figure of speech based on antithesis

Definition of Antithesis

Antithesis is a literary device that refers to the juxtaposition of two opposing elements through the parallel grammatical structure. The word antithesis, meaning absolute opposite, is derived from Greek for “ setting opposite,” indicating when something or someone is in direct contrast or the obverse of another thing or person.

Antithesis is an effective literary and rhetorical device , as it pairs exact opposite or contrasting ideas by utilizing the parallel grammatical structure. This helps readers and audience members define concepts through contrast and develop an understanding of something through defining its opposite. In addition, through the use of parallelism , antithesis establishes a repetitive structure that makes for rhythmic writing and lyrical speech.

For example, Alexander Pope states in  An Essay on Criticism , “ To err is human ; to forgive divine.” Pope’s use of antithesis reflects the impact of this figure of speech in writing, as it creates a clear, memorable, and lyrical effect for the reader. In addition, Pope sets human error in contrast to divine forgiveness, allowing readers to understand that it is natural for people to make mistakes, and therefore worthy for others to absolve them when they do.

Examples of Antithesis in Everyday Speech

Antithesis is often used in everyday speech as a means of conveying opposing ideas in a concise and expressive way. Since antithesis is intended to be a figure of speech, such statements are not meant to be understood in a literal manner. Here are some examples of antithesis used in everyday speech:

• Go big or go home.
• Spicy food is heaven on the tongue but hell in the tummy.
• Those who can, do; those who can’t do, teach.
• Get busy living or get busy dying.
• Speech is silver but silence is gold.
• No pain, no gain.
• It’s not a show, friends; it’s show business.
• No guts, no glory.
• A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips.
• If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

Common Examples of Antithesis from Famous Speeches

Antithesis can be an effective rhetorical device in terms of calling attention to drastic differences between opposing ideas and concepts. By highlighting the contrast side-by-side with the exact same structure, the speaker is able to impact an audience in a memorable and significant way. Here are some common examples of antithesis from famous speeches:

• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character .” (Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”)
• “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” (Abraham Lincoln “The Gettysburg Address”)
• “‘Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'” (Edward Kennedy quoting Robert F. Kennedy during eulogy )
• “We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change.” (John F. Kennedy “Presidential Inaugural Speech”)
• “You see, for any champion to succeed, he must have a team — a very incredible, special team; people that he can depend on, count on, and rely upon through everything — the highs and lows, the wins and losses, the victories and failures, and even the joys and heartaches that happen both on and off the court.” (Michael Chang “ Induction Speech for Tennis Hall of Fame”)

Examples of Proverbs Featuring Antithesis

Proverbs are simple and often traditional sayings that express insight into truths that are perceived, based on common sense or experience. These sayings are typically intended to be metaphorical and therefore rely on figures of speech such as antithesis. Proverbs that utilize antithetical parallelism feature an antithesis to bring together opposing ideas in defined contrast. Therefore, antithesis is effective as a literary device in proverbs by allowing the reader to consider one idea and then it’s opposite. It also makes for lyrical and easily remembered sayings.

Here are some examples of proverbs featuring antithesis:

• Cleanliness is next to godliness.
• Beggars can’t be choosers.
• Easy come, easy go.
• Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
• Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer.
• Like father, like son.
• Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
• An ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure.
• Be slow in choosing, but slower in changing.
• Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.
• If you can’t beat them, join them.
• Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open.
• One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
• Out of sight, out of mind.
• Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Utilizing Antithesis in Writing

As a literary device, antithesis allows authors to add contrast to their writing. This is effective in terms of comparing two contrasting ideas, such as a character’s conflicting emotions or a setting’s opposing elements. In literature, antithesis doesn’t require a pairing of exact opposites, but rather concepts that are different and distinct. In addition, since antithesis creates a lyrical quality to writing through parallel structure , the rhythm of phrasing and wording should be as similar as possible. Like most literary and rhetorical devices, overuse of antithesis will create confusion or invoke boredom in a reader as well as make the writing seem forced.

Antithesis and Parallelism

Both terms demonstrate a fundamental difference. An antithesis comprises two contradictory ideas and parallelism does not necessarily comprise opposite ideas or persons. It could have more than two ideas or persons. As the name suggests that parallelism is a condition where is an antithesis is an opposition. For example, man proposes, God disposes, has two contradictory ideas. However, it is also a parallel sentence . Furthermore, parallelism occurs mostly in structure and less in ideas. Even similar ideas could occur in parallelism, while an antithesis has only dissimilar ideas.

Antithesis and Juxtaposition

As far as juxtaposition is concerned, it means placing two ideas together that are dissimilar. They need not be opposite to each other. In the case of antithesis, they must be opposite to each other as in the case of man proposes, God disposes. Not only these two ideas are dissimilar, but also they are opposite. In the case of juxtaposition, a poet only puts two ideas together and they are not opposed to each other.

Use of Antithesis in Sentences  

• As soon he dies, he becomes a dead living.
• Most people do not understand the value of money when the poor put money ahead of them.
• Some people make money, while some waste it.
• Although they have gone leaps ahead, they have also stepped back just in the nick of time.
• The public comes forward when there is prosperity and moves back when there is adversity.

Examples of Antithesis in Literature

Antithesis is an effective literary device and figure of speech in which a writer intentionally juxtaposes two contrasting ideas or entities. Antithesis is typically achieved through parallel structure, in which opposing concepts or elements are paired in adjacent phrases , clauses , or sentences. This draws the reader’s attention to the significance or importance of the agents being contrasted, thereby adding a memorable and meaningful quality to the literary work.

Here are some examples of antithesis in well-known works of literature:

Example 1:  Hamlet (William Shakespeare)

Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice ; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.

In Shakespeare’s well-known play , he utilizes antithesis as a literary device for Polonius to deliver fatherly advice to his son before Laertes leaves for France. In these lines, Polonius pairs contrasting ideas such as listening and speaking using parallel structure. This adds a lyrical element to the wording, in addition to having a memorable and foreboding impact on the characters and audience members with the meaning of each line.

