BEAUTIFULLY OBSCURE WORDS
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DIRECTORY OF LOGOPHILE LIBRARY
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About | New| Feedback | Help | Home | Sitemaps
Reference Corner: helpful guide to help you learn more about language and words
DIRECTORY OF LOGOPHILE LIBRARY
words are categorized by chapters in individual lists or features. Features are by topic & present extensive vocabulary, research, articles & narratives.
Home Page ~ Word List Index ~ Featured Words
Literary, Language, Writing and Words
Obscure, Rare, Unusual and Obsolete
Creative, Deep, Intellectual and Profound
Dark, Melancholic, Mystical and Risqué
The Universe and World We Live In
The Exotic Languages of the World
DISCOVER MORE WORDS
This Site is Part of a Series of Beautiful Words
Books - Blogs - Guides - Narratives ~ Manuals
VOCABULARY GUIDES | VIEW ALL MY GUIDES
SEARCH THIS SITE FOR WORDS
Search site below or use Advanced Search to search the site & content in my vocabulary books.
RHETORICAL RHAPSODY HOME
Download Rhapsody as a Word Guide
DIRECTORY OF DEVICES
Dramatic Imagery and Expressive Emphasis
Tale of Context and Meaning
Slapstick Comedy of Humor and Wit
The Creative Use of Language
Rhetorical Repetition for Emphasis
Relating to the Word Relations
The Art of a Persuasive Argument
GLOSSARIES OF RHETORIC
Factoring in the Figures of Speech
Methods to Heighten Dramatic Effect
Glossary of Rhetorical Terms
See Also: Literary Devices | Poetic Devices
THE RHAPSODY IS A SPECIAL FEATURE OF
TOUCH OF THE INTELLECT
Knowledge - Profound - Speech ~ Grammar
Creativity ~ Technology - Academics
Download Rhapsody as a Word Guide
DIRECTORY OF DEVICES
Dramatic Imagery and Expressive Emphasis
Tale of Context and Meaning
Slapstick Comedy of Humor and Wit
The Creative Use of Language
Rhetorical Repetition for Emphasis
Relating to the Word Relations
The Art of a Persuasive Argument
GLOSSARIES OF RHETORIC
Factoring in the Figures of Speech
Methods to Heighten Dramatic Effect
Glossary of Rhetorical Terms
See Also: Literary Devices | Poetic Devices
THE RHAPSODY IS A SPECIAL FEATURE OF
TOUCH OF THE INTELLECT
Knowledge - Profound - Speech ~ Grammar
Creativity ~ Technology - Academics
DRAMATIC IMAGERY FOR EXPRESSIVE EMPHASIS
GENERAL RHETORICAL DEVICES
One of the most commonly cited examples of dramatic imagery or an illusion is a metaphor. Metaphor connects two different things to one another. It is frequently invoked by the verb. The use of metaphor is primarily to convey to the audience a new idea or meaning.
The most famous metaphor in English literature comes from the "All the World's a Stage" monologue:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances
(As You Like It)
This quotation expresses a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage, and most people are not literally actors and actresses playing roles. By asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the behavior of the people within it.
In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun (the vehicle), and this metaphor connecting Juliet to the sun shows that Romeo sees Juliet as being radiant and regards her as an essential being (the tenor).
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.
(Romeo and Juliet)
USE OF IRONY
Irony is the figure of speech where the words of a speaker intends to express a meaning that is directly opposite of the said words.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men -
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
(Julius Caesar, Antony attacks Brutus's character and that of his co-conspirators)
METONYMY
Metonymy is a figure of speech where a thing or concept is referred to indirectly by the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant
For example, the word "crown" is used to denote a king or queen.
OXYMORON
An oxymoron is a 2-word paradox often achieved through the deliberate use of antonyms. This creates an internal contradiction that can have rhetorical effect. The word "oxymoron" is itself an oxymoron. It comes from the Greek words oskús, meaning sharp or keen, and morōs meaning dull or foolish.
A true oxymoron occurs when Juliet says to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet:
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Shakespeare has created this contradiction to capture the deeper truth of the simultaneous pain and joy of departing from a loved one—he's trying to communicate that being separated from your beloved is painful and yet, precisely because it's painful, parting reminds you of your
love and joy.
PERSONIFICATION
Personification is the representation of animals, inanimate objects and ideas as having human attributes.
Alas that love, whose view is muffled still,
Should without eyes see pathways to his will! (Romeo personifies love as being blind yet able to enamour someone)
SIMILE
Simile compares two different things that resemble each other in at least one way. It uses the as… as construction as compared to metaphor which is direct equivalence.
