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Index stylistic figures
Index stylistic figuresfigures of speechturns of phrase, schemes, tropes, ornaments, colors, flowers
overview|groupings index|schemes and tropes
Overview
Like wildflower seeds tossed on fertile ground, the figures of speech, sometimes called the "flowers of rhetoric" (flores rhetoricae), have multiplied into a garden of enormous variety over time. As the right frame of this web resource illustrates, the number of figures of speech can seem quite imposing. And indeed, the number, names, and groupings of figures have been the most variable aspect of rhetoric over its history.
Naming the Figures
The figures first acquired their names from the Greeks and Romans who catalogued them. Although attempts have been made to anglicize or update the figures' names, this sometimes proves to confuse things, even though the Greek and Latin terms are odd to modern ears. Pronunciation guides and etymologies have been provided to clarify the Greek terms, in particular. And because there are so many synonyms or close synonyms among the figures, each entry contains equivalent and comparative terms from Greek, Latin, and English. To view the terms from just one of these languages, see viewing options.
Categorizing the Figures
Over time these figures have been organized in a variety of different ways in order to make sense of them and to learn their various qualities much as a scientist might classify the flora of a forest, grouping like species into families. Various kinds of groupings for the figures can be found here (cross references at the bottom of each figure's page can also lead one to related figures). The simplest (and oldest) arrangement for the figures divides them into two broad categories, "schemes" and "tropes"useful starting points.
Situating the Figures within Rhetoric
As rich and interesting as the figures are, they do not constitute the whole of rhetoric, as some have mistakenly surmised. Such a view is a vast reduction of the discipline of rhetoric, which has just as much to do with the discovery of things to say (Invention), their arrangement (Arrangement), commital to memory (Memory), and presentation (Delivery) as it has to do with the figures of speech, which are typically categorized under the third of these canons of rhetoric, Style.
Figures of Thought / Topics of Invention
The word "figure" has sometimes been used to refer not only to means of expression, but to strategies of argument. Some theorists distinguish between "figures of speech" and "figures of thought" (see Figures of Speech and Thought). These latter "figures" are better known as topics of invention.
In this resource, a serious attempt has been made to show the close relationship between figures of speech and topics of invention. That relationship is something of a micro/macro relationship: what occurs on a local level with language to express an idea can in fact occur at a larger level, in an heuristic method, to discover ways of constructing arguments.
For example, the most identifiable tropes include metaphor and simile. These are simply comparisons: "Life is a journey"; "Watching TV is like taking a visual anaesthetic." But "comparison" itself is a topic of invention, a commonplace to which one may turn to generate ideas about something: "Let us compare life to a journey. We set out at birth, travel through various regions, and arrive at the bleak destination of death..." The difference between a figure and a topic of invention, then, may sometimes simply be a matter of degree, or it may be a matter of whether one views the strategy as one of expression of an idea (an issue of style) or the composition or discovery of an idea or argument (an issue of invention). The point is, we should recognize the close proximity of the figures and the topics of invention.
To this end, at the bottom of each page on which a figure is explained are listed 1) related figures and 2) related topics of invention. Thus, "Comparison" (the topic of invention) is listed at the bottom of the page explaining "metaphor," and is also at the bottom of the page on "simile." Reciprocally, "metaphor," "simile" and other comparative figures are listed at the bottom of the page that explains the topic of invention, "Comparison."
