Rhetorical Tropes

Rhetorical tropes were first recognized by the early Greek rhetorical philosophers such as Aristotle, Quintillion, and Cicero. In Greek trope means "a turn." Though rarely used by itself in today's language, tropes are paired with schemes to create the more popular term "figure of speech."

Figures of speech are typically regarded as methods used to compare dissimilar items to achieving affects that transcend the literal meaning. Some theorists would feel that they should designate changes in single words. Quintilian described them as "the artistic alteration of a word or phrase from its proper meaning to another." (p. 301) Hence, words can be used in context to form meanings other than their literal definition.

Figures help enhance a person's style of writing. If used moderately and correctly figures of speech can enhance the work. Even Aristotle states that "the rule of moderation applies to all the constituents of the poetic vocabulary." (p. 1478) He further establishes that the figures of speech used in poetry need to be used properly and in moderation to invoke the intended effect.

The following words are examples of popular figures of speech:

Greek: "speaking otherwise than one seems to speak"
An allegory is a long narrative in prose or verse in which the literal meaning is described as a metaphor. The prose or verse carries an alternate meaning along with the main idea .
Examples: Animal Farm , Pilgrims Progress , Moby Dick , The Scarlet Letter

(an ta NA cla sis)

Greek: "reflection, bending back"
An antanaclasis is a repetition of words in the same sentence, with the words having separate definitions. Also a word used twice to contrast comic ideas.
Example: The lot I chose for my house is a lot bigger than I had realized .
See also: Pun, Paronomasia

(an thi MER i a)

Greek: "one part for another"
An anthimeria can be described as substituting one part of speech with another. Many examples can be found in the works of Shakespeare where he would use an old word in a new way to express his thoughts. In the first example "unhair," the noun is being used as a verb. In the second example "smoke" can be used in many different parts of speech.
Examples: "I'll unhair thy head. -- Shakespeare, "Antony and Cleopatra"; My cousin Gary smoked his pipe as the smoke curled around his head.

(an to no MA si a)

Greek: "use of an epithet or patronymic, instead of a proper name , or the reverse"
A descriptive phrase for a proper noun.
Examples: Professor A.M. Bush = Professor Ambush ; Professor D.C. Ray = Death Ray
See also: Synecdoche

Greek: "turning away"
An apostrophe is addressing a person who is not there or addressing an abstraction such as death or a tree as seen in the following examples.
Examples: "O eloquent, just, and mighty Death!" --Sir Walter Raleigh "History of the World" ; "O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree..." ; "My Shakespeare rise." -- Ben Johnson ; "Out Damn Spot" -- Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

(aux E sis)

Greek: "increase, amplification"
An auxesis is magnifying the importance of something by giving it another name. Heightening a word and using it in place of a common word. Also, it can the opposite of Meiosis.
Examples: The defendant described the plaintiff's paper cut as a "wound." ; "titan of industry" ; A three dollar Coke at the ball game is "highway robbery."

(e ro TE sis)

Greek: "a questioning"
An erotema is defined as a rhetorical question.
Example: Do you think you could get to work on time? ; "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" --Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice"
See Also: Rhetorical Question

(hy PER bo le)

Greek: "excess, exaggeration"
a hyperbole is an exaggeration used for emphasis, that is not to be interpreted literally.
Examples: I told you a thousand times not to exaggerate. ; When it rains the students pack on the bus like sardines. ; I wouldn't give him the time of day.

Irony is the use of a word to convey an opposite meaning of the literal definition. The new meaning is usually contradictory to the literal.
Examples: "For Brutus is an honorable man; So are they all, honorable men." --Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar" ; Oedipus seeking the murderer of Laius, the former king of Thebes. -- Oedipus Rex
See also: Metonymy

(LI to tes)

Greek: "plainness, simplicity"
A litote is a deliberate usage of understatement to enhance the quality of what was said. It also expresses thoughts by denying the contradictory statement.
Examples: "It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." --J.D. Salinger The Catcher In The Rye ; Paradise Lost

(mei O sis)

Greek: "lessening"
Meiosis can be described as a lessening of a word. It can also be used in a degrading or belittling way.
Examples: Vandalism might be considered as "teenage highjinks." ; If "Hamlet" is described as "a play of some interest."

Greek: "transference"
A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike objects that does not use "like" or "as." It can also be considered an assertion of identity.
Examples: She was a rose among the thorns. ; My sister is toast for putting a frog in my sleeping bag.

(me TO ny my)

Greek: "change of name"
Metonymy is a substitution for an arbitrary or suggestive word in place of what is actually meant.
Example: "There is much wealth in that room." (Wealth is used to describe the rich.)
See also: Irony, Metaphor, Synecdoche

(on o ma to po EI a)

Greek: "the making of words"
Onomatopoeia is a process of making up words that sound like their meaning.
Examples: HISS ; BANG ; BONG ; CRASH

(ox y MO ron)

Greek: "a witty paradoxical saying"
An Oxymoron is the use of two words whose meanings are contradictory to convey one meaning.
Examples: rational hysteria ; military intelligence ; jumbo shrimp
See also: Synoeciosis

Greek: "a placing beside"
Parable is a story meant to teach a moral by use of an extended metaphor.
Examples: The Good Samaritan ; Prodigal Son
See Also: Allegory and Simile

Greek: "contrary to opinion or expectation"
A paradox is self-contradictory and not necessarily true statement.
Examples: "We know too much for one man to know." --J. Robert Oppenheimer, The Open Mind ; "She makes the black night bright by smiling into it."
See Also: Oxymoron

Greek: " disregard, omission"
Paralipsis is an emphasis by obvious omission.
Example: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." -- Wizard of Oz

(pa ro no MA si a)

Greek: "play upon words which sound alike"
Paronomasia is a play on words like a pun. The words are similar in sound but not necessarily identical.
Example: Having cooked to long, it wa a fowl tasting turkey.
See Also: Pun

Personification is the act of giving human qualities to inanimate objects or animals. These objects or animals can usually act and speak like humans.
Examples: My car whines in pain as it climbs up steep hills. ; Earth felt the salt in her wound....

(pro so po po EI a)

See Personification

A pun is a play on words. There are many different forms of puns, such as rhetorical and poetic. They sometimes connect two unlike objects in a humorous way.
Example: "Let's make like a bakery truck and move our buns out of here!"

To ask a question to differ or to assert something, but not expect am answer. They are usually stated to make a point.
Example: How can we understand our racial problems when we can't even understand each other?

Latin: "like"
A simile is a comparison between two dissimilar things by using the words "like" or "as." In contrast to a Metaphor, a simile is more explicit in the comparison.
Example: The small brook is like a grand river during a heavy storm.

(syl LEP sis)

Greek: "taking together"
Syllepsis is a word that is understood differently in the relationship to other words that it is modifying. Sometimes the verb used does not have any congruence with at least one of the subjects it governs.
Examples: The ink, like our pig keeps running out of the pen. ; "The Nobles and the King was taken."

(syn EC do che)

Greek: "understanding one thing with another"
A synecdoche is where a part stands for a whole such as a genus for a species.
Examples: "All hands were summoned to the quarter-deck," where "hands" is used to describe sailors .
See Also: Antonomasia, and Metonymy

Works Cited