I’ll warrant him, as gentle as a lamb.
(The nurse compares Romeo's manners and behavior to a lamb)
SYNECDOCHE
A synecdoche is a class of metonymy, often by means of either mentioning a part for the whole or conversely the whole for one of its parts.
For example, "suits" (for "businessmen"), "boots" (for "soldiers"), "America" (for "the United States of America”).
See Factoring in the Figure of Speech
The most famous metaphor in English literature comes from the "All the World's a Stage" monologue:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances
(As You Like It)
This quotation expresses a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage, and most people are not literally actors and actresses playing roles. By asserting that the world is a stage, Shakespeare uses points of comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the behavior of the people within it.
In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun (the vehicle), and this metaphor connecting Juliet to the sun shows that Romeo sees Juliet as being radiant and regards her as an essential being (the tenor).
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.
(Romeo and Juliet)
USE OF IRONY
Irony is the figure of speech where the words of a speaker intends to express a meaning that is directly opposite of the said words.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest -
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men -
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
(Julius Caesar, Antony attacks Brutus's character and that of his co-conspirators)
METONYMY
Metonymy is a figure of speech where a thing or concept is referred to indirectly by the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant
For example, the word "crown" is used to denote a king or queen.
OXYMORON
An oxymoron is a 2-word paradox often achieved through the deliberate use of antonyms. This creates an internal contradiction that can have rhetorical effect. The word "oxymoron" is itself an oxymoron. It comes from the Greek words oskús, meaning sharp or keen, and morōs meaning dull or foolish.
A true oxymoron occurs when Juliet says to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet:
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Shakespeare has created this contradiction to capture the deeper truth of the simultaneous pain and joy of departing from a loved one—he's trying to communicate that being separated from your beloved is painful and yet, precisely because it's painful, parting reminds you of your
love and joy.
PERSONIFICATION
Personification is the representation of animals, inanimate objects and ideas as having human attributes.
Alas that love, whose view is muffled still,
Should without eyes see pathways to his will! (Romeo personifies love as being blind yet able to enamour someone)
SIMILE
Simile compares two different things that resemble each other in at least one way. It uses the as… as construction as compared to metaphor which is direct equivalence.
I’ll warrant him, as gentle as a lamb.
(The nurse compares Romeo's manners and behavior to a lamb)
SYNECDOCHE
A synecdoche is a class of metonymy, often by means of either mentioning a part for the whole or conversely the whole for one of its parts.
For example, "suits" (for "businessmen"), "boots" (for "soldiers"), "America" (for "the United States of America”).
See Factoring in the Figure of Speech
EXPRESSIVE EXCLAMATIONS
Accismus - pretending to refuse something
Adynaton - use of a nearly impossible situation for emphasis
Allegory - the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence
Allusion - a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history
Aposiopesis - suddenly stopping in the middle of a speech for emphasis. Sometimes the speaker fails to complete his sentence, (seemingly) overpowered by his emotions
Asteism - refined irony
Apostrophe - addressing of a personified thing
Apophasis - saying something by stating that you will not mention it
Asterismos - the use of seemingly unnecessary words or phrases to introduce what you’re about to say. Rhetorically, asterismos is a clever way of subconsciously drawing attention to what’s coming.
Asyndeton - deliberately omitting conjunctions between successive clauses resulting in a choppy series of phrases to push things forward.
Atticism - expression with concise elegance
Catastasis - the narrator introduces the subject
Climax - gradual increase in force of rhetorical expressions or drama of a performance
Colloquial - characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
Diaporesis - expression of uncertainty
Dialogism - discussion in form of an imaginary dialogue
Didactic - tone; instructional, designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson
Ecphonesis - an exclamation. Also called a response cry.
Enantiosis - ironic expression of idea by refuting its contrary
Enthymeme - suppression or omission of a premise
Epanorthosis - retraction of statement in order to intensify it
Epiphonema - exclamation, a finishing phrase or reflection
Epilogue - conclusion or summary
Expeditio - lists a number of alternatives and proceeds to eliminate all but one of them.For example, “we can go for Italian, Mexican, or Chinese. But I had Chinese last night and you hate garlic, so it’s going to have to be Mexican.”
Hyperbole - extravagant exaggeration
Hypotyposis - vivid description of a scene
Hysteron proteron ("later-earlier") - inversion of the natural sequence of events, often meant to stress the event which, though later in time, is considered the more important
Litotes - understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed. (Sometimes used synonymously with meiosis.)