Despite the attempt by Polonius to impart logical thinking, measured response, and wise counsel to his son through antithesis, Laertes becomes so fixated on avenging his father’s death that his actions are impulsive and imprudent. Polonius’s antithetical words are not heeded by his son, resulting in the death of several characters including Hamlet and Laertes himself.

Example 2:  Paradise Lost  (John Milton)

Here at least We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.

In Milton’s epic poem , he explores the Fall of Satan as well as the temptation and subsequent Fall of Man. This passage is spoken by Satan after he has been condemned to Hell by God for attempting to assume power and authority in Heaven. Satan is unrepentant of his actions, and wants to persuade his followers that Hell is preferable to Heaven.

Satan utilizes antithesis in the last line of this passage to encourage his rebellious followers to understand that, in Hell, they are free and rule their own destiny. In this line, Milton contrasts not just the ideas of Hell and Heaven, but also of reign and servitude as concepts applied to the angels , respectively. Pairing these opposites by using this literary device has two effects for the reader. First, Satan’s claim foreshadows his ability to use his words describing independence to tempt Eve, resulting in her and Adam’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Second, this antithesis invites the reader to consider Satan’s thought-process and experience to gain a deeper understanding of his motives in the poem.

Example 3:  Fire and Ice  (Robert Frost)

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

In his poem, Frost utilizes antithesis to contrast fire and ice as elements with devastating and catastrophic potential to end the world. Frost effectively demonstrates the equal powers for the destruction of these elements, despite showcasing them as opposing forces. In this case, the poet’s antithesis has a literal as well as figurative interpretation. As the poem indicates, the world could literally end in the fire as well as ice. However, fire and ice are contrasting symbols in the poem as well. Fire represents “desire,” most likely in the form of greed, the corruption of power, domination, and control. Conversely, ice represents “hate” in the form of prejudice, oppression, neglect, and isolation.

The presence of antithesis in the poem is effective for readers in that it evokes contrasting and powerful imagery of fire and ice as opposing yet physically destructive forces. In addition, the human characteristics associated with fire and ice, and what they represent as psychologically and socially destructive symbols, impact the reader in a powerful and memorable way as well. Antithesis elevates for the reader the understanding that the source of the end of the world may not be natural causes but rather human action or behavior; and that the end of the world may not be simply the destruction of the earth, but rather the destruction of humankind.

Example 4: The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that nation might live.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

These three examples from the address of Abraham Lincoln show the use of contradictory ideas put together in one sentence. They show how he mentions living and dead putting them side by side. This antithesis has helped Lincoln as well as America to come out of the ravages of the Civil War.

Function of Antithesis

An antithesis helps make an idea distinct and prominent when it contradicts another idea in the first part of the argument . This contrastive feature helps make readers make their argument solid, cogent, and eloquent. Sentences comprising anthesis also become easy to remember, quote, and recall when required. When an antithesis occurs in a text, it creates an argumentative atmosphere where a dialectic could take place and helps writers and speakers hook their audience easily with antithetical statements.

Synonyms of Antithesis

Antithesis has no exact synonyms but several words come closer in meanings such as opposite, reverse, converse, reversal, inverse, extreme, another side of the coin, or flip side or contrast.

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Antithesis (Grammar and Rhetoric)

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

 Richard Nordquist

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Antithesis is a  rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses . Plural: antitheses . Adjective: antithetical .

In grammatical terms, antithetical statements are parallel structures . 

"A perfectly formed antithesis," says Jeanne Fahnestock, combines " isocolon , parison , and perhaps, in an inflected language, even homoeoteleuton ; it is an overdetermined figure . The aural patterning of the antithesis, its tightness and predictability, are critical to appreciating how the syntax of the figure can be used to force semantic opposites" ( Rhetorical Figures in Science , 1999).

From the Greek, "opposition"

Examples and Observations

• "Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." (Goethe)
• "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee." (advertising slogan)
• "There are so many things that we wish we had done yesterday, so few that we feel like doing today." (Mignon McLaughlin, The Complete Neurotic's Notebook . Castle Books, 1981)
• "We notice things that don't work. We don't notice things that do. We notice computers, we don't notice pennies. We notice e-book readers, we don't notice books." (Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time . Macmillan, 2002)
• "Hillary has soldiered on, damned if she does, damned if she doesn't, like most powerful women, expected to be tough as nails and warm as toast at the same time." (Anna Quindlen, "Say Goodbye to the Virago." Newsweek , June 16, 2003)
• "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities , 1859)
• "Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours." (President Barack Obama, election night victory speech, November 7, 2012)
• "You're easy on the eyes Hard on the heart." (Terri Clark)
• "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." (Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964)
• "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address , 1863)
• "All the joy the world contains Has come through wishing happiness for others. All the misery the world contains Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself." (Shantideva)
• "The more acute the experience, the less articulate its expression." (Harold Pinter, "Writing for the Theatre," 1962)
• "And let my liver rather heat with wine Than my heart cool with mortifying groans." (Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare)
• Jack London's Credo "I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." (Jack London, quoted by his literary executor, Irving Shepard, in an introduction to a 1956 collection of London's stories)
• Antithesis and Antitheton " Antithesis is the grammatical form of antitheton . Antitheton deals with contrasting thoughts or proofs in an argument ; Antithesis deals with contrasting words or ideas within a phrase, sentence, or paragraph." (Gregory T. Howard, Dictionary of Rhetorical Terms . Xlibris, 2010)
• Antithesis and Antonyms Antithesis as a figure of speech exploits the existence of many 'natural' opposites in the vocabularies of all languages. Small children filling in workbooks and adolescents studying for the antonyms section of the SAT learn to match words to their opposites and so absorb much vocabulary as pairs of opposed terms, connecting up to down and bitter to sweet, pusillanimous to courageous and ephemeral to everlasting. Calling these antonyms 'natural' simply means that pairs of words can have wide currency as opposites among users of a language outside any particular context of use. Word association tests give ample evidence of the consistent linking of opposites in verbal memory when subjects given one of a pair of antonyms most often respond with the other, 'hot' triggering 'cold' or 'long' retrieving 'short' (Miller 1991, 196). An antithesis as a figure of speech at the sentence level builds on these powerful natural pairs, the use of one in the first half of the figure creating the expectation of its verbal partner in the second half." (Jeanne Fahnestock, Rhetorical Figures in Science . Oxford University Press, 1999)
• Antithesis in Films - "Since . . . the quality of a scene or image is more vividly shown when set beside its opposite, it is not surprising to find antithesis in film . . .. There is a cut in Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick) from the yellow flickers of a flaming house to a still gray courtyard, lined with soldiers, and another from the yellow candles and warm browns of a gambling room to the cool grays of a terrace by moonlight and the Countess of Lyndon in white." (N. Roy Clifton, The Figure in Film . Associated University Presses, 1983) "It is clear that in every simile there is present both differences and likenesses, and both are a part of its effect. By ignoring differences, we find a simile and may perhaps find an antithesis in the same event, by ignoring likeness. . . . - "In The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges), a passenger boards a liner by tender. This was conveyed by the two vessels' whistling. We see a convulsive spurt of water and hear a desperate, soundless puff before the siren of the tender found its voice. There was a stuttering amazement, a drunken incoordination to these elaborate preliminaries, foiled by the liner's lofty unruffled burst of sounding steam. Here things that are like, in place, in sound, and in function, are unexpectedly contrasted. The commentary lies in the differences and gains force from the likeness." (N. Roy Clifton, The Figure in Film . Associated University Presses, 1983)
• Antithetical Observations of Oscar Wilde - “When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.” ( The Picture of Dorian Gray , 1891) - “We teach people how to remember, we never teach them how to grow.” ("The Critic as Artist," 1991) - “Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a man who resists authority.” ( The Soul of Man Under Socialism , 1891) - “Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer.” ("The Critic as Artist," 1991)

