"With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."

-- Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream

"The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want."

-- Psalm 23:1 King James Bible

"A Republic whose history, like the path of the just, is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

-- William Jennings Bryan

"I've had some long nights in the stir. Alone in the dark with nothing but your thoughts, time can draw out like a blade."

-- delivered by Morgan Freeman , from the movie The Shawshank Redemption

"And he heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. And his head and his hair was white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet were like unto fine brass, as if they were burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."

--Book of Revelation 1:14-15 King James Bible

"But His strong love stands like a granite rock unmoved by the hurricanes of our inequity."

-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"People in the streets see it now. They're running towards the East River -- thousands of them dropping in like rats. Now the smoke's spreading faster. It's reached Times Square. People are trying to run away from it, but it's no use. They're falling like flies."

-- Orson Wells, from the original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds

"Henry was 18 when we met and I was queen of France. He came down from the north to Paris with a mind like Aristotle's and a form like mortal sin. We shattered the commandments on the spot."

-- delivered by Katherine Hepburn, from the movie The Lion in Winter

Simile

(also Hyperbole)

"Charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."

-- delivered by Martin Sheen , from the movie Apocalypse Now

Synecdoche

(sih-NECK-duh-kee)

Synecdoche

Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa; any part or portion or quality of a thing used to stand for the whole of the thing or vice versa -- genus to species or species to genus.

Synecdoche

Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa; any part or portion or quality of a thing used to stand for the whole of the thing or vice versa -- genus to species or species to genus.

Synecdoche

Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa; any part or portion or quality of a thing used to stand for the whole of the thing or vice versa -- genus to species or species to genus.

"Good evening. Elvis Presley died today. He was 42. Apparently, it was a heart attack. He was found in his home in Memphis not breathing. His road manager tried to revive him -- he failed. A hospital tried to revive him -- it failed. His doctor pronounced him dead at three o'clock this afternoon.

-- NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor and David Brinkley

Synecdoche

Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa; any part or portion or quality of a thing used to stand for the whole of the thing or vice versa -- genus to species or species to genus.

"Give us this day our daily bread."

-- Matthew 6:11 King James Bible

Synecdoche

Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa; any part or portion or quality of a thing used to stand for the whole of the thing or vice versa -- genus to species or species to genus.

"And I began a little quiet campaign of persuasion with certain editors, seeking to show the unlimited possibilities for education and amusement. One would have thought that we would find willing ears on the part of the newspapers."

-- Lee De Forest

Synecdoche

Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa; any part or portion or quality of a thing used to stand for the whole of the thing or vice versa -- genus to species or species to genus.

Metonymy

(meh-TA-neh-me)

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

"Her voice is full of money."

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Metonymy

Substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is meant ("crown for royalty"). Metonymy can also refer to the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it: for instance, describing someone's clothing or belongings in order to characterize the individual.

"Because I could not stop for Death--He kindly stopped for me--The Carriage held but just Ourselves--And Immortality."

--Emily Dickinson

Personification

Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual; the application of human attributes or abilities to nonhuman entities.

"In Torquemada's time, there was at least a system that could, to some extent, make righteousness and peace kiss each other. Now, they do not even bow."

-- G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Personification

Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual; the application of human attributes or abilities to nonhuman entities.

"Once again, the heart of America is heavy. The spirit of America weeps for a tragedy that denies the very meaning of our land."

-- Lyndon Baines Johnson

Personification

Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual; the application of human attributes or abilities to nonhuman entities.

"I'm gonna speak to this mountain -- whether it's a mountain of sickness, whether it's a mountain of debt; whether it's a mountain of loneliness; whether it's a mountain of despair -- whatever this mountain is."

-- T.D. Jakes, All I Have is a Seed on My Side

Personification

Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual; the application of human attributes or abilities to nonhuman entities.

(Can you spot the Anaphora?)

