8.2

A figure of speech is a rhetorical device used to achieve a particular effect. An author will often use a word or phrase that diverges from its normal meaning. Such words and phrases are charged with a specialized meaning separate from the literal meaning. An author will use a figure of speech for emphasis, freshness, or clarity. However, sometimes the desired effect is ambiguity between a literal and figurative interpretation. Study the following examples and then post 3 examples of your own using 3 different rhetorical devices from the list.


Idiom –
An idiom is a word or phrase used figuratively to express a particular meaning understood by a common group of people. The meanings of idioms come from their usage among speakers of a particular language or dialect within a particular region or community.

Example: "A blessing in disguise" is something good that is not recognized initially. "Actions speak louder than words" is to say that what one does is more important than what one says.



Euphemism –
A euphemism is a substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensive. When a speaker uses one of these expressions, the intention is to have a less offensive or disturbing effect on the listener than what the word or phrase it replaces.

Example: "pre-owned vehicles" for "used cars"—"the big C" for "cancer"—"lost their lives" for "were killed"—"ill-advised" for "very poor or bad"



Hyperbole –
Hyperbole is an exaggeration or intentional overstatement that is most often used for emphasis or rhetorical effect.

Example: The path seemed to stretch on forever.
Example: There must be a million ways to explain the outcome.



Understatement –
Understatement is a figure of speech in which an author deliberately makes something seem less important or serious than it truly is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. Whereas hyperbole exaggerates, understatement minimizes, saying less than what is really meant.

Example: "A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty."—Mark Twain
Example: "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."—Mark Twain



Litotes –
Litotes is a particular form of understatement used by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which would otherwise be used. Litotes expresses an affirmative by negating its opposite.

Example: Heat waves are not rare in summer. (as opposed to "Heat waves are common in summer.")
Example: Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good.


Oxymoron – An oxymoron is an expression that uses contrasting images.

Example: The silence was deafening.
Example: "This fellow is wise enough to play the fool."—Shakespeare



Metonymy –
Metonymy is the substitution of an abstract or suggestive word for another, usually concrete, term. Metonymy is a figure of speech where the name of a thing is substituted for another word or term closely associated with it.

Example: "The White House" for the President and "creature" for person
Example: Idua liked to speak Kiowa because he could express himself better in his native tongue. (The term "tongue" is used to represent language)



Synecdoche –
Synecdoche is a kind of metonymy in which something is used for the whole. In synecdoche, a part is used to represent the whole or the whole is used to represent a part.

Example: "hands" to refer to workers, "wheels" to refer to cars, "head" for cattle, and "bread" for food
Example: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."—Winston Churchill, 1940



Antithesis –
Antithesis is a rhetorical technique in which words, phrases, or ideas are intentionally contrasted, usually through the use of parallel structure. Antithesis is the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas. The contrast may be in words or in ideas or both.

Example: "What if I am rich, and another is poor—strong, and he is weak—intelligent, and he is benighted—elevated, and he is depraved? Have we not one Father? Hath not one God created us?"—William Lloyd Garrison, "No Compromise with Slavery"
Example: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice . . . moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."—Barry Goldwater



Rhetorical Question –
Asking a question not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but for the purpose of asserting or denying something. It is used for effect, emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusion from the facts at hand.

Example: "For if we lose the ability to perceive our faults, what is the good of living on?"—Marcus Aurelius
Example: "You say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it?"—Red Jacket, 1805