Pronunciation: an-TITH-uh-sis

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Table of Contents

Introduction.

Antithesis is a rhetorical device where contrasting words or ideas are juxtaposed to create a balanced and thought-provoking expression, emphasizing the inherent contrast for rhetorical effect.

In this article, we will define this figure of speech and illustrate it with examples from literature.

Let’s get started with understanding what antithesis means!

What is antithesis?

Antithesis is a figure of speech that refers to the juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas. It involves the bringing out of a contrast in the ideas by an obvious contrast in the words, clauses, or sentences, within a parallel grammatical structure.

To illustrate this stylistic device, let’s consider some examples:

• This sentence juxtaposes the contrasting ideas of human intention or plans (man proposes) and divine intervention or control (God disposes). The opposition between the human will and divine authority is highlighted through the parallel structure, creating a thought-provoking and balanced expression.
• The antithesis lies in the contrast between optimism and caution. The first part, “Hope for the best,” expresses an optimistic outlook, encouraging optimism and positive expectations. On the other hand, the second part, “Prepare for the worst,” introduces a contrasting idea by emphasizing the need for preparedness and caution in case things do not go as hoped. The juxtaposition of these opposing concepts within the same sentence creates a balanced and impactful expression, conveying the importance of both optimism and preparedness in facing uncertain situations.

Why Do Writers Use Antithesis?

Writers use antithesis as a rhetorical device to add depth and emphasis to their writing . By juxtaposing contrasting ideas within a parallel structure, antithesis creates a compelling and thought-provoking effect, prompting readers to consider the inherent tension between opposing concepts.

• Emphasis and Highlighting: Antithesis allows writers to emphasize key ideas by placing them in stark contrast. The use of opposing elements draws attention to the intended message, making it more memorable and impactful for the reader.
• Enhanced Clarity and Understanding: Through the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, antithesis can enhance clarity and understanding. By presenting opposing concepts side by side, writers help readers grasp the nuances of a situation or argument, fostering a deeper comprehension of the text.
• Rhetorical Balance and Aesthetic Appeal: Antithesis contributes to the overall balance and aesthetic appeal of writing. The deliberate pairing of opposites creates a harmonious and rhythmic quality, enhancing the literary quality of the text and making it more engaging for the audience.

Common Examples of Antithesis in Everyday Conversations

Antithesis is a figure of speech that frequently appears in everyday conversations. Explore the following examples to witness instances where this rhetorical device seamlessly integrates into common discourse.

• Man proposes; God disposes.
• Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
• Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open.
• Art is long, and time is fleeting.
• Easy come, easy go.
• One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
• Love me or hate me, but don’t ignore me.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• Better late than never.
• The pen is mightier than the sword.
• Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.
• Give me liberty, or give me death.
• She is rich in beauty; poor in wealth.
• Too many cooks spoil the broth.
• You’re either with us or against us.

Examples of Antithesis in Literature

These are examples of antithesis in literature:

“Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.” Johann wolfgang von Goethe

In this antithesis by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the contrast lies between the abstract and ideal concept of love and the practical reality of marriage. The juxtaposition emphasizes the distinction between the romanticized notion of love and the tangible, sometimes challenging aspects of a real-life commitment like marriage.

Alexander Pope uses this figure of speech here:

“To err is human; to forgive divine.” Alexander Pope.

This statement exemplifies the presence of antithesis. Here, the contrasting ideas of human fallibility and the divine quality of forgiveness are succinctly juxtaposed within a parallel structure, highlighting the inherent tension and wisdom captured in this thought-provoking aphorism.

… Beware  Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,  Bear’t that the opposèd may beware of thee.  Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice. Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.  From “ Hamlet ” by William Shakespeare

In this example by William Shakespeare, the contrast is between listening and speaking. The advice is to be attentive and listen to everyone (“Give every man thy ear”) but to be selective and cautious in expressing one’s own thoughts or opinions (“but few thy voice”). This antithesis underscores the importance of thoughtful communication and the judicious use of words.

To be, or not to be, that is the question. From “Hamlet” by Shakespeare

The contrasting elements “to be” and “not to be” are juxtaposed within a parallel structure, creating a profound and thought-provoking expression. This use of antithesis highlights the existential dilemma and inner conflict faced by the character Hamlet as he contemplates the meaning and consequences of life and death.

