Figures also elevate and give dignity to style, and at the same time afford the pleasure of enjoying two objects at one view, without confusion; the principal idea, which is the subject of the discourse, and its accessory, which is the figurative dress. In addition to this, figures oftentimes give a clearer and more striking view of the principal object, than could be gained merely by the use of simple terms, unaccompanied by the accessory idea. Their beauty and effect are exemplified by the following sentences. The first, conveys an idea of what was intended should be understood, in the simplest form of expression; and the second, conveys the same idea, by a figurative use of words: 1. A good man enjoys comfort in the midst of adversity. 2. To the upright, there arises light in darkness. In the second sentence, light suggests the idea of comfort, and darkness the idea of adversity. Hence, it is a figurative mode of expressing what is affirmed by the simple language of the first sentence. The following are the most important of the figures of speech which demand our attention, in addition to the Exclamation, Interrogation, Antithesis, and Irony, already illustrated on preceding pages: 1. Metonymy. 2. Synecdoche. 3. Simile. 4. Metaphor. 5. Allegory. 6. Hyperbole. 7. Vision. 8. Personification. 9. Apostrophe. 10. Climax. 1. Metonymy. A Metonymy is a figure in which one word is put for another, or a change of names which have some relation to each other. QUESTIONS. How are its beauty and effect exemplified? What are the most important figures of speech in addition to those already illustrated? What is a me tonymy? Give an illustration? EXAMPLES. That man keeps a good table. The boys have read Virgil. They have Moses and the Prophets. They smote the city. Table is used here to denote provisions; Virgil, for his poems; Moses and the Prophets, for their writings; and city, for citizens. 2. Synecdoche. A Synecdoche consists in putting the whole of a thing for a part, or a part for the whole; the genus for the species, or the species for the genus. EXAMPLES. Man is mortal. The horse is a noble animal. I bought twenty head of cattle. The year is now beautiful. The synecdoche is very nearly allied to metonymy. In the preceding examples, man is used to represent the race, or all mankind; horse, the whole of that species or genus; head, the whole of each animal; and year, the season of summer. 3. Simile or Comparison. A Simile, or Comparison, points out or expresses the resemblance between two or more objects. EXAMPLES. 1. Our troops rushed on like a torrent, and overwhelmed the foe like a flood. 2. The actions of princes are like those great rivers, the course of which every one beholds, but their springs have been seen by few. 3. Our Indians are like those wild plants which thrive best in the shade, but which wither, when exposed to the influence of the sun. 4. She came in all her beauty, like the moon from the cloud QUESTIONS. What is a synecdoche? Give an illustration. To what is the synecdoche nearly allied? What is a simile or comparison? Give an illustration. in the east. Loveliness was around her, as light. Her steps were like the music of songs. 5. Pleasant are the words of the song, and lovely are the tales of other times. They are like the dew of the morning ca the hill of roses, when the sun is faint on its side, and the lake is settled and blue in the vale. NOTE. Comparisons are sometimes happily made between objects where no resemblance exists, in consequence of the similarity of the effects produced on the mind. EXAMPLE. The music of Carryl, was like the memory of joys that are past, pleasant and mournful to the soul. All comparisons are reducible to two characters : — explaining and embellishing. The former is mainly used for elucidation; the latter, for ornament. Comparison is a figure in common, daily use, among all classes of men. 4. Metaphor. A Metaphor is an abridged form of simile or comparison, and is founded on the resemblance which one object bears to another. EXAMPLES. 1. His eye was morning's brightest ray. 2. I will be unto her a wall of fire round about. 3. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. There is a close connection between a simile and a metaphor. The latter is a comparison implied; the former is one expressed. If we say, "Achilles a is a lion," we mean that he resembles a lion in courage or strength. If we say, "That man is a pillar of * Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a distinguished Grecian warrior, at the siege of ancient Troy. QUESTIONS. What is the note ? Give an illustration. What is a metaphor? Give an illustration. What is the difference between a simile and metaphor ? Give an illustration of their difference. state," we mean, he supports the state, as a pillar does a building. The above are metaphors. But if we say, "Our troops rushed on like a torrent, and overwhelmed the foe like a flood," we call it a simile or comparison. The similitude is sometimes reduced to a single word, or a word expressing the similitude without the signs of comparison; thus, to say, "That man is a fox," is a metaphor; but to say, "That man is like a fox," is a comparison. To say, "The soldiers were lions in combat," is a metaphor; but if we say, "The soldiers fought like lions," it becomes a comparison. The resemblance and the difference between a metaphor and a simile, must, from the above examples, be obvious to every reader. Metaphors abound in all languages; and no figure approaches so near painting as this. Its peculiar effect is to give light and strength to description, and, as it were, to make intellectual ideas visible to the eye, by giving them color, and substance, and sensible qualities. 5. Allegory. An Allegory is a continued metaphor, or a connected narration of fictitious events, designed to illustrate important realities. Allegories were formerly a favorite method of delivering instruction. All those writings usually called fables or parables. are a species of allegory, where the dispositions of men are figured by words and actions attributed to beasts, or inanimate objects; while the moral is the unfigured sense or meaning of the allegory. EXAMPLE. 1. Night kissed the young rose, and it bent softly to sleep. The stars, shrined in pure dew-drops which hung upon its QUESTIONS. What is the peculiar effect of a metaphor? What is an allegory? What are fables and parables ? blushing bosom, watched its sweet slumbers. Morning came with her dancing breezes, and they whispered to the young rose, and it awoke, joyous and smiling. Lightly it danced to and fro in all the loveliness of health and youthful innocence. 2. Then came the ardent sun-god a sweeping from the east, and he smote the young rose with his golden shaft, and it fainted. Deserted, and almost heart-broken, it dropped to the dust in its loneliness. 3. Now, the gentle breeze, who had been gamboling over the sea, pushing on the light bark, sweeping over hill and dale, by the neat cottage and the still brook, turning the old mill, fanning the fevered brow of disease, and tossing the curl of innocent childhood, came tripping along on her errands of mercy and love; and, when she saw the young rose, she hastened to kiss it, and fondly bathed its forehead in cool, refreshing showers, and the young rose revived, looked up and smiled, and flung out its ruddy arms as if in gratitude to embrace the kind breeze; but she hurried quickly away; her generous task was performed; yet not without reward, for she soon perceived that a delicious fragrance had been poured on her wings by the grateful rose; and the kind breeze was glad in her heart, and went away singing through the trees. 4. Thus, true charity, like the breeze which gathers a fragrance from the humble flower it refreshes, unconsciously reaps a reward in the performance of its offices of kindness and love, which steals through the heart like a rich perfume, to bless and to cheer. 6. Hyperbole. A Hyperbole consists in magnifying or diminishing an object beyond its natural bounds, or the limits of truth. a Sun-god, the rays of the sun, or the sun itself. QUESTION. What is a hyperbole ? |