"To the fans in Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta, I wanna say 'thank you' for your support. Your chanting of 'B-r-u-u-u-c-e' as I entered the game always gave me chills. I wish I could trot out there and get that feeling again, but Father Time has caught up with me. First he took my arm, then he took my hair, then he took the color from my beard. But he cannot take the great friendships and memories I have from being a baseball player."

-- Bruce Sutter, Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Address

Personification

Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual; the application of human attributes or abilities to nonhuman entities.

"Such acts are commonly stimulated by forces of hatred and malevolence such as today are eating their way into the bloodstream of American life."

-- USSC Justice Earl Warren, Eulogy for John F. Kennedy

Personification

Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual; the application of human attributes or abilities to nonhuman entities.

"Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."

--Don Marquis

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"History is to the nation rather as memory is to the individual. As an individual deprived of memory becomes disoriented and lost, not knowing where he has been or where he is going, so a nation denied a conception of its past will be disabled in dealing with its present and its future."

--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Withdrawal of U.S. troops will become like salted peanuts to the American public; the more U.S. troops come home, the more will be demanded."

-- Henry Kissinger, Memo to President Richard Nixon, 10 September 1969.

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"I don't think there's anything certainly more unseemly than the sight of a rock star in academic robes. It's a bit like when people put their King Charles spaniels in little tartan sweats and hats. It's not natural, and it doesn't make the dog any smarter."

-- Bono, 2004 Commencement Address at The University of Pennsylvania

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Jesus once said that the gate to the kingdom is narrow. But we are narrow in mathematics. We are narrow in chemistry. If we weren't narrow in chemistry, they'd be blowing the place up. We have to be narrow. We are narrow when we are flying a plane. I'm glad that pilots aren't too broad-minded and just come in any way they want to. And why shouldn't we be narrow when it comes to spiritual dimensions and moral laws?"

-- Billy Graham, 1962 Address at The Harvard Law School Forum

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Remember this, ladies and gentlemen. It's an old phrase, basically anonymous. Politicians are a lot like diapers: You should change them frequently and for the same reason. Keep that in mind next time you vote. Good night.

-- delivered by Robin Williams, from the movie Man of the Year

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"I want to say 'thank you' to all the fans that voted for me and Owen [Wilson] for Wedding Crashers. And I feel a little guilty about winning the award 'cause it's not that hard of a thing to do. When you work with someone like Owen Wilson, I kind of feel like a jockey on the back of a great horse like Secretariat. My job is just to hold on."

-- Vince Vaughn, acceptance address for Best On-Screen Team MTV Movie Award

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

[Texas Rangers Announcer Eric Nadel's call of the final out for Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle's April 18th, 2007 no hitter] "I gotta e-mail from Michael. He goes, "David, isn't all the media coverage of a no-hitter against the Rangers the same as covering blue whales eating plankton? One fish is a big pro and the other is just food."

-- David Smoak, On Air Radio Personality, KTBB, Tyler Texas (04/19/07)

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Our men in uniform are like the college football players. While the struggle is impending, they are observing the rules of training that they may be fit to fight. But when the game has been won, the temptation to break training and make up for the restraints of the past months and years will be a mighty one."

-- John D. Rockefeller, Jr., War Campaign Address

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Don't worry about the future; or worry -- but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum."

-- Baz Luhrmann, Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Dumb gorgeous people should not be allowed to use literature when competing in the pick-up pool. It's like bald people wearing hats."

-- delivered by Matt McGrath, from the movie Broken Hearts Club

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"This is Orson Wells, ladies and gentlemen, out of character to assure you that the War of the Worlds has no further significance than as the holiday offering it was intended to be -- the Mercury Theater's own radio version of dressing up in a sheet and jumping out of a bush and saying 'boo.'"

-- Orson Wells, original radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"Wishing for the end to AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa is like wishing that gravity didn't make things so damn heavy. We can wish it, but what the hell can we do about it?"

-- Bono, 2004 Commencement Address at The University of Pennsylvania

Analogy

A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things (events, ideas, people, etc) for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference; a form of reasoning employing comparative or parallel cases.

