figures of speech Flashcards
Repetition
A word or a phrase is repeated almost verbatim a number of times, hammering it home to the audience
e.g. It’s going great, really wonderfully, magnificently even
anaphora
A repetitio at the start of a number of sentences or lines of verse is called an anaphora.
e.g. I have a dream… (Martin Luther King)
the rule of three
number three is said to be a ‘quantity’ that sticks
- A discourse, for instance, has three phases (head-rump-tail) and the use of three arguments is recommended
e. g. liberty, equality, fraternity
chiasmus
Two related sentences or phrases are each other’s syntactical mirror image.
e.g. Don’t ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country! (J.F. Kennedy)
Rhetorical question
A question which instead of being a real question is a definite statement in the shape of a question.
- exclamation mark sometimes used to conclude such a ‘statement’.
- not meant to be answered
Metaphor
In a metaphor, you call something by another name directly, comparing that which you really mean with that which you call it
e.g. Julia, Sara and Elena are angels
Tautology
A concept is repeated using a different word that has (roughly) the same meaning.
- Both words belong to same lexical category
e.g. All well and good
Pleonasm
An obvious quality of an object or a concept is repeated.
- The words/concepts belong to two different lexical categories
e.g. A round circle
Hyperbole
A more or less appropriate exaggeration, hyperbole often has a comical effect.
e.g. you’re the sweetest person in the whole wide world
Enumeration
A number of names, facts, arguments follow each other up, giving each element of the enumeration an emphatic and convincing ring
Paradox
A paradox is an apparent contradiction. Something appears not to be right, but upon closer reading the phrasing turns out to be correct after all
e.g. Those who want to live in peace must often apply force to themselves. (C. Buddingh’)
Understatement
This is the opposite of hyperbole: intentional trivialisation
e.g. Well, at least we have a roof over our heads (we live in a luxurious house)
Euphemism
A term which sounds too harsh or unkind is replaced with another, less direct term.
- mostly used for fear of calling something by its real name
- often used ironically
e.g. rebalance the workforce (make people redundant)
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a combination of two contradictory terms.
e.g. speaking by keeping silent
Litotes
A special kind of understatement: something is strongly emphasised by denying the opposite
e.g. That’s not a bad idea at all. (great idea)