Groupings of Figures
Among the least consistent but most important aspects of the rhetorical tradition is the systematic arrangement of figures. The simplest arrangements have been broad dichotomies:
1. figures of speech
2. figures of thought (See Figures of Speech and Thought)
Or
1. schemes
2. tropes(See Schemes and Tropes)
Within Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric, the figures are associated with larger rhetorical categories to which they are related (For example, figures of division are listed with the Topic of Invention: Division, etc.); also, the figures are grouped according to function or strategy:
of Amplification
of Arrangement (see Figures of Order)
of Balance
of Definition
of Description
of Division
of Ethos
of Grammar
of Interruption
of Naming
of Omission
of Order
of Overstatement
of Parallelism
of Pathos
of Place
of Play
of Reasoning
of Refutation
of Repetition
of Rhythm
of Sound
of Substitution
of Summary
of Time
of Wordplay
Semantic Inversions
Vices
Grammatical Schemes
Groupings by rhetorical category
Groupings made by well-known authorities (authors and texts)
Figures of Grammar
Original suggestions for other kinds of groupings are invited.Please contact Gideon Burton
Figures of Speech: Groupings by rhetorical category
Audience:
Figures in which an audience is addressed:
asteismus
Persuasive Appeals:
Figures of Reasoning (logos)
Figures of Pathos
Figures of Ethos
Figures of Speech: Groupings made by well-known authorities (authors and texts)
1. From Antiquity
Gorgias
Ad Herennium (ca. 100 B.C.)
Quintilian (ca. 100 A.D.)
2. From the Middle Ages
Geoffrey of Vinsauf (1210)
3. From the Renaissance
Leonard Cox (1526-30?)
Joannes Susenbrotus (1540)
Thomas Wilson (1560)
Richard Rainolde (1563)
Dudley Fenner (1584)
Abraham Fraunce, The Arcadian Rhetoricke (1588)
Charles Butler (1598)
John Hoskins (1599-1600?)
Richard Sherry (1550)
Henry Peacham, The Garden of Eloquence, (1577)
George Puttenham (1589)
Angel Day, The English Secretary (1599)
4. From the 17th and 18th Centuries
5. From the 19th Century
E.W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech in the Bible (1898)
6. From the 20th Century
Lee A. Sonnino (1968)
Warren Taylor (1972)
Arthur Quinn (1982)
Bernard Dupriez (1984)
Richard Lanham (1991)
Schemes and Tropes
Schemes and tropes both have to do with using language in an unusual or "figured" way:
Trope: An artful deviation from the ordinary or principal signification of a word.
Scheme: An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
Examples
"I work like a slave" [trope: simile]
"I don't know if I'm working my job or my job, me" [schemes: antimetabole, ellipsis, personification]
Categories of tropes and schemes.
Click on a category to see specific figures of speech, or proceed directly to the tropes page or the schemes pages to see them all. To see other organizational methods for the figures of speech, click here.
Kinds of Tropes
1. Reference to One Thing as Another
2. Wordplay and puns
3. Substitutions
4. Overstatement/Understatement
5. Semantic Inversions
Kinds of Schemes
1. Structures of Balance
2. Change in Word Order
3. Omission
4. Repetition
Figures of Speech: Tropes
Trope: An artful deviation from the ordinary or principal signification of a word.
1. Reference to One Thing as Another
Metaphor Reference to one thing as another, implying a comparison.
Simile Explicit comparison of one thing to another.
Synecdoche A whole is represented by naming one of its parts.
Metonymy Reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes.
Personification Reference to abstractions or inanimate objects as though they had human qualities or abilities.
2. Wordplay and puns
Antanaclasis Repetition of a word in two different senses.
Paronomasia Using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning (punning).
Syllepsis Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs (sometimes called zeugma).
Onomatopoeia Use of words whose sound correspond with their semantic value.
3. Substitutions
Anthimeria Substitution of one part of speech for another.
Periphrasis Substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name or of a proper name for a quality associated with the name.
4. Overstatement/Understatement
Hyperbole Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis or effect.
Auxesis Reference to something with a name disproportionately greater than its nature (a kind of hyberbole).
Litotes Understatement used deliberately.
Meiosis Reference to something with a name disproportionately lesser than its nature (a kind of litotes).
5. Semantic Inversions
Rhetorical Question Asking a question for a purpose other than obtaining the information requested.
Irony Using language in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite of what the terms used denote (often by exaggeration).
Oxymoron Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another. A compressed paradox.
Paradox An apparently contradictory statement that contains a measure of truth.
Figures of Speech: Schemes
Scheme: An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words.
1. Structures of Balance
Parallelism Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
Isocolon A series of similarly structured elements having the same length.
Tricolon Three parallel elements of the same length occurring together.