Meiosis - understatement of size or importance for rhetorical effect
Merism - contrasting two parts of a whole
Metabasis - transition; transfer; in rhetoric, movement from one topic to another
Metaphrase - turning of prose into verse or vice versa
Oxymoron - figure of speech combining contradictory terms
Parabola - use of simile or metaphor
Paraenesis - expression of advice or warning
Paralipsis - fixing attention on subject by pretending to neglect it
Paronomasia - use of similar sounding words; often etymological word-play. Punning.
Pathopoeia - excitation of passion by rhetoric or poetry
Periergia - use of elevated style to discuss a trivial matter
Periphrasis - circumlocution; round-about expression
Praeteritio (paraleipsis) - pretended omission for rhetorical effect
Prosopopoeia - a more formal name for personification, in which inanimate objects are either described in human terms or given human characteristics.
Protasis - introductory part of a play; first clause in a conditional expression;
Pronomination - description of a thing by its qualities rather than its proper name
Sententia - the punctuation of a point with an aphorism such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Simile - comparison of two things
Stream of consciousness - a technique that records the thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence; reflects all the forces, internal and external, affecting the character's psyche at the moment
Superjection - exaggeration; hyperbole
Synoeciosis - coupling opposites
Tuism - apostrophe; reference to or regard to a second person
Adynaton - use of a nearly impossible situation for emphasis
Allegory - the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence
Allusion - a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history
Aposiopesis - suddenly stopping in the middle of a speech for emphasis. Sometimes the speaker fails to complete his sentence, (seemingly) overpowered by his emotions
Asteism - refined irony
Apostrophe - addressing of a personified thing
Apophasis - saying something by stating that you will not mention it
Asterismos - the use of seemingly unnecessary words or phrases to introduce what you’re about to say. Rhetorically, asterismos is a clever way of subconsciously drawing attention to what’s coming.
Asyndeton - deliberately omitting conjunctions between successive clauses resulting in a choppy series of phrases to push things forward.
- The opposite is called polysyndeton, when you add more conjunctions to a phrase or clause than are strictlyn necessary, often with the effect of intentionally dragging it out:
Atticism - expression with concise elegance
Catastasis - the narrator introduces the subject
Climax - gradual increase in force of rhetorical expressions or drama of a performance
Colloquial - characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
Diaporesis - expression of uncertainty
Dialogism - discussion in form of an imaginary dialogue
Didactic - tone; instructional, designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson
Ecphonesis - an exclamation. Also called a response cry.
Enantiosis - ironic expression of idea by refuting its contrary
Enthymeme - suppression or omission of a premise
Epanorthosis - retraction of statement in order to intensify it
Epiphonema - exclamation, a finishing phrase or reflection
Epilogue - conclusion or summary
Expeditio - lists a number of alternatives and proceeds to eliminate all but one of them.For example, “we can go for Italian, Mexican, or Chinese. But I had Chinese last night and you hate garlic, so it’s going to have to be Mexican.”
Hyperbole - extravagant exaggeration
Hypotyposis - vivid description of a scene
Hysteron proteron ("later-earlier") - inversion of the natural sequence of events, often meant to stress the event which, though later in time, is considered the more important
Litotes - understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed. (Sometimes used synonymously with meiosis.)
Meiosis - understatement of size or importance for rhetorical effect
Merism - contrasting two parts of a whole
Metabasis - transition; transfer; in rhetoric, movement from one topic to another
Metaphrase - turning of prose into verse or vice versa
Oxymoron - figure of speech combining contradictory terms
Parabola - use of simile or metaphor
Paraenesis - expression of advice or warning
Paralipsis - fixing attention on subject by pretending to neglect it
Paronomasia - use of similar sounding words; often etymological word-play. Punning.
Pathopoeia - excitation of passion by rhetoric or poetry
Periergia - use of elevated style to discuss a trivial matter
Periphrasis - circumlocution; round-about expression
Praeteritio (paraleipsis) - pretended omission for rhetorical effect
Prosopopoeia - a more formal name for personification, in which inanimate objects are either described in human terms or given human characteristics.
- The opposite is antiprosopopoeia, a figure of speech in which a person is compared to an inanimate object.
Protasis - introductory part of a play; first clause in a conditional expression;
Pronomination - description of a thing by its qualities rather than its proper name
Sententia - the punctuation of a point with an aphorism such as “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Simile - comparison of two things
Stream of consciousness - a technique that records the thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence; reflects all the forces, internal and external, affecting the character's psyche at the moment
Superjection - exaggeration; hyperbole
Synoeciosis - coupling opposites
Tuism - apostrophe; reference to or regard to a second person
