A Lexicon of Terms

Subject: Something being

considered
A cause
A branch of knowledge
The main area of interest in a
work
Person/ animal chosen for an
experiment
Angle:
A way of looking at a subject or writing about it.
(Try seeing things from my angle for a change; it may
make
you think again)
Aspect: A part of a difficulty, question, subject that is,
may be of
should be particularly discussed.
(There is another interesting aspect of this
matter that
needs thinking about)
Issue:
An urgent matter for discussion
(The issue is whether we give them money or not;
nothing
else matters)
Matter: A subject to which one gives attention
(It is a matter of great concern
to me)
Question: A matter for discussion
(It is a question of findinq more time to talk.)
Slant:
A way of presenting, talking or writing about a
subject
(She did not know whether to give her article a
political
slant or not)
Theme: The subject of a talk, book, passage
Topic:
Subject for conversation, talk, writing
(politics/religion)
Common Figures of Speech
Alliteration: is the repetition of the same letter or
sound, usually
at the beginning of a series of words, as in Aeneid
1.124 Interea
maqno misceri murmure pontum. . Alliteration is often
used in
conjunction with onomatopioea as above.
Allusion: Speaking of something indirectly. A literary,
historical or
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mythological reference His allusions to our failure were

unnecessary.

Anaphora: The repetition of words or phrases at the

beginning of
successive clauses or phrases, the use of a word
referring to or
replacing a work used earlier in the sentence to avoid
repetition.
e.g 1. lam cinis incidebat, lam pumices niqrique lapides..
lam ruina
montis litora obstantia ... , 2. rectumque cursum recta
gubernacula in
periculum tenet. Anaphora is often used with
Asyndeton, see below.

'J

Anastrophe: is a figure of speech involving an inversion

of the natural
order of words; for example, saying "echoed the hills" to
mean "the
hills echoed." In English, with its settled word order,
departure from
the expected word order emphasizes the displaced word
or phrase:
"beautiful" is emphasized in the City Beautiful urbanist
movement;

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"primeval" comes to the fore in Longfellows line "This is

the forest
primeval." Where the emphasis that comes from
anastrophe is not an
Anastrophe
is common
in Greek
and synonym.
Latin poetry. For
issue, "inversion"
is a perfectly
suitable
example, in the
first line of the Aeneid:
Arma uirumque cano, Troiae qui
primus ab
("I sing of arms and the man,
onis
who first
from the shores of Troy")
the genitive case noun Troiae (" of Troy") has been
separated from the
noun it governs (oris, "shores") in a way that would be
rather unusual
in Latin prose. In fact, given the liberty of Latin word order
Apostrophe:
The use of direct address to involve the
"of
Troy"
reader
directly
might be
taken in
to modify "arms" or "the man", but it is not
the action.
A
sudden
break from the previous narrative for
custom
an
address, the word that way. (Wikipedia)
to interpret
in the second person, of some object or person. Perhaps
you may ask
what was the fate of Priam?
Antithesis: 1. The direct opposite, usually followed by
of, to. 2~ The
arrangement The
of contrasting
words
or ideas.
3. A contrast
Assonance:
repetition of
a vowel,
or vowels,
to
of ideas
create
a particular
expressed
parallellism
of strongly
contrasting
words.
effect
or toby
draw
the reader's
attention
to the words
or
e.g properat
ideas
involved
illuc
unde
alii at
fuqiunt.
It
may
occur
the beginning of words or within words
also.
si fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit
Asyndeton:
The
omission
of atotiens
conjunction
or VI
itque
reditque
viam
(Aeneid
conjunctions
in
a
121-122)
sentence
for a reason,
perhaps
to give
an idea
of
This
emphasises
Pollux's
repeated
journeys
to the
confusion
or
of
things
underworld
happening
a Condensed
hurry.
e.g complectitur
trepidantem,
Brachyology:
expression,
overconciseness
Chiasmus:inThe
arrangement
of corresponding
words inof
consolatur,
hortatur,
expression.
opposite order
or inversion in the second of two parallel phrases of the
order followed
by the first. In rhetoric
chiasmus
(from the Greek
chiazo, "to
shape like the letter X") is the figure of speech
in
which two or more clauses are related to each other
through a reversal of structures in
order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display
inverted
parallelism . Chiasmus was particularly popular both in Greek
and in
Latin literature, where it was used to articulate balance or
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order
within a text." (Wikipedia) e.g to stop too fearful and too
faint to go. ille
fuqiunt, veniunt illi. 1.357 celerare(a) fugam(b) patriaeque(b)
excedere(a)