Antithesis Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas (often in parallel structure).
Climax Generally, the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance, often in parallel structure.
2. Changes in word order
Anastrophe Inversion of natural word order.
Parenthesis Insertion of a verbal unit that interrupts normal syntactical flow.
Apposition Addition of an adjacent, coordinate, explanatory element.
3. Omission
Ellipsis Omission of a word or words readily implied by context.
Asyndeton Omission of conjunctions between a series of clauses.
Brachylogia Omission of conjunctions between a series of words.
(Polysyndeton) Opposite of asyndeton, a superabundance of conjunctions
4. Repetition
Alliteration Repetition of initial or medial consonants in two or more adjacent words.
Assonance Repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent words.
Polyptoton Repetition of words derived from the same root.
Antanaclasis Repetition of a word in two different senses.
Anaphora Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses.
Epistrophe Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses.
Epanalepsis Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause.
Anadiplosis Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause.
Climax Repetition of the scheme anadiplosis at least three times, with the elements arranged in an order of increasing importance.
Antimetabole Repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order. (Sometimes mistaken as chiasmus)
Chiasmus Repetition of grammatical structures in reverse order in successive phrases or clauses (not to be mistaken with antimetabole).
Figures of speech main pageOther groupings of figures metaphor
met-a-phor from meta beyond, over and pherein to carry
metaphora
translatio
translation, figure of transport
A comparison made by referring to one thing as another.
Examples
No man is an island John Donne
For ever since that time you went awayI've been a rabbit burrowed in the wood Maurice Sceve
Life is a beach.
Who captains the ship of state?
Related Figures
simileLike a metaphor, a simile involves making a comparison (except it does so explicitly).
catachresis
allegory An allegory is an extended metaphor that goes through a whole narrative.
Related Topics of Invention
Comparison Since a metaphor is based on an implied comparison, it is most closely related to this topic of invention.
Similarity / Difference Since this topic of invention often takes the form of arguing by analogy, it is related to the figure metaphor since a metaphor is a kind of analogy.
See Also
PathosBecause metaphors are often concrete and sensory, they can affect the audience's emotions.
simile si'-mi-lee L. likesimilitudo
An explicit comparison, often (but not necessarily) employing "like" or "as."
Examples
My love is like a red, red rose Robert Burns
Her hair was like gravy, running brown off her head and clumping up on her shoulders.
The day we passed together for a whileSeemed a bright fire on a winter's night Maurice Sceve
You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye, but I'm getting blown away Neil Young
The air-lifted rhinoceros hit the ground like a garbage bag filled with split pea soup.
Related Figures
metaphor
Related Topics of Invention
Comparison
Sources:
synecdoche
si-nek'-do-kee Gk. "to take with something else"
Also sp. syndoche
intellectio, subintellectio, pars pro toto
intelleccion, figure of quick conceite
A whole is represented by naming one of its parts (genus named for species), or vice versa (species named for genus).
Examples
The rustler bragged he'd absconded with five hundred head of longhorns.Both "head" and "longhorns" are parts of cattle that represent them as wholes
Listen, you've got to come take a look at my new set of wheels.One refers to a vehicle in terms of some of its parts, "wheels"
"He shall think differently," the musketeer threatened, "when he feels the point of my steel."A sword, the species, is represented by referring to its genus, "steel"
Related Figures
metonymy
Related Topics of Invention
Whole/Parts
Genus/Species
Sources:
metonymy
me-ton'-y-myfrom meta, "change" and onoma, "name"
Also sp. metonimia
hypallagedenominatio, transmutatio, transnominatio
the misnamer, change of noun or name, transmutation of a word
Reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes.
Examples
The pen is mightier than the swordThe pen is an attribute of thoughts that are written with a pen; the sword is an attribute of military action
We await word from the crown.
I'm told he's gone so far as to giver her a diamond ring
The IRS is auditing me? Great. All I need is a couple of suits arriving at my door.
Related Figures
synecdoche
metalepsis
Related Topics of Invention
Part and Whole
Subject and Adjuncts
Sources:
personification
the counterfait in personation
Reference to abstractions or inanimate objects as though they had human qualities or abilities. The English term for prosopopeia or ethopoeia.