“Many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14

In this statement from the Bible (Matthew 22:14), the antithesis lies in the contrast between the large number of individuals who are called and the significantly smaller number who are chosen. The juxtaposition emphasizes the idea that while many may have the opportunity or invitation (are called), only a select few meet certain criteria or fulfill specific conditions to be chosen.

This antithesis conveys a sense of exclusivity and highlights the distinction between a general invitation and a more selective designation.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness… From “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

This excerpt is the opening lines of Charles Dickens’s “A Tale of Two Cities.” In this passage, Dickens masterfully employs antithesis by juxtaposing contrasting elements such as “the best of times” with “the worst of times,” “the age of wisdom” with “the age of foolishness,” and so on.

The use of this figure of speech sets the stage for the novel’s exploration of dichotomies and contrasts, creating a vivid and thought-provoking introduction to the story.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong’s statement is an example of antithesis. The contrast is between the seemingly insignificant action of an individual (“one small step for man”) and the immensely significant impact on all of humanity (“one giant leap for mankind”).

This antithesis effectively captures the historic moment of Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, highlighting both the personal and the collective significance of the event.

In summary, antithesis is a powerful rhetorical device that involves juxtaposing contrasting ideas to create a vivid and impactful expression. It is used to emphasize, highlight, and draw attention to key concepts, fostering depth and resonance in written or spoken communication. If you incorporate this figure of speech into your writing, you can enhance clarity, evoke emotion, and captivate your audience by skillfully playing with the juxtaposition of opposing elements.

Related Pages:

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Antithesis: Definition, Grammartical Structure and Examples

Antithesis is a rhetorical device that involves contrasting two opposing ideas in a sentence or a paragraph. It is a powerful tool used in literature, speeches, and debates to emphasize the difference between two ideas. The word antithesis is derived from the Greek word “antitithenai,” which means “to oppose” or “to set against.”

Antithesis can be used to create a memorable impact on the audience. It draws attention to the stark contrast between two opposing ideas, making it easier for the audience to understand the message being conveyed. Antithesis can be used in various forms, such as contrasting words, phrases, or entire sentences. It is often used in famous speeches, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, where he used antithesis to emphasize the difference between segregation and equality.

Antithesis Definitions

Greek Origins

The word “antithesis” has its roots in the Greek word “antithenai,” which means “to oppose.” The Greek word “tithenai” also contributed to the development of “antithesis,” as it means “to put, set, or place.” These Greek words were used to describe the concept of setting something in opposition to another thing, or placing two contrasting ideas side by side for comparison.

Modern Definitions

According to Merriam-Webster, “antithesis” has two primary definitions. The first definition is “the direct opposite,” while the second definition is “the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences.” This second definition refers to the use of antithesis as a literary device, where contrasting ideas are presented in a parallel structure for emphasis or effect.

Other definitions of “antithesis” include “opposition” and “contrast.” Synonyms for “antithesis” include “contradiction,” “counterpart,” and “inverse.”

Overall, the concept of antithesis has evolved from its Greek origins to become a widely recognized literary device used in various forms of writing and speech. By presenting contrasting ideas in a parallel structure, writers and speakers can create a powerful sense of contrast and emphasis that can capture the attention of their audience.

Understanding Antithesis

In Rhetoric

Antithesis is a rhetorical device that involves the use of contrasting concepts, words, or sentences within parallel grammatical structures to create a balanced and contrasting effect. This literary device is often used to emphasize the differences between two ideas or concepts, thereby creating a more powerful and memorable message.

Antithesis is commonly used in persuasive writing and speeches, as it allows the speaker or writer to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of opposing viewpoints. By presenting two contrasting ideas side by side, the audience is able to see the differences more clearly and make a more informed decision.

In Literature

In literature, antithesis is used to create a sense of tension and drama by contrasting two opposing ideas or concepts. This technique is often used in poetry, where contrasting concepts are used to create a more powerful and memorable image or message.

In literature, antithesis is often used to create a sense of irony or contradiction, as the author juxtaposes two opposing ideas to create a more complex and nuanced message. For example, in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, the opening lines “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” use antithesis to highlight the stark contrasts between the two cities.

In Speeches

Antithesis is a common rhetorical device used in speeches to create a more powerful and memorable message. By presenting two contrasting ideas side by side, the speaker is able to emphasize the differences between them and create a more persuasive argument.

Antithesis is often used in political speeches, where the speaker may use contrasting concepts to highlight the differences between their own policies and those of their opponents. For example, in John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, he used antithesis when he said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Overall, antithesis is a powerful literary and rhetorical device that can be used in a variety of contexts to create a more memorable and persuasive message. By presenting two contrasting ideas side by side, the speaker or writer is able to highlight the differences between them and create a more nuanced and complex message that is more likely to be remembered by the audience.

Grammatical Structure

Antithesis is a rhetorical device that uses contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structures to create emphasis and highlight the differences between them. The grammatical structure of antithesis is essential to its effectiveness, as it creates a balance between the opposing ideas and makes them more memorable to the reader or listener.

Parallelism

Parallelism is a crucial aspect of antithesis. It involves using the same grammatical structure for both contrasting ideas, such as using the same sentence structure for two opposing phrases. This technique creates a rhythmic effect that draws the reader’s attention to the contrasting ideas and emphasizes the differences between them.

For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. used parallelism in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech when he said, “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”

Contrasting Ideas

Antithesis relies on contrasting ideas to create a powerful effect. These ideas can be expressed through sentences, clauses, phrases, or words. The contrasting ideas must be balanced to create a harmonious effect, which is achieved through the use of parallelism.

For example, in Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar,” Mark Antony uses antithesis to compare the honorable Brutus to the treacherous Cassius. He says, “Brutus is an honorable man; so are they all, all honorable men,” emphasizing the contrast between Brutus’s character and his actions.