Enjambment or enjambement is the breaking of a

synctactic unit (a
Phrase, clause or sentence) by the end of a line or between
two verses.
Enjambment may also be used to delay the intention of
the
line until the following line and thus play on the
expectation of the
reader and surprise them.
quas ego te terras et quanta per
aequora vectum
accipio!
A strong pause follows immediately after.
Epanalepsis: is the repetition of a word ( often a
proper name) in
successive clauses or lines of verse for dramatic and/
or emotional
effect (It can often occur in combination with
Anaphora and
Asyndeton.
e.g. ad caelum undabat vertex turrimque
tenebat,
turrim compactis trabibus quam eduxerat
ipse
(Aeneid 12 673-4)
Euphemism: the substitution of a milder expression
for a harsher
one. e.g. to pass over for die. decedere for mono
Hendiadys: The expression of an idea by the connection
of two nouns
connected by a conjunction instead of by a noun and
modifying
adjective, or by one noun modified by another e.g
fortunam atque
viam ::::: fortunam viae
Hyperbole: (Exaggeration) The use of exaggerated terms
not meant to
be taken literally. To give an impression that something is
greater or
larger than it is. In epic poetry exaggeration is often used
to
emphasise the strength or beauty or a character e.g Aen
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12 899-900.

Imagery: The use of words that involves the senses,

word-painting,
mental images collectively, metaphors, similes, figures of
speech. e.g
singing for joy and happiness, darkness for despair,
home for family.
In the Aeneid, darkness, light and fire are important
symbols.
Irony:
A way of speaking which expresses by its
manner the
opposite of what the words say/the sort of event or
result which is
just the opposite of what one would hope for or meant to
happen. It

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says something, but means something else. e.g The

irony lay in the
fact that he was there all the time, although I did not see
him.

Juxtaposition: 1. Placing things side by side for effect. 2.

(followed by
to, with) place (a thing) beside another.
illum absens absentem audit
Litotes: The way of expressing a thought by its opposite
especially
with 'not', An understatement, often enhanced by the
use of the
negative. e.g "It is not all that bad" = it is good. He was
no small help
to ue."= he was a great help.
The overall impression is understatement.
Metaphor: (the use of) a phrase which describes one
thing by stating
another thing with which it can be compared (as in the
roses in her
cheeks) without using the words Wee or as. A comparison
that is
implied or suggested but not stated directly.
She said he was a fox, planning everything so
carefully.
The Carthaginians are ardentes. They are not literally on
fire, but are
feeling emotions that are as intense or powerful as
fire.
Metonymy: The substitution of the name of an attribute
to or adjunct
for that of the thing meant. The substitution of one word
for another
which it suggests.
Writing is often called "the pen"; that is metonymy. 'Crown
for king', 'Turf for horse racing', 'Mars' Jar 'proelium',
'Volcanus' for
'fire'. See further explanations below.
Onomatopoeia: The formation or use of words that are
like natural
sounds, as when the word 'cuckoo' is used to name the
bird that
makes that sound. The use of a word whose sound that
suggests its
meaning.
Oxymoron: A paradoxical contradiction. Use of words
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that appear to
contradict one another. The illness was made worse by
the healing.

Paradox: A statement that seems foolish or impossible

but that has
some truth in it. More haste, less speed.
An improbable combination of opposing
qualities etc. It is
a paradox that in such a wealthy country there is so much
poverty.

Pathos: Quality in speech, writing or events that

excites pity or
sadness. Use of language in order to make a reader feel
emotionally
involved with the events or characters being described.