ExamplesO beware, my lord, of jealousy!It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. Iago in Shakespeare's Othello 3.3.165-67
The insatiable hunger for imagination preys upon human life Samuel Johnson
Related Figures
prosopopoeia
ethopoeia
antiprosopopoeia
enargia
See Also
ethos
Progymnasmata: Impersonation
Sources: Quintilian 9.2.36; Peacham (1577) O3r ("prosopeia"); Putt. (1589) 246 ("prosopopeia," "the counterfait in personation"); Day 1599 90 ("prosopopoeia")
antanaclasis
an'-ta-na-cla'-sisfrom Gk. anti against or back,ana up and klasis a breaking
Also sp. anaclasis
refractio
the rebounde, word-clashing
The repetition of a word or phrase whose meaning changes in the second instance.
Examples
Your argument is sound...all sound. Benjamin Franklin The meaning of "sound" first appears to be "solid" or "reasonable"; in its repetition, it means something very different, "all air" or "empty"
In thy youth learn some craft that in thy age thou mayest get thy living without craft.The meaning of "craft" first means "vocation"; in its repetition, it means "fraud" or "cunning."
While we live, let us live.
In the following example, antanaclasis occurs with an entire phrase whose meaning alters upon repetition:"If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm." Vince Lombardi
Related Figures
antistasis
Figures of Repetition.
See Also
Sources:
paronomasia
pa-ro-no-ma'-si-a from Gk. para, "alongside" and onomos, "name" ("to alter slightly in naming") prosonomasiaadnominatio or agnominatio, allusiothe nicknamer, allusion
Using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning (punning).
The Ad Herennium author further specifies that this is brought about through various kinds of metaplasm.
Examples
A jesting friar punned upon the name of the famous humanist Erasmus, "Errans mus" [erring mouse]. Puttenham
A pun is its own reword.
For a plethora of puns (of mixed quality, but plenty of quantity), see this internet pun resource.
Related Figures
Figures that play on language
Related Topics of Invention
Notation and Conjugates
Sources: HYPERLINK "http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Sources/Sources-Primary.htm"
Ad Herennium 4.21-22.29-31 ("adnominatio"); Rutil. 1.3; Isidore 1.36.12; Fraunce (1588) 1.24 ("paronomasia," "agnominatio," "allusion"); Putt. (1589) 212 ("prosonomasia," "the nicknamer"); Day 1599 86 ("prosonomasia"); Hoskins (1599)15
syllepsis
sil-lep'-sis from Gk. syn, "together" and lepsis, "taking"
Also sp. sillepsis, silepsis, syllempsis
conceptio, conglutinata conceptio, concepcio
double supply, change in concord
When a single word that governs or modifies two or more others must be understood differently with respect to each of those words. A combination of grammatical parallelism and semantic incongruity, often with a witty or comical effect. Not to be confused with zeugma.
Note: Originally, syllepsis named that grammatical incongruity resulting when a word governing two or more others could not agree with both or all of them; for example, when a singular verb serves as the predicate to two subjects, singular and plural ("His boat and his riches is sinking"). In the rhetorical sense, syllepsis has more to do with applying the same single word to the others it governs in distinct senses (e.g., literal and metaphorical); thus, "His boat and his dreams sank."
Examples
In the following example, "rend" governs both objects, but the first rending is figurative; the second, literal:Rend your heart, and not your garments. Joel 2:13
You held your breath and the door for meAlanis Morissette
"Fix the problem, not the blame." Dave Weinbaum The verb "fix" governs both "problem" and "blame." In its first instance, "fix" means "solve," but this verb shifts its meaning when applied to its second object, where the understood "fix" = "assign."
Related Figures
zeugma
ellipsisSyllepsis is a form of ellipsis, and like ellipsis the sense of the word is repeated, but not the word itself. The difference from ellipsis is that the sense varies in its repetition.
metaphor
Figures of Division
Related Topics of Invention
Division
Sources:
onomatopoeia
on-o-mat-o-pee'-afrom Gk. onomos, "name" and poein, "to make"
nominatio, nominis confictio
the new namer
Using or inventing a word whose sound imitates that which it names (the union of phonetics and semantics).