"I mount up with waxen wings, high to reach the sun. And I am no further than, than when I first begun."

--Derek Webb, "Not Enough"

Allusion

Figure of explication using a brief or casual reference to a famous person, historical event, place, or work of art that is generally well-known.

Note: The reference here is to the story of Icarus from Greek mythology.

"And finally you're all familiar with Dr. Wilmut's cloned sheep. We actually missed the real story behind this. We're so interested in talking about when this will happen with humans. (And, by the way, if we haven't already done it somewhere, the cloning of a human being is likely anytime. It's no longer a theoretical issue; it's just a question of who's going to do it.) The real story behind the sheep is that Dr. Wilmut created the prototype for bioindustrial design. He's the Henry Ford of the Biotech Century. It is now possible to replicate in countless numbers exact copies of an original living creature with the same kind of quality controls and engineering standards we did using mass production and assembly line factory work with inert materials. That's what's so important about this animal. We moved from the industrial age to the bioindustrial age."

-- Jeremy Rifkin, The BioTech Century

Allusion

Figure of explication using a brief or casual reference to a famous person, historical event, place, or work of art that is generally well-known.

"And I can pledge our nation to a goal: When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass to the other side."

-- George W. Bush, 2000 Inaugural Address

Allusion

Figure of explication using a brief or casual reference to a famous person, historical event, place, or work of art that is generally well-known.

Note: The reference here is to the biblical character in the parable about the good Samaritan.

"Ground beef" for "ground flesh of a dead cow."

"Veal" for "tender dead flesh of a baby cow."

Euphemism

Substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

"Wardrobe malfunction"

(Justin Timberlake's characterization of his tearing of Janet Jackson's costume during a half-time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII)

Euphemism

Substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

Euphemism

Substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.

Paranomasia

Using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning.

[She] went straight home in a flood of tears, and a sedan chair.

-- Charles Dickens

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

He said, as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar and the lamps. She lowered her standards by raising her glass, her courage, her eyes and his hopes . When he asked, "What in Heaven?" she made no reply, up her mind, and a dash for the door

-- Flanders and Swann, "Madeira M'Dear"

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

Just a dissipated creep who wears a Rolex on his wrist/On her nerves, too much cologne, and down her power to resist. Did she turn down the wrong hallway, his advances, or the sheet?

-- Bob Kanefsky, "The Girl Who Had Never Been "

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

... and covered themselves with dust and glory.

-- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff.

-- Groucho Marx, from Duck Soup

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

Come the (computer) revolution, all persons found guilty of such criminal behavior will be summarily executed, and their programs won't be!

--Numerical Recipes

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

My teeth and ambitions are bared; be prepared!

-- Scar, from The Lion King

Syllepsis

Using a word differently in relation to two or more words that it modifies or governs.

Science is organized knowledge.

-- Herbert Spencer

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

Lost time is never found again.

-- Benjamin Franklin

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

Greed is a permanent slavery.

-- Ali

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

"Death with dignity is better than life with humiliation."

-- Husayn ibn Ali

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

"That which does not destroy us makes us stronger."

-- Nietzsche

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

"If you see the teeth of the lion, do not think that the lion is smiling to you."

-- Al-Mutanabbi

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

"When your legs get weaker time starts running faster."

 -- Mikhail Turovsky

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

"Many of those who tried to enlighten were hanged from the lampposts."

--Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Aphorism

A very concise statement expressing a general truth or wise observation often in a clever way.

"We are now well into our fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object and confident purpose of putting an end to slavery agitation. However, under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed: A house divided against itself cannot stand."

-- Abraham Lincoln, A House Divided

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

"So, I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. 'Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.'"

-- Martin Luther King, Jr., I've Been to the Mountaintop

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

(also an Allusion from the famous Battle Hymn of the Republic)

"I think that if women aspired higher, took on the problems involved, that they might find surprising support from men. 'Time marches on.'"