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Personification: Representing an inanimate object or

an idea as a
living creature. The sky smiled.
Pleonasm: Expression of cluttering, fullness to illustrate
a stifling
effect, overwhelming of the senses, whether through
sight, sound or
for emotional reasons. Exceptional fullness of language.
With a huge
crowd all around him ... Some unfriendly power bereft me
of my
distracted wits" (total mental overload)
Prolepsis: Inclusion into the main story of references to
events that in
fact will occur after the dramatic time of the poem and to
people and
circumstances involved later. This anticipates an
outcome. Some are
amazed at the deadly gift. (That will bring death in the
future). He
straps on the useless sword. (That will be useless in the
coming
situation)
Simile: An expression making a comparison in the
imagination
between two things or scenarios, using the words like or
as.
(As white as snow)
Sound Effects: Words can be used to create
sounds.
Synchisis: Interlocked word order, typically of nouns
with adjectives Book 1 259 ignotum argenti pondus
et auri
Synecdoche: The use of a phrase which describes
one thing by
referring to only a part of it, which suggests the
whole of it..
Synecdoche is often called (the part for the
whole', as in a
worker being called a 'hand', new faces at the meeting.
England lost by
6 wickets .. See further explanations below.
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Tmesis: Separation/ splitting of parts of a compound

word by an
intervening word or words. qui te cumque.
Transferred Epithet: Use of a descriptive phrase or
expression which
has been transferred from a word it describes to another
word
connected with it in thought. The tacitum pectus
Latonae in which
the heart cannot speak, of course, and the tacitum really
refers to
Latona. (1.75)

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Tricolon: Use of three parallel words or phrases building

to a climax,
each of which is at least one syllable longer that that
preceding it. It is
often found
in combination
with Asyndeton
and
Heroic
Couplet:
A pair of rhyming
iambic pentameters
Anaphora.
Rhythm:
The flow of sound resulting from various
arrangements of
accented and unaccented syllables
Scansion: The analysis of the form of verse in which the
line of verse is
marked into feet

What is Metonymy?
Metonymy definition entails using the name of one particular thing
being replaced by
the name of something that is closely associated with it. Metonymy in
Greek literally
means 'a change of name'. Thus, it actually stands for a transmutation
or a misnomer.
This figure of speech helps to indirectly refer to something. Like, in
Julius Caesar,
when Mark Antony, after the death of Caesar addresses the people of
Rome
as
Wor
Actual Meaning
Metonymic
"Friends,
Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears",
he means he
d
wants people to
Usage
listen to what he has to say. Given below are a few more
To work hard towards

which
will help clear your doubts regarding metonymy vs synecdoche.
An avenue running the
The American
length of
advertising
Manhattan Island in New
industry
An avenue running the length of
The live theater
York
in New York
Manhattan Island in New York city

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Building in London which is

the headquarters of the
Metropolitan Police

What is Synecdoche?
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a word or term is used to
refer to a whole
thing or effect, a part of it, or a specific class of things related to that
word.
Synecdoche in Greek originally means accepting a part as responsible
for whole or
vice versa. This figure of speech is closely related to synecdoche, in
fact, synecdoche
is sometimes considered to be a subclass of metonymy. Given below
are a few
examples of synecdoche that will help you understand how to
compare metonymy vs
synecdoche better:

Referring to a characteristic of a person for the person itself,

like 'the gray
beard' for an old person.
Describing a vehicle as 'wheels'.

He has many mouths to feed.

There are so many pairs of hands working there.

All eyes were on him.

Using the term 'bug' for any kind of insect or small creature.

Using 'John Hancock' for the signature of any person.

Using a well known generic term for a certain related thing,

like calling any
kind of cola 'Coke'.

Saying 'lead' for bullets, 'rubber' for condoms, 'plastic' for credit
cards, 'willow'
for cricket bat, etc.

What's the Difference Between Metonymy and Synecdoche?

Now we come to the pressing question of metonymy vs synecdoche.
As has been
stated above, synecdoche can be said to be a sub-class or a special
case of metonymy.
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They both are similar to each other but metonymy is generally used to
refer to a
concept that is loosely associated with the main word. Any linked term
that has a
wider reference than usual can be said to be a metonymy. However,
this is not that
case with synecdoche. In synecdoche you speak
a part of a thing
or subject,
indirectly implying the entire thing itself. You do not use it to refer to
related subjects
or objects. Thus, metonymy is actually a special case of synecdoche
and not the other
way round.

Choice of words
Words are used to create the atmosphere of a place, the mood of a
person or the tone of voice, such as anger, despair, humour,
indignation,pathos, serenity.
Word Order: The position of words used to create an effect.
Narrative techniques
speeches
councils
debates/arguments
journeys
storms
battles/duels
gods
ghosts/dreams
prophecies
ecphrasis (a descriptive passage, setting a scene or describing an
item, which breaks the narrative)

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