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FIGURES OF SPEECH

Figures by Type Definition

Tropes figures which change the typical meaning of a word or words

Metaplasmic Figures figures which move the letters or syllables of a word from their typical places

Figures of Omissionfigures which omit something--eg. a word, words, phrases, or clauses--from a

sentence

Figures of Repetition (words figures which repeat one or more words

Figures of Repetition (clauses and

ideasfigures which repeat a phrase, a clause or an idea

Figures of !nusual "ord Order figures which alter the ordinary order of words or sentences

Figures of Thoughta miscellaneous group of figures which deal with emotional appeals and techni#ues

of argument

Figures of $ound figures which create images by means of repeating certain groups of sounds

Tropes Definition Example

metaphorthe substitution of a word for a word whose meaning is close to theoriginal word

Poor broen glass, % often did

behold& %n thy sweet semblance myold age new born...---The Rape of

Lucrece,')*-)+

personificationrepresenting an imaginary or absent person as speaing or acting

attributing life, speech or inanimate #ualities to dumb orinanimate obects

"ith how sad steps, O Moon, thouclimb/st the sies,& 0ow silently, and

with how wan a face1---Astrophil andStella, 2'

metonymy

a noun is substituted for a noun in such a way that we substitute the

cause of the thing of which we are speaing for the thing itself thismight be done in several ways3 substituting the inventor for his

invention, the container for the thing contained or vice versa, anauthor for his wor, the sign for the thing signified, the cause for the

effect or vice versa

% must comfort the weaer vessel, as!oublet an! "oseought to show

itself courageous to petti#oat.---AsYou Like It, 4.5.6

synecdoche

7 figure of speech in which a part is used for the wholethe whole for a part

the specific for the generalthe general for the specific

material for the thing from which it is made

handfor sailorthe lawforpolice officer

cutthroatfor assassinthiefforpickpocket

steelfor sword

irony e8pressing a meaning directly contrary to that suggested by the words

0e was no notorious malefa#tor, buthe had been twice on the pillory, and

once burnt in the hand for triflingo$ersig"ts.---Direccions for Speech

and Style

parado8a seemingly self contradictory statement, which yet is shown to be

true

For what the waves could never wash

away& This proper youth has wastedin a day.

o8ymoron a condensed parado8 at the level of a phraseO modest wantons1 wantonmodesty1---The Rape of Lucrece, 59'

anthimeriathe substitution of one part of speech for another for instance, an

adverb for a noun or a noun for an adverb

:ord 7ngelo !uesit well.---

Measure for Measure, 2.4.'99

litotes deliberate understatement or denial of the contrary0e is no fool.---The Arte of English

Poesie, '*5

http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Tropeshttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Metaplasmic%20Figureshttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Omissionhttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Repetition%20(words)http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Repetition%20(clauses%20and%20ideas)http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Repetition%20(clauses%20and%20ideas)http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Unusual%20Word%20Orderhttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Thoughthttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Thoughthttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Tropeshttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Metaplasmic%20Figureshttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Omissionhttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Repetition%20(words)http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Repetition%20(clauses%20and%20ideas)http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Repetition%20(clauses%20and%20ideas)http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Unusual%20Word%20Orderhttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Thoughthttp://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm#Figures%20of%20Thought

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hyperbolee8aggerated or e8travagant statement used to mae a strong

impression, but not intended to be taen literally

0is legs bestrid the ocean, his rear/d

arm& ;rested the world, his voice waspropertied& 7s all the tuned

spheres...---Antony and Cleopatra,).4.*4

antonomasiaThe substitution of a personal name for a common noun to

designate a member of a group or class

calling a traitor a !enedict

Arnold

%etaplasmi#

FiguresDefinition Example

prosthesis addition of letters to the beginning of a word% all alone be&eepmy outcast state.---$haespeare

Sonnets, 4+

aphaersis omission of letters from the beginning of a word!se every man after his desert, and who should

's#apewhippingeugma 7 construction in which a single word, especially a verb or anadective, is applied to two or more nouns when its sense is

"e took #y ad,ice and #y $allet

"e lost his coat and his te#per

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appropriate to only one of them or to both in different ways

aposiopesisstopping a sentence in midcourse so that the statement is

unfinished

0e said you were, % dare not tell you plaine3&

For words once out, never returne againe.---

The Arte of English Poesie) 012

Figures of

Repetition

(&or!s)

Definition Example

epi>eu8isemphatic repetition of a word with

no other words betweenReputation* reputation* reputation1 O1 % have lost my

reputation.---3thello, 4.2.465

polyptotonrepetition of the same word or

root in different grammaticalfunctions or forms

?isturb his hours of restwith restlesstrances,& 7fflict him in his be!with be!ri!groans& :et there be#"an#ehim pitiful mis#"an#es,&

