Poetry, Figures of speech Essay Example For Students

Poetry, Figures of speech Essay The pen is mightier than the sword (pen-?writer; sword-?soldier) KINESTHESIA: sense transference, when you describe one kind of sensation in terms of another (e. G. Smell with color) Tasting of Flora and the country green (taste, smell and color) Of music so delicate, soft and intense (sound with sense) HYPERBOLA: transfer and adjective from its appropriate noun to another to which it does not properly belong The passed a sleepless night (a man can be sleepless, not a night) Melissa shook her doubtful curls (Melissa can be doubtful, not her curls PUN: use a word in more than one sense in the same sentence, mostly homonyms or monopoles for the sake of humor Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man (grave-?serious; grave-?dead) Is life worth living? That depends on the liver (liver-?organ; liver-?person alive) VISION: vividly describe the absent as present to the eye; describe something that you cannot possibly see I see the rural virtues leave the land (virtues cannot be seen) PROLEPSIS: it occurs when future events are referred to as if already past So those two brothers and their murdered man rode past fair Florence (he anticipates that the brothers will kill the man who is riding with them) APOSTROPHE: the writer addresses someone or something not present O Death where is thy sting (he is talking to Death) Fair daffodils, we weep to see you hast away so soon (talking to flowers) PRESUPPOSE: abstract qualities or things are regarded as having the power of speech (similar to personification) The red rose cries, she is near, she is near (roses cannot speak) EMPHASIS HYPERBOLE: exaggeration of ideas, magnification of things beyond their natural bounds or attributing miraculous powers to people for emphasis Beeline smiled and all the world was gay Neptune oceans wash this blood clean from my hand? No. I have waited for eternity CLIMAX: the arrangement of a series of thoughts in increasing impressiveness I came, I saw, I conquered. Pursue him! Flog him! Torture him! Kill him! ANTICLIMAX: the arrangement of a series of thoughts in decreasing impressiveness or a sudden descent from the sublime to the ridiculous Not louder shrieks to pitying heaven are cast when husbands or when lap dogs breath their last (compares mockingly the death of a husband to a dogs) RHETORICAL QUESTIONS: no answer expected because it is assumed that the reader agrees Can the Ethiopians change his skin or the leopard his spots (Ethiopians are lack and leopards are spotted so the answer is obviously NO) Who does not love his country? Obviously everybody does) EXCLAMATION: Oh! Alas! Maybe a word, a phrase, a sentence or a whole passage (!! Marks) expresses strong feelings What a piece or work man is! How noble in reason! CONTRAST IRONY: when the meaning intended is contrary to that apparently expressed (verbal irony or situational irony) Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink (a boat with people adrift in the sea is surrounded by water but they will ironically die of thirst) F or Brutes is an honorable man (he was not, he had murdered Caesar) SARCASM: is meant to mock with often satirical or ironic remarks with a purpose to amuse and hurt someone We very much admire this authors first novel, the cover is so attractive (meaning the content is not good) What a splendid frame! (said of a picture) ANTITHESIS: contrast is obtained by balancing one idea against another generally emphasized by a parallel in grammatical structure Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven His friends described his courage, his enemies discussed his treachery the lie ( _ _ IQ why EPIGRAM: short witty saying, often satirical, frequently expressed in antithesis.