Examples
The buzzing of innumerable beesThe "zz" and "mm" sounds in these words imitate the actual sounds of bees.
Related Figures
Figures of Sound
Related Topics of Invention
Notation and Conjugates
Sources:
anthimeria
an-thi-mer'-i-afrom Gk. anti- instead of and mereia a part
antimereia
Substitution of one part of speech for another (such as a noun used as a verb).
Examples
I've been Republicaned all I care to be this election year.Noun used as verb.
Did you see the way those blockers defenced on that last play? Noun used as verb.
Feel bad? Strike up some music and have a good sing. Verb used as noun.
Related Figures
Figures of Substitution
paronomasia
enallage
See Also
Four Categories of Change: Substitution
periphrasis
per-if'-ra-sis from Gk. peri, "around" and phrasein "to declare"
Also sp. perifrasis
antonomasia, circumlocutio, circumitio
the figure of ambage
The substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name (a species of circumlocution); or, conversely, the use of a proper name as a shorthand to stand for qualities associated with it.
Examples
In the TV show "Dinosaurs" the infant dino called his father, "Not-the-Mama."
He's no Fabio to look at; but then, he's no Woody Allen, either.
Said of Aristotle: "The prince of Peripatetics" Angel Day
Related Figures
Figures of Substitution
Figures of Amplification
antonomasia
circumlocutio
Related Topics of Invention
Subject and Adjuncts
See Also
Sources:
hyperbole
hy-per'-bo-leefrom hyper, "over" and bollein, "to throw"
{Alt Spelling}
superlatio, excessus
over reacher or the loud lyer
Rhetorical exaggeration. Hyperbole is often accomplished via comparisons, similes, and metaphors.
Examples
I've told you a million times not to exaggerate.
Related Figures
Figures of Excess and Superfluity
Figures of Amplification
auxesis
litotes
bomphiologia
metalepsis
metaphor
See Also
General Rhetorical Strategy: Amplification
Sources:
auxesis
ok-see'-sis Gk. "increase, amplification"
incrementum
the avancer
1. Arranging words or clauses in a sequence of increasing force. In this sense, auxesis is comparable to climax and has sometimes been called incrementum.
2. A figure of speech in which something is referred to in terms disproportionately large (a kind of exaggeration or hyperbole).
3. Amplification in general.
This figure (in its second meaning) is often paired with its opposite, meoisis.
Examples
Said of a scratch: Look at this wound!
Related Figures
Figures of DefinitionIn its second definition, auxesis functions as a kind of redefinition, associating it generally with the topic of invention Definition.
hyperbole
meiosis The opposite of auxesis (2)referring to something with a name disproportionately lesser than its nature.
Figures of Amplification
Sources:
litotes
li-to'-tees from Gk litos, "plain, small, meagre"
Also sp. lyptote, liptote
antenantiosisdiminutio (deminutio), extenuatio
the moderatour
Deliberate understatement, especially when expressing a thought by denying its opposite.
The Ad Herennium author suggests litotes as a means of expressing modesty (downplaying one's accomplishments) in order to gain the audience's favor (establishing ethos).
Examples
It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Running a marathon in under two hours is no small accomplishment.
Related Figures
meiosis
irony
hyperbole
sarcasmus
Figures of ethos
Figures of Refutation
Related Topics of Invention
Contraries & Contradictions
Similarity & Difference
Sources:
meiosis
mei-o'-sis from Gk. mei-o-o to make smaller
extenuatio, detractio, diminutio
the disabler, belittling
Reference to something with a name disproportionately lesser than its nature (a kind of litotes).
This term is equivalent to tapinosis.