In conclusion, the grammatical structure of antithesis is crucial to its effectiveness. The use of parallelism and contrasting ideas creates a rhythmic effect that draws the reader’s attention and emphasizes the differences between the opposing ideas. By using a balanced grammatical structure, antithesis creates a memorable effect that enhances the impact of the message being conveyed.

Antithesis Examples

Antithesis is a literary device that positions opposite ideas parallel to each other. This section will explore some examples of antithesis in literature, speeches, and everyday life.

Antithesis is widely used in literature to create a contrast between two different ideas. One of the most famous examples of antithesis is found in Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

William Shakespeare also used antithesis in his writing. In “Romeo and Juliet,” he writes, “My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” This example shows how antithesis can create a powerful contrast between love and hate.

Antithesis is also commonly used in speeches to emphasize opposing ideas. Martin Luther King Jr. used antithesis in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” This example highlights the contrast between living together peacefully and the consequences of not doing so.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is another famous example of antithesis in speeches. He said, “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us.” This example contrasts the work of those who fought with the work that still needs to be done.

In Everyday Life

Antithesis is also commonly used in everyday life, often without people realizing it. For example, the famous quote by Neil Armstrong , “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” is an example of antithesis. The contrast between the small step and the giant leap creates a powerful image of the significance of the event.

Another example of antithesis in everyday life is the phrase “no pain, no gain.” This phrase emphasizes the contrast between the discomfort of hard work and the benefits that come from it.

In conclusion, antithesis is a powerful literary device that can be used to emphasize contrasting ideas. It is commonly used in literature, speeches, and everyday life to create a memorable and impactful message.

The Impact of Antithesis

On audience.

Antithesis can have a profound impact on an audience. By presenting contrasting ideas in a balanced grammatical structure, it captures the attention of the audience and creates a sense of tension that keeps them engaged. The use of antithesis can also make content more memorable and effective, as it creates a sense of rhythm and imagery that sticks with the audience long after they have finished reading or listening.

Antithesis can be a powerful tool for writers and speakers looking to convey complex ideas in a clear and concise manner. By juxtaposing opposing ideas, it allows them to highlight the differences between them and make their point more effectively. Antithesis can also be used to create a sense of tension and drama in a piece of content, which can help to keep the audience engaged and interested.

When used effectively, antithesis can be a powerful tool for writers and speakers looking to create memorable and effective content. By capturing the attention of the audience and creating a sense of tension and drama, it can help to convey complex ideas in a clear and concise manner. Whether used for rhetorical effect or simply to create a sense of rhythm and imagery, antithesis is a powerful tool that should not be overlooked.

Antithesis and Other Literary Devices

Antithesis is often used in conjunction with other literary devices to create a more impactful effect. One such device is the oxymoron, which is a figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms. An oxymoron can be used to create a sense of irony or to highlight a paradox. For example, the phrase “bittersweet” is an oxymoron because it combines two opposite terms.

Another literary device that can be used in conjunction with antithesis is the foil. A foil is a character who is used to contrast with another character in order to highlight their differences. This can be used to create a sense of conflict or to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of a particular character. For example, in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” the character of Hamlet is contrasted with the character of Laertes in order to highlight their different approaches to revenge.

While antithesis is often used to highlight contrasts and opposing ideas, it can also be used to create a sense of synthesis. Synthesis is the process of combining two or more ideas in order to create a new and more complex idea. For example, the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword” combines the idea of writing (which is often associated with intellect) with the idea of physical force (which is often associated with strength) in order to create a new and more complex idea.

Antithesis, oxymorons, foils, and synthesis are all powerful literary devices that can be used to create a sense of comparison and contrast. By using these devices, writers can create more impactful and memorable works that speak to the complexities of mankind.

Common Misconceptions and Overuse

Antithesis is a powerful literary device that can add depth and complexity to writing. However, it is often misunderstood and overused, leading to annoying and cliché writing. In this section, we will address some common misconceptions and overuse of antithesis.

One common misconception is that antithesis must always involve a direct opposition between two ideas or words. While this is often the case, antithesis can also involve a contrast between two related ideas or words. For example, “love and hate” are direct opposites, while “love and indifference” are related but contrasting ideas.

Another misconception is that antithesis should be used in every sentence or paragraph. Overuse of antithesis can lead to annoying and cliché writing. It is important to use antithesis sparingly and only when it adds value to the writing.

Additionally, some writers may try to force antithesis into their writing, resulting in awkward and unnatural phrasing. It is important to use antithesis in a way that flows naturally and enhances the meaning of the writing.

Overall, antithesis is a powerful tool that can add depth and complexity to writing. However, it should be used sparingly and only when it adds value to the writing. Avoid overuse and forcing antithesis into writing, as this can lead to annoying and cliché writing.

In conclusion, antithesis is a rhetorical device that involves the use of contrasting or opposite ideas in a balanced grammatical structure. It is commonly used in literature, speeches, and other forms of communication to create emphasis, contrast, and impact.

Antithesis is often used in conjunction with the thesis-antithesis-synthesis dialectic, a process of logical argumentation that involves presenting a thesis, then presenting its opposite (antithesis), and finally synthesizing the two opposing viewpoints to arrive at a new conclusion.

Through the use of antithesis, writers and speakers can create a sense of tension and drama, as well as emphasize the differences between two opposing ideas. It can also be used to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of different arguments and perspectives, and to help readers or listeners come to their own conclusions about a particular topic.

Overall, antithesis is a powerful tool for writers and speakers who wish to make a strong impression on their audience. By using contrasting or opposite ideas in a balanced structure, they can create a sense of tension and drama, emphasize key points, and help their audience come to their own conclusions about a particular topic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the definition of antithesis?

Antithesis is a figure of speech that contrasts two opposing ideas in a sentence or a phrase. It is often used to create a dramatic effect or to emphasize a point. The term comes from the Greek word “antithesis,” which means “opposition.”

Can you give an example of antithesis in literature?

One famous example of antithesis in literature is the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” This sentence contrasts the two opposing ideas of good and bad, wisdom and foolishness, to emphasize the stark differences between the two cities.