To mae him moanbut pitynot his moans.---The Rape of Lucrece,+5-+

antanaclasis repetition of a word, but in twodifferent meanings

"hoever hath her wish, thou has thy Will,& 7nd Willto boot, andWillin overplus---$haespeare Sonnets, '2)

anaphorarepetition of a word at thebeginning of a clause, line, or

sentence

%a!world1 %a!ings1 %a!composition1---'ing 4ohn, 4.'.)6'

epiphorarepetition of a word at the end of aclause, line, or sentence

%/ll have my bon!1& $pea not against my bon!1& % have sworn anoath that % will have my bon!.---The Merchant of (enice, 2.2.5

epanalepsisrepetition of the beginning at theend

+loo!hath bought bloo!, and blo&shave answer/d blo&s3& Strengt"

match/d with strengt", and po&erconfronted po&er.---'ing 4ohn,4.'.24+-29

anadiplosisrepetition of the end of a line orclause at the ne8t beginning

For % have loved long, % crave re&ar!& Re&ar!me not unindly3

thin on in!ness,& ,in!nessbecommeth those of high regar!&Regar!with clemency a poor man/s blindness---5idessa, '6

pleonasmthe needless repetition of words atautology on the level of a phrase

$ober he seemde, and very sagely sad,& 7nd to the ground his eyes

were lowly bent,& $imple in shew, and voyde of mali#e ba!...---The5aerie 6ueene, @oo ', '.4+

figura

etymologica

The repetition of a word/s root,

involving different word

categories (often, verbs A nounsSpeathe spee#", % pray you ("a#let

geminatio

?oubling of a word. Tiger* tiger, burning bright (@lae

tautotes Fre#uent repetition of a wordO &on!erful, &on!erful, and most &on!erful& &on!erful1 7nd yetagain &on!erful,& and after that, out of all hooping1 (As You Like It

Figures of

Repetition (#lauses

an! i!eas)

Definition Example

au8esisarrangement of clauses or sentences inascending order of importance

I may* I must* I #an* I &ill* I !o& :eave followingthat which it is gain to miss.---Astrophil and Stella,5

isocolon repetition of phrases or clauses of e#ual length % spea $panish to Bod, %talian to women, French to

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and corresponding grammatical structure men, and Berman to my horse.---;harles C

tautologyneedless repetition of the same idea in

different words pleonasm on the level of asentence or sentences

%f you have a friend, eep your friend, for an old

friend is to be preferred before a new friend, this % sayto you as your friend.---The 7arden of Elo8uence, 5+

chiasmusreversal of grammatical structures or ideas in

sucessive phrases or clauses, which do notnecessarily involve a repetition of words

@ut O, what damned minutes tells he o/er& "ho

!otes* yet !oubts- suspe#ts* yet strongly lo$es.---3thello, 2.2.'6+

antithesis repetition of clauses or idea by negation7 bliss in proof and prov/d, a very woe& @efore, aoy propos/d behind a dream.---$haespeare Sonnets,'4+

periphrasisthe replacement of a single word by several

which together have the same meaning asubstitution of more words for less

"hile memory holds a seat& %n this distractedglobe...---"a#let, '.5.+6

Figures of Unusual

.or! Or!erDefinition Example

7nastrophe&inversionarrangement by reversal of ordinary

word order, usually confined to thetransposition of two words only

Figures pedantical---Lo,e*s La&our*s Lost, ).4.59

hyperbaton departure from ordinary word orderDet %/ll not shed her blood,& Eor scar that whiter sin

of hers than snow...---3thello, ).4.2

hysteron proteron reversal of temporal orderMy dame that bred me up and bare me in her

wombe.---The Arte of English Poesie, '54

parenthesisa word, phrase, or sentence inserted asan aside in a sentence complete by itself

@ut now my ?eere (for so lo$e maes me to #allyou still)& That love % say, that luclesse love, thatwors me all this ill.---The Arte of English Poesie,

'5'

asyn!eton !nusual omission of conunctionsO, what a noble mind is here o/erthrown& Thecourtier/s, soldier/s, scholar/s, eye, tongue, sword

9"a#let

polysyn!eton!se of (unnecessarily manyconunctions

"hen you are old and grey and full of sleep. (Deats

Figures of

T"oug"tDefinition Example

adynatonthe impossibility of e8pressing

oneself ade#uately to the topic

"ords cannot convey how much your letters have delighted me.---

Ele#entoru# rhetorices li&ri, 55f

aporiatrue or feigned doubt or deliberation

about an issue

"hether he too them from his fellows more impudently, gave them toan harlot more lasciviously, removed them from the Roman people more

wicedly or altered them more presumptuously, % cannot well declare.---The 7arden of Elo8uence, '9+

apostrophe

a diversion of discourse from thetopic at hand to addressing some

person or thing, either present or

absent

"ithin a month...& $he married--O most wiced speed3 to post& "ith

such de8terity to incestuous sheets...---"a#let, '.4.')2

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Figures of

Soun!Definition Example

alliteration The repetition of the same consonant sounds

or of different vowel sounds at the beginning

of words or in stressed syllables

on scrolls of sil,er sno$y sentences

(0art ;rane

assonance Resemblance of sound, especially of thevowel sounds in words that dolphin-torn) that gong-tor#entedsea("illiam @utler Deats

onomatopoeia The formation or use of words that imitate the

sounds associated with the obects or actions

they refer to.

&u::or #ur#ur