Example
Said of an amputated leg.: "It's just a flesh wound" Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Related Figures
ironyMeiosis, as a kind of understatement, names one of the two principle means of communicating through irony (the other being overstatement see hyperbole, below).
litotesLike meiosis, litotes is also a kind of deliberate understatement. However, this term more often names understatement done by denying something contrary to what one means.
tapinosisLike meiosis, tapinosis involves calling something by a name that diminishes its importance, or gives an understatement of its qualities.
auxesis The exact opposite of meiosis (overstates rather than understates for ironic effect).
hyperbole The general term for exaggeration, including auxesis. Not limited to ironic uses.
charientismus This figure shares with meiosis a similar strategy to mollify or lighten (though not ironically). Charientismus usually involves reducing the effect of a threat through teasing or mockery.
Related Topics of Invention
DegreeMeiosis does not work as a figure unless one senses the degree of difference between the label and the thing it labels. It is thus related to this kind of comparative strategy.
See Also
Subtraction
Sources:Cicero De Or. 3.53.202 ("extenuatio"); Quintilian 8.3.50; Aquil. 46 ("elleipsis" [=meiosis], "detractio"); Melanch. ER D4v ("meiosis" "tapinosis" "diminutio"); Sherry (1550) 61 ("miosis," "diminutio"); Peacham (1577) N4v; Putt. (1589) 195, 227 ("meiosis," "the disabler")
rhetorical questions
The rhetorical question is usually defined as any question asked for a purpose other than to obtain the information the question asks. For example, "Why are you so stupid?" is likely to be a statement regarding one's opinion of the person addressed rather than a genuine request to know. Similarly, when someone responds to a tragic event by saying, "Why me, God?!" it is more likely to be an accusation or an expression of feeling than a realistic request for information.
Apart from these more obviously rhetorical uses, the question as a grammatical form has important rhetorical dimensions. For example, the rhetorical critic may assess the effect of asking a question as a method of beginning discourse: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" says the persona of Shakespeare's 18th sonnet. This kind of rhetorical question, in which one asks the opinion of those listening, is called anacoenosis. This rhetorical question has a definite ethical dimension, since to ask in this way generally endears the speaker to the audience and so improves his or her credibility or ethos. The technical term for rhetorical questions in general is erotema.
Related Figures
erotema
anacoenosis Asking the opinion or judgment of the judges or audience.
anthypophora A figure of reasoning in which one asks and then immediately answers one's own questions. Reasoning aloud. Anthypophora sometimes takes the form of asking the audience or one's adversary what can be said on a matter.
dianoeaThe use of animated questions and answers in developing an argument
aporia Deliberating with oneself as though in doubt over some matter; asking oneself (or rhetorically asking one's hearers) what is the best or appropriate way to approach something.
epiplexis Asking questions in order to chide, to express grief, or to inveigh.
exuscitatioStirring others by one's own vehement feeling (sometimes by means of a rhetorical question).
pysma The asking of multiple questions successively (which would together require a complex reply).
ratiocinatio Reasoning (typically with oneself) by asking questions.
See Also
Tropes: Semantic Inversions
Invention
Stasis
Questions for determining the issue (status)
Progymnasmata: Thesis or Theme
Arguing two sides of a question: in utrumque partes
Basic questions for doing rhetorical analysis
irony
i'-ron-ee Gk., "affectation of ignorance"
ironia, illusio
dissimulatio, simulatio
the dry mock
Speaking in such a way as to imply the contrary of what one says, often for the purpose of derision, mockery, or jest.
Examples
The Jews said of Christ:Hail, King of the Jews!
Related Figures
Figures of irony:
antiphrasisIrony of one word, often derisively through patent contradiction.
paralipsisStating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass it over.
epitropeA figure in which one turns things over to one's hearers, either ironically, or in such a way as to suggest a proof of something without having to state it.
sarcasmusUse of mockery or verbal taunts.
mycterismus
Related Topics of Invention
Contraries & Contradictions
Sources:
oxymoron
ox-y-mo'-ron rom Gk. oxy, "sharp" and moros, "dull"
acutifatuum
wise-folly
Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another. A compressed paradox.
Examples
...Yet from those flamesNo light, but rather darkness visibleServed only to discover sights of woe. Milton, Paradise Lost 1.62-64
The Sounds of Silence
Festina lente (make haste slowly).