How is antithesis different from juxtaposition?

Antithesis and juxtaposition are both figures of speech that involve contrasting two ideas. However, antithesis specifically involves contrasting two opposing ideas, while juxtaposition can contrast any two ideas, regardless of whether they are opposing or not.

What are some common uses of antithesis?

Antithesis is commonly used in literature, speeches, and advertising to create a memorable impact on the audience. It can be used to emphasize a point, create a dramatic effect, or to convey a deeper meaning.

What is the purpose of using antithesis in writing?

The purpose of using antithesis is to create a contrast between two opposing ideas, which can help to emphasize a point or to create a memorable impact on the audience. It can also be used to convey a deeper meaning or to create a dramatic effect.

Can you provide an example of antithesis in a school setting?

An example of antithesis in a school setting could be the phrase “knowledge is power, ignorance is weakness.” This phrase contrasts the two opposing ideas of knowledge and ignorance to emphasize the importance of education.

Related Posts:

Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, definition of antithesis.

Antithesis is the use of contrasting concepts, words, or sentences within parallel grammatical structures. This combination of a balanced structure with opposite ideas serves to highlight the contrast between them. For example, the following famous Muhammad Ali quote is an example of antithesis: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” This is an antithesis example because there is the contrast between the animals and their actions (the peaceful floating butterfly versus the aggressive stinging bee) combined with the parallel grammatical structure of similes indicated by “like a.” Ali is indicating the contrasting skills necessary to be a good boxer.

Difference Between Antithesis and Juxtaposition

Antithesis is very similar to juxtaposition, as juxtaposition also sets two different things close to each other to emphasize the difference between them. However, juxtaposition does not necessarily deal with completely opposite ideas—sometimes the juxtaposition may be between two similar things so that the reader will notice the subtle differences. Juxtaposition also does not necessitate a parallel grammatical structure. The definition of antithesis requires this balanced grammatical structure.

Common Examples of Antithesis

The use of antithesis is very popular in speeches and common idioms, as the inherent contrasts often make antithesis quite memorable. Here are some examples of antithesis from famous speeches:

• “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” –John F. Kennedy Jr.
• “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” –Barack Obama
• “Decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.” –Winston Churchill
• “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” –Abraham Lincoln

Significance of Antithesis in Literature

Antithesis can be a helpful tool for the author both to show a character’s mindset and to set up an argument. If the antithesis is something that the character is thinking, the audience can better understand the full scope of that character’s thoughts. While antithesis is not the most ubiquitous of literary devices, some authors use antithesis quite extensively, such as William Shakespeare. Many of his sonnets and plays include examples of antithesis.

Examples of Antithesis in Literature

HAMLET: To be, or not to be, that is the question— Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them?

( Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

Arguably the most famous six words in all of Shakespeare’s work are an example of antithesis. Hamlet considers the important question of “to be, or not to be.” In this line, he is considering the very nature of existence itself. Though the line is quite simple in form it contrasts these very important opposite states. Hamlet sets up his soliloquy with this antithesis and continues with others, including the contrast between suffering whatever fortune has to offer or opposing his troubles. This is a good example of Shakespeare using antithesis to present to the audience or readers Hamlet’s inner life and the range of his thinking.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…

( A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

The opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities employs many different literary devices all at once. There are many examples of antithesis back-to-back, starting with the first contrast between “the best of times” and “the worst of times.” Each pair of contrasting opposites uses a parallel structure to emphasize their differences. Dickens uses these antithetical pairs to show what a tumultuous time it was during the setting of his book. In this case, the use of antithesis is a rhetorical device that foreshadows the conflicts that will be central to the novel.

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

( Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)

In Joseph Heller’s classic anti-war novel Catch-22 , Heller uses a specific type of humor in which antithetical statements show the true absurdity of war. This very famous quote explains the concept of the “Catch-22,” which became a popular idiomatic expression because of the book. In fact, this example is not so much an antithetical statement but instead an antithetical situation. That is to say, the two possible outcomes for Orr are opposite: either he’s deemed crazy and would thus not be forced to fly any more combat missions, or he’s sane and then would indeed have to fly them. However, the one situation negates the possibility of the other, as only a sane man would be clear-headed enough to ask not to fly more missions.

This case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting of complicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant.

( To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird , Atticus Finch is a lawyer representing Tom Robinson. Atticus presents the above statement to the jury, setting up an antithesis. He asserts that the case is not difficult and yet requires the jury to be absolutely sure of their decision. Atticus believes the case to have a very obvious conclusion, and hopes that the jury will agree with him, but he is also aware of the societal tensions at work that will complicate the case.

Test Your Knowledge of Antithesis

1. What is the correct antithesis definition? A. Using two very similar concepts and showing their subtle differences. B. Setting up a contrast between two opposite ideas or phrases in a balanced grammatical structure. C. Using words to convey an opposite meaning to their literal sense. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #1″] Answer: B is the correct answer. A is one possible definition of juxtaposition, while C is one possible definition of irony.[/spoiler]

2. What is the difference between antithesis and juxtaposition? A. They are exactly the same device. B. They are completely different literary devices. C. Antithesis parallels opposite concepts, while juxtaposition sets up a comparison and contrast between two concepts that can be either similar or different. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #2″] Answer: C is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

3. Which of the following quotes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth contains an example of antithesis? A. 

WITCHES: Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.

MACBETH: Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?

WITCHES: Something wicked this way comes.

[spoiler title=”Answer to Question #3″] Answer: A is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

4. Which of the following quotes from Heller’s Catch-22 contains an example of antithesis? A. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war. Surely so many counties can’t all be worth dying for. B. He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt, and his only mission each time he went up was to come down alive. C. You’re inches away from death every time you go on a mission. How much older can you be at your age? [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #4″] Answer: B is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

Learn English

What is antithesis how to use antithesis with examples.

Contrasting concepts can often pull out more profound meanings than what the words indicate. 

For example , self-contradictory statements often create a facade of unresolvable arguments in speech and poetry, which ultimately add another level of mystery to writing or speech. 