-- Betty Friedan, Do We Dare Not Discriminate?

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

"There has been this tendency to set aside some of the women, and if they were willing, either to set themselves aside in a religious service, or in some dedicated activity where they didn't act as wives and mothers. Society was willing, then, to accord them quite a few of the privileges that were accorded to men, as if it was being said, implicitly -- but of course...sometimes explicitly: 'You can't have everything.'"

-- Margaret Mead

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

"The lesson we have to learn is that our dislike for certain persons does not give us any right to injure our fellow creatures. The social rule must be: 'Live and let live.'"

-- George Bernard Shaw

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

"I am not a perfect servant. I am a public servant doing my best against the odds. As I develop and serve, be patient: God is not finished with me yet."

-- Jesse Jackson, 1984 Democratic National Convention Address

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

"We're not computers, Sabastian, we're physical. I think, Sabastian, therefore, I am."

-- delivered by Rutger Hauer and Daryl Hannah, from the movie Blade Runner

Sententia

Figure of speech in which a wise, witty, or pithy aphorism is used to sum up the preceding material.

(also an Allusion to famous French Mathematician Rene Descartes' foundational premise concerning his personal existence)

"The thunder would not peace at my bidding".

--Shakespeare, King Lear

Anthimeria

Substitution of one part of speech for another.

"Me, dictionary-ing heavily, 'Where was the one they were watching?'"

--Ernest Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa

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. The substitution of an elaborate phrase in place of a simple word or expression, as "fragrant beverage drawn from China's herb" for tea.

Periphrasis

Substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name or of a proper name for a quality associated with the name. The substitution of an elaborate phrase in place of a simple word or expression, as "fragrant beverage drawn from China's herb" for tea.

"The Pharisees, therefore, said among themselves, 'Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing; behold the world has gone after him."

-- John 12:19, King James Bible

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

"So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

"The chamber is celebrating an important milestone this week: your 70th anniversary. I remember the day you started."

-- Ronald Reagan

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

"My senior year, I received a telephone call from a gentleman by the name of Mr. Gil Brandt of the Dallas Cowboys. And he stated that the Cowboys was interested in drafting me, and I couldn't ignore it. I decided to attend the Cowboys training camp. That year, 1967, the Dallas Cowboys had 137 rookies in training camp. Gil Brandt was signing everybody that could walk. Only five made the team that year, and I was one of the five."

-- Larry Rayfield Wright, Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Address

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

"And there went great multitudes with him. And he turned and said unto them, 'If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.'"

-- Luke 14:26, King James Bible

Hyperbole

 Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

(Can you spot the Polysyndeton?)

"Henry was 18 when we met and I was queen of France. He came down from the north to Paris with a mind like Aristotle's and a form like mortal sin. We shattered the commandments on the spot."

-- delivered by Katherine Hepburn, from the movie The Lion in Winter

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

(Can you spot the Simile?)

"The only place where democracy comes before work is in the dictionary."

-- Ralph Nader, 2000 NAACP Address

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

"Why you got scars and knots on your head from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. And every one of those scars is evidence against the American white man."

-- Malcolm X

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a person, thing, quality, event to emphasize a point external to the object of exaggeration; intentional exaggeration for rhetorical effect.

Auxesis

Reference to something with a name disproportionately greater than its nature; extreme hyberbole.

Auxesis

Reference to something with a name disproportionately greater than its nature; extreme hyberbole.

Auxesis

Reference to something with a name disproportionately greater than its nature; extreme hyberbole.

Auxesis

Reference to something with a name disproportionately greater than its nature; extreme hyberbole.

"no ordinary city." used to mean a very impressive city.

--Acts 21:39, King James Bible

Litotes

Understatement used deliberately.

Litotes

Understatement used deliberately.

Said of an amputated leg: "It's just a flesh wound"

--Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Meiosis

Reference to something with a name disproportionately lesser than its nature; extreme understatement.

