristic criticism of society
• sensory detail Imagery: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell
• simile: Comparison between two things using like or as
• snowclone: Quoted or misquoted cliché or phrasal template
• superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has the most of some quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc.
• syllepsis: The use of a word in its figurative and literal sense at the same time
• syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style to the level of the audience
• synecdoche: Form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole
• synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.
• tautology: Needless repetition of the same sense in different words Example: The children gathered in a round circle
• transferred epithet: Giving an inanimate object animate qualities.
• truism: a self-evident statement
• tricolon diminuens: Combination of three elements, each decreasing in size
• tricolon crescens: Combination of three elements, each increasing in size
• zeugma: The use of a word in both its figurative and literal sense
• zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods

See also

• Figure of thought
• List of forms of word play
• Idiom

References

× http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Figure_of_speech&action=edit#