Statements that cancel one another sitting alongside make a point of contradicting themselves but it compels the readers or listeners to have a fresh perspective and render a renewed sense of analysis. On the writer’s part, contradiction is part of the art of creation. The proper incorporation of logical contradiction in language will ensure emphasizing what is essential, which often cannot blatantly be referred to.

What is Antithesis?

Antithesis is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting ideas. Firstly, it is a striking opposition or contrast of sentiments or phrases made inside the same sentence. The antithesis is employed to emphasize something. Antithesis is largely based on parallelism - the repetitive nature of antithesis often creates a subtle rhyme in prose. 

For example , “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice .” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet ) is an antithesis that emphasizes the wit of speaking less and listening more attentively. The two contrasting concepts of listening and speaking are indicated by the mention of giving “ear” and “voice.” If followed closely, the underlying wisdom and rhyme rendered by the repetitive nature of the statement are imminent.

How to Use Antithesis?

The below-stated factors need to be at the back of the writer’s mind while constructing antithesis that ups benefits the written piece monumentally. 

Feel the Necessity

Certain places in your writing would benefit primarily from using two contrasting concepts, ideas, or notions. However, they do not have to be exact opposites but somewhat contrasting to compliment each other. 

Listen for the Rhythm

Similarly, structured sentences or clauses tend to have a certain rhythm and investing a bit of time and concentration into using antithesis can ensure that rhythmic element in your writing. The trick is to read it out loud and listen for it.

Examples of Antithesis

• “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” Neil Armstrong (1969)
• “To err is human; to forgive divine,” Alexander Pope , “An Essay on Criticism” (1711)
• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” Charles Dickens , A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” Martin Luther King, Jr. , “I Have a Dream” speech (1963)
• “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here,” Abraham Lincoln , the “Gettysburg Address” (1863)
• “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav’n,” John Milton , Paradise Lost (1667)
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• How to Use "Whereas" with Examples and Avoid Common Mistakes
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• When and How to Use "Either/Or" with Examples and Common Mistakes to Avoid
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• How to Use "On the Other Hand" Effectively without Mistakes
• How to Use "Respectively" with Example and Common Errors to Avoid
• How and When to Use "Moreover" Without Mistakes
• How to Use "Likewise" in Sentences Based on Context & When not to Use
• When & How to Use "Although" in Sentences to Avoid Mistake

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The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

The Rhetoric

(The Figures of Speech)

Menonim Menonimus

Growhills Publishing

The Rhetoric (Figures of Speech) a book on Rhetoric by Menonim Menonimus, Internet Edition by www.menonimus.org.

First Edition: 2022

(The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech)

Introductory

Figures Based on Similarity or Analogy of Agreement

Figures Based on Association

Figures Based on  Difference

Figures Based on Imagination

Figures Based on Indirectness

Figures Based on Sound

Figures based on construction.

Minor Figures

Analysis of Figures of Speech

Table of Contents

(Figure of Speech)

The word ‘ Rhetoric ’ is derived from the Greek word ‘rhetor’. Etymologically it means  the art of impressive or persuasive speaking . In ancient Greece, Rhetoric was a subject of study to train public speakers on how to make their speeches more impressive, persuasive, and remarkable.  Nowadays its meaning has widened and it refers to any ornamental composition whether prose or poetry. In other words, to say, it refers to some linguistic devices by which we can make our composition decorative, melodious, thought-provoking, interesting, attractive, and motivational. It is like dressing an ordinary girl in queenly robes to look attractive and thus to draw the attention of the onlookers. The main objectives of rhetoric are to present an ordinary thing in an extraordinary way to excite wonder, awe, and interest. Notice the following two statements-

• Sita’s hair is black.
• Sita’s hair is as black as an adder.

The first statement is an ordinary one and the second statement is an extraordinary (figurative) one.

Both rhetoric and grammar play on the arrangement of words in a sentence. But rhetoric is not grammar and grammar is not rhetoric. Grammar deals with the rules of arranging words in an agreed way while making a sentence. It aims at the correctness of writing and speaking. On the other hand, rhetoric aims at the beauty and effectiveness of language.

There are many types of figures of speech and for a better study we can classify them as under:

• Figures of Speech based on Similarity or Analogy or Agreement
• Figures of Speech based on Association
• Figures of Speech based on Difference
• Figures of Speech based on Imagination
• Figures of Speech based on Indirectness
• Figures of Speech based on Sound
• Figures of Speech based on Construction

A detailed discussion of all these classes of figures of speech is done in the following chapters.

Figures Based on Similarity or Analogy or Agreement

Figures based on similarity or analogy or agreement includes (1) Simile (2) Metaphor (3) Allegory (4) Parable and (5) Fable. Let us illustrate them as follows:

The word ‘simile’ comes from the Latin word ‘similis’ which means likeness. A simile is an explicit statement of likeness between two different things or actions. It consists of placing two different things side by side and comparing them with regard to some features common to both. For example,

Rajen is as ferocious as a tiger.

In this statement, ‘Rajen’ is compared to a ‘tiger’. Here ‘Rajen’ and ‘tiger’ are two different things but are alike in possessing one characteristic in common, namely ‘ferocity’. A simile is always introduced by such words as like, as, so, as as, etc.

Look at the following statement:

‘Rekha is as kind as Radha’.

In this statement, the comparison is made between Rekha and Radha. This is not a simile, but only a comparison because Rekha and Radha are of the same kind (human being). To be a simile the comparison must be made between two different (dissimilar) things and the point of similarity between the two things compared must be clearly stated.

There is no restriction to the use of similes in poetry as poetry is abstract in quality that plays on emotion than factual reality and emotion can be better elaborated by similes and other figures of speech. On the other hand, any prose work especially an essay-type composition is concrete and informative that emphasizes on presenting factual reality. So to keep up the concreteness of facts and information in any prose composition, we should make sparing use of similes. Otherwise, the prose work may lose its factual reliability. Again to say that prose writers should use similes in such a way that no harm is done to the content if the similes are cut down.