"Can anyone look at the record of this Administration and say, 'Well done'? Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Carter Administration took office with where we are today and say, 'Keep up the good work'? Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today and say, 'Let's have four more years of this'?"

-- Ronald Reagan, 1980 Republican National Convention Acceptance Address

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

"It really is time to ask ourselves, 'How can we allow the rich and powerful, not only to rip off people as consumers, but to continue to rip them off as taxpayers?'"

-- Ralph Nader, 2000 NAACP Convention Address

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

"Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar?"

-- James 2:20-21, King James Bible

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

"But no one seems to mention morality as playing a part in the subject of sex. Is all of Judeo-Christian tradition wrong? Are we to believe that something so sacred can be looked upon as a purely physical thing with no potential for emotional and psychological harm? And isn't it the parents' right to give counsel and advice to keep their children from making mistakes that may affect their entire lives?"

-- Ronald Reagan, Remarks to the National Association of Evangelicals, 1983

Note: A "stacking" technique is used here in which multiple rhetorical questions are asked in succession to intensify the point.

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

"Some have asked, 'How could you have the United States Senate vote on Judge Thomas' nomination and leave Senators in the dark about Professor [Anita] Hill's charges?' And to this I answer, 'How can you expect us to have forced Professor Hill against her will into the blinding light which you see here today."

-- Joseph R. Biden

Note: Here is a case of dueling rhetorical questions. The first rhetorical question whose answer is implicit is responded to by a second rhetorical question whose answer is equally implicit.

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

"Do you want to see the flower of the manhood of this country which has brought everlasting glory to our nation neglected in the hour of its greatest need and afraid to face temptation?"

-- John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

"Sir, at long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

-- Joseph Welch, The Army-McCarthy Hearings

(Can you spot the Anastrophe?)

Rhetorical Question

Figure which asks a question, not for the purpose of further discussion, but to assert or deny an answer implicitly; a question whose answer is obvious or implied.

Figure that binds together TWO words that are ordinarily contradictory; a TWO WORD paradox; two words with contrary or apparently contradictory meanings occurring next to each other, and, which, nonetheless, evoke some measure of truth; the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

Oxymoron

Figure that binds together TWO words that are ordinarily contradictory; a TWO WORD paradox; two words with contrary or apparently contradictory meanings occurring next to each other, and, which, nonetheless, evoke some measure of truth; the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

Oxymoron

Figure that binds together TWO words that are ordinarily contradictory; a TWO WORD paradox; two words with contrary or apparently contradictory meanings occurring next to each other, and, which, nonetheless, evoke some measure of truth; the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

Jumbo shrimp

Oxymoron

Figure that binds together TWO words that are ordinarily contradictory; a TWO WORD paradox; two words with contrary or apparently contradictory meanings occurring next to each other, and, which, nonetheless, evoke some measure of truth; the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

"The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot"

--Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Paradox

Figure that employs an apparent contradiction which, nonetheless, evokes some measure of truth; a statement which seems at one level to be nonsensical because it moves against a normalcy. At another level, however, the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to."

--Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Paradox

Figure that employs an apparent contradiction which, nonetheless, evokes some measure of truth; a statement which seems at one level to be nonsensical because it moves against a normalcy. At another level, however, the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

Paradox

Figure that employs an apparent contradiction which, nonetheless, evokes some measure of truth; a statement which seems at one level to be nonsensical because it moves against a normalcy. At another level, however, the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

-- Mathew 10:16, King James Bible

Paradox

Figure that employs an apparent contradiction which, nonetheless, evokes some measure of truth; a statement which seems at one level to be nonsensical because it moves against a normalcy. At another level, however, the figure conjures a new way of seeing or understanding, a novel meaning.

Paralipsis

Stating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass it over. A kind of irony.

"We will not speak of all Queequeg's peculiarities here; how he eschewed coffee and hot rolls, and applied his undivided attention to beefsteaks, done rare."

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Paralipsis

Stating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass it over. A kind of irony.