Related Figures
paradox
irony
synoeciosis
paradox
pa'-ra-dox from Gk. para, "past, contrary to" and doxa, "opinion" paradoxon, paradoxumwondrer
1. A statement that is self-contradictory on the surface, yet seems to evoke a truth nonetheless.
Example
Whosoever loses his life, shall find it.
2. = inopinatum. The expression of one's inability to believe or conceive of something; a type of faux wondering). As such, this kind of paradox is much like aporia and functions much like a rhetorical question or erotema.
Example
It seems impossible to me that this administration could so quickly reverse itself on this issue.
Related Figures
oxymoron A compressed paradox.
Rhetorical Questions
erotema
aporia
irony
Related Topics of Invention
Contraries
Sources: Melanch. IR c8r ("paradoxum" "inopinatum"); Day 1599 90 ("paradoxon"); Putt. (1589) 233 ("paradoxon," "the wondrer")
parallelism
from Gk. parallelos side-by-side
Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
Examples
parallelism of words:She tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet, and delicate.
parallelism of phrases:Singing a song or writing a poem is joyous.
parallelism of clauses:Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best.
Related Figures
Figures of Parallelism
isocolon
tricolon
antithesis
an-tith'-e-sis from Gk. anti against and thesis a setting or tithenai to set, place
contrarium
contentio, comparatio
contrast
Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas (often, although not always, in parallel structure).
This is closely related to the Topic of Invention: Contraries, and is sometimes known as the similarly named figure of thought, antitheton.
Examples
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." Abraham Lincoln
"It can't be wrong if it feels so right" Debbie Boone
Related Figures
enantiosis
antitheton
paradox
oxymoron
Figures of Balance
Gorgianic Figures
Related Topics of Invention
Contraries
Contradictions
climax
cli'-max Gk. "ladder"
Also sp. klimax, clymax
gradatio, incrementum
the marching figure, gradation
Generally, the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance, often in parallel structure. More specifically, climax is the repetition of the last word of one clause or sentence at the beginning of the next, through several clauses or sentences (= anadiplosis)
Examples
Miss America was not so much interested in serving herself as she was eager to serve her family, her community, and her nation.
The following passage from the Bible shows that version of climax that is synonymous with anadiplosis:But we glory also in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience trial; and trial hope; and hope confoundeth not, because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us. St. Paul
Related Figures
anadiplosis
auxesis
catacosmesis The opposite of climax: placing the most important thing first.
See Also
Figures of Amplification
Figures of Parallelism
Figures of Order
ellipsis
el-lip'-sis from Gk. elleipein, "to come short"
Also sp. elipsis, elleipsis, eclipsis
defectus
figure of default
Omission of a word or short phrase easily understood in context.
Examples
"The average person thinks he isn't." Father Larry LorenzoniThe term "average" is omitted but understood after "isn't."John forgives Mary and Mary, John. Note that the comma signals what has been elided, "forgives"
Related Figures
syllepsis
Figures of Omission
See Also
Four Categories of Change: Subtraction
General Rhetorical Strategy: Omission
asyndeton
a-syn'-de-tonfrom Gk. a and sundeton bound together with
Also sp. asindeton
brachiepia, articulus,dissolutio, dissolutum, dialyton
loose language
The omission of conjunctions between clauses, often resulting in a hurried rhythm or vehement effect.
Examples
Veni, vidi, vici (Caesar: "I came; I saw; I conquered")
Related Figures
Figures of Grammar
Figures of Omission
Figures of Rhythm
brachylogia
polysyndeton
isocolon homoioteleuton hirmus
See Also
General Rhetorical Strategy: Omission
brachylogia
brach-y-lo'-gi-a from Gk. brachy, "short" and logia, "speech"
Also sp. brachiologia, brachiologa
articulus
the cutted comma
The absence of conjunctions between single words. Compare asyndeton. The effect of brachylogia is a broken, hurried delivery.
Examples
Phillip! Rise! Eat! Leave!