More examples:

• My pen is like the hammer of the hand of a blacksmith

I build words striking with it

It is as sharp as the blade of the plough of a peasant

In its furrow is the Sita of gold

It is as  rough as the saw of a carpenter

I draw out the bloody words of experience by cutting the fiber of hardwood,

My words are as target-piercing as the arrow of the bow of a Sautal youth

They became excited with blood and flesh and wish

Some of them are as high as the hills,

Some of them are as obedient as the river,

Some of them are as deep as the lake

They obey the command of none.

I am the poet of the great continent carved with rivers and mountain

The world is my poetry. (Hiren Bhattacharya)

•  Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb

      I arise and unbuild it again. –Shelley

• Drive my dead thoughts over the universe like withered leaves to quicken a new birth. –Shelley.
•  Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale. –Shakespeare.
• We drop like the fruits of a tree. –Meredith
•  The sky was like the painting drawn by a child deep blue from the top to the bottom.
•  The breeze was whispering through the leaves of trees like a chorus.
•  Her lips pressed mine that felt as soft as the velvety rose petal.
• In study, Ram is as slow as a turtle on the muddy ground.
• His skin felt like the grains of sand.
• She seemed sweet as candy.
• Silima is as pretty as a picture.
• Her skin was like milk.
• As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool.

16. Dating is like getting a pair of new shoes when you first get them, you want to wear them all the time. And when you see another pair of shoes you like, you slowly mistreat the old one.

• Huge waves like white foamy water.
• The cloud was fluffy like cotton wool.
• Her cheek was as slippery as an eel.
• As quick as the wink, he dashed for the field.
• She works like a horse.
• He moves like a snail.
• She eats like a pig.
• Friends are like chocolate cakes.
• He is as quick as flash.
• She felt the raindrops as small kisses on her face.
• The baby is a perpetual motion machine.
• The news was more shocking than a thousand volts of electricity.
• It was darker than a moonless night.
• Travelling to other countries is like trying on other lives.
• Getting dressed is more complicated than a rocket launch.
• It was as unpleasant as a dose of cough medicine.
• Her skin is softer than a puppy’s fur.
• She seems as quiet as a mouse.
• Raindrops were like drumbeats on the roof.
• It was as short as a piece of grass.
• The kitchen looks like a battlefield.
• Mary is like a bulldozer.
• She is like an opinionate volcano.
• The encyclopedia is like gold mines.
• Come like a hot knife through butter.
• Writing poetry is like bungee jumping.
• Talent is like being born with blue eyes.
• A dancer is like water.
• Water is like spring.
• Spring is like fire.
• Fire is like inspiration.
• Inspiration is like a shooting star.
• Leaves are like old people.
• Old people are like vegetables.
• Vegetables are like medicine.
• Happiness is like a ‘butterfly’ (short-lived).
• School is like a circus.
• Her nose is like a hook.
• It is as harmless as a dream.
• Your teeth were as useless as an old cycle tyre.
• Her tears flow like a river in flood.
• Her face was red like an apple.
• The sky seems green as grass
• Small like a crumb (a portion of bread)
• His hands and feet were as comely as the leaves of a mango sapling.
• Her two breasts looked like the belly of a pregnant goat.
• The sea waves glitter like diamonds under the sunlight.
• The water like a witch’s oils burnt green and blue and white. –Coleridge

The word ‘Metaphor’ comes from the Greek word ‘ meta’ which means ‘change’ and ‘ phero’ which means ‘I bear’. Therefore metaphor means the transfer of significance from one object to another in such a manner that comparison is implied though not explicitely stated. For example,

‘The camel is the ship of the desert.’

Here the metaphor consists of the implied similarity between the camel and the ship. The camel crosses the desert in the same manner as the ship crosses the sea. The similarity lies in the manner of moving ahead.

In other words, to say, a metaphor states that one thing is another thing. Here, in the above example, the camel is said to be a ship (another thing).

A metaphor may take the form of a noun, an adjective, and a verb. Example,

(a) Metaphor as Noun

• The wish is the ‘ father’ to the thought.
• Life seems to be an utterly unimportant ‘ by-product’ . -Jeans
• Raja is in the ‘ sunset’ of his days.
• The Lord is my ‘ rock’ and my  ‘fortress’ .
• I have not a ‘ shade’ of doubt about you.
• Sir Philip Sidney was the ‘flower’ of Knighthood.
• William Pitt was the ‘ pillar’ of the state.
• Ram has no ‘ ray’ of hope.
• The Vedas kindled the ‘light’ of knowledge in my heart.
• Life is a walking ‘ shadow’ , a poor ‘ player’

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more; it is a  ‘tale’

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury

Signifying nothing. –Shakespeare

(b) Metaphor as Verb

• His efforts were crowned with success.
• Hari ‘ cultivated’ his neighbor’s acquaintance.
• We must learn to ‘ bridle’ our passion.
• I will ‘ drink’ life to the lees.
• I have ‘harboured’ no malice against him.
• A new thought suddenly ‘struck’ him.
• He ‘swam’ bravely against the stream of popular applause.
• Sita has ‘caught’ a bad cold.
• The city was ‘stormed’ after a long seize.

(c) Metaphor as Adjective

• Radhika grabbed the ‘ golden’ opportunity.
• Seema has a ‘stony’ heart.
• That was a ‘transparent’ falsehood.
• Lady Macbeth was a woman of ‘ iron’ firmness.
• That was a ‘ lame’ excuse.

There is both similarity and distinction between simile and metaphor. The similarity lies in the comparison but the distinction lies in the manner of comparison. In a simile, the manner of comparison is clearly stated by using words as ‘like, as, so’ etc. but in a metaphor, the comparison is not clearly stated; it is only implied. For example,

Your news hurts my heart in the manner as a dagger hurts a heart. (simile)

Your news is a dagger to my heart. (metaphor)

Note well that every simile can be compressed into a metaphor and every metaphor can be expanded into a simile. Example,

•  Afghanistan is the  Switzerland  of Asia. (metaphor)

Afghanistan is a mountainous