Friday, March 28, 2014

FIGURES OF SPEECH-1


248. Euphemism:- Euphemism consists in the description of a disagreeable thing by an
agreeable name.
Examples:-
1. He has fallen asleep (i.e., he is dead).
2. You are telling me a fairy tale (i.e., a lie).
249. Antithesis:- In antithesis a striking opposition or contrast of words or sentiments is
made in the same sentence. It is employed to secure emphasis.
Examples:-
1. Man proposes, God disposes.
2. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
3. Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.
4. Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.
5. Speech is silver, but silence is golden.
6. To err is human, to forgive divine.
7. Many are called, but few are chosen.
8. He had his jest, and they had his estate.
9. The Puritans hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it
gave pleasure to the spectators.
10. A man's nature runs either to herbs or weeds; therefore, let him season ably water the
one and destroy the other.
250. Oxymoron:- Oxymoron is a special form of Antithesis, whereby two contradictory
qualities are predicted at once of the same thing.
Examples:-
1. His honour rooted in dishonour stood.
And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.
2. So innocent arch, so cunningly simple.
3. She accepted it as the kind cruelty of the surgeon's knife.
251. Epigram:- An Epigram is a brief pointed saying frequently introducing antithetical
ideas which excite surprise and arrest attention.
Examples:-
1. The child is father of the man.
2. A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
3. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
4. In the midst of life we are in death.
5. Art lies in concealing art,
6. He makes no friend, who never made a foe.
7. Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man,
8. The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool,
9. Lie heavy on him, earth, for he (Vanbrugh, the Architect)
Laid many a heavy load on thee.
10. Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King.
Whose word no man relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing
And never did a wise one.
252. Irony:- Irony is a mode of speech in which the real meaning is exactly the opposite
of that which is literally conveyed.
Examples:-
1. No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
2. The atrocious crime of being a young man, which the honourable gentle man has, with
such spirit and decency, charged upon me. I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny.
3. 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.
253. Pun:- A Pun consists in the use of a word in such a way that it is capable of more
than one application, the object being to produce a ludicrous effect.
Examples:-
1. Is life worth living?-It depends upon the liver.
2. An ambassador is an honest man who lies abroad for the good of his country.
254. Metonymy:- In Metonymy (literally, a change of name) an object is designated by
the name of something which is generally associated with it.
Some familiar examples:-
The Bench, for the judges.
The House, for the members of Lok Sabha.
The laurel, for success.
Red-coats, for British soldiers.
Bluejackets, for sailors.
The Crown, for the king.
Since there are many kinds of association between objects, there are several varieties of
Metonymy.
Thus a Metonymy may result from the use of:-
(i)The sign for the person or thing symbolized; as,
You must address the chair (i.e., the chairman).
From the cradle to the grave (i.e., from infancy to death).
(ii)The container for the thing contained; as,
The whole city went out to see the victorious general.
The kettle boils.
Forthwith he drank the fatal cup.
He keeps a good cellar.
He was playing to the gallery.
He has undoubtedly the best stable in the country.
(iii) The instrument for the agent; as,
The pen is mightier than the sword.
(iv) The author for his works; as,
We are reading Milton.
Do you learn Euclid at your school ?
(v) The name of a feeling or passion for its object;
He turn'd his charger as he spake
Upon the river shore,
He gave the bridle-reins a shake,
Said 'Adieu for evermore,
My love !
And adieu for evermore.'
255. Synecdoche:- In Synecdoche a part is used to designate the whole or the whole to
designate a part.

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