Love, hate, jealousy, frenzy, fury drew him from pity Angel Day
Related Figures
asyndeton
Figures of Omission
See Also
Delivery
General Rhetorical Strategy: Omission
polysyndeton
pol-y-syn'-de-tonfrom Gk. poly- many and syndeton bound together with
Also sp. polysyntheton,polisindeton, polysindeton
acervatio
couple clause, many-ands
Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo or rhythm.
Examples
I said, "Who killed him?" and he said, "I don't know who killed him but he's dead all right," and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was all right only she was full of water.Ernest Hemingway, "After the Storm."
Related Figures
asyndetonThe opposite of polysyndeton: an absences of conjunctions.
periodic sentence
Figures of Grammar
Figures of Repetition
See Also
Addition
alliteration
al-lit'-er-a'-tionalliteratio
figure of like letter
Repetition of the same letter or sound within nearby words. Most often, repeated initial consonants.
Note: The term "alliteratio" was coined by Giovanni Pontano in 1519 as a further specification of the term annominatio. Current usage of this term is in its most restricted sense (repeated initial consonants), aligning it with the vice known as homoeoprophoron or paroemion.
Examples
Why not waste a wild weekend at Westmore Water Park?
Related Figures
paroemionAlliteration taken to an extreme.
homoeoprophoron
acrostic
Figures of Repetition
Figures of Sound
See Also
Alliteration Net Link Collection
anaphora
an-aph'-o-raFrom Gk. ana again and phero to bring or carry
epanaphora, epembasis, epibole
adjectio, relatio, repetitio, repeticio
repeticion, the figure of report
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
Examples
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise,This fortress built by Nature for herselfAgainst infection and the hand of war,This happy breed of men, this little world,This precious stone set in the silver sea,Which serves it in the office of a wall,Or as [a] moat defensive to a house,Against the envy of less happier lands;This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [. . .]This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,Dear for her reputation through the world,Is now leas'd out I die pronouncing it Like to a tenement or pelting farm.
John of Gaunt in Shakespeare's Richard II (2.1.40-51; 57-60)
Related Figures
epistropheEnding a series of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or words. The opposite of anaphora.
symploceThe combination of anaphora and epistrophe.
Figures of repetition
climax
cli'-max Gk. "ladder"
Also sp. klimax, clymax
gradatio, incrementum
the marching figure, gradation
Generally, the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance, often in parallel structure. More specifically, climax is the repetition of the last word of one clause or sentence at the beginning of the next, through several clauses or sentences (= anadiplosis)
Examples
Miss America was not so much interested in serving herself as she was eager to serve her family, her community, and her nation.
The following passage from the Bible shows that version of climax that is synonymous with anadiplosis:But we glory also in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience trial; and trial hope; and hope confoundeth not, because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us. St. Paul
Related Figures
anadiplosis
auxesis
catacosmesis The opposite of climax: placing the most important thing first.
See Also
Figures of Amplification
Figures of Parallelism
Figures of Order
chiasmus
ki-az'-mus Gk. "a diagonal arrangement"
1. Repetition of ideas in inverted order
2. Repetition of grammatical structures in inverted order (not to be mistaken with antimetabole, in which identical words are repeated and inverted).
Examples
But O, what damned minutes tells he o'erWho dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strong loves.Shakespeare, Othello 3.3
The idea of affection occurs in "dotes" and "strongly loves"; the idea of doubting in "doubts" and "suspects". These two ideas occur in the quotation in an A B B A order, thus repeated and inverted
It is boring to eat; to sleep is fulfilling
The pattern is present participle-infinitive; infinitive-present participle
Related Figures
Figures of Repetition
Figures of Order
antimetabole
antimetabole
an'-ti-me-ta'-bo-lee Gk. anti in opposite direction and metabole turning about
Also sp. antimetavole
commutatio
the counterchange
Repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order.
This figure is sometimes known as chiasmus.
Examples
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy
You can take the gorilla out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the gorilla.
Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. Samuel Johnson, Rasselas
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20
Related Figures
chiasmus parallelism Figures of Repetition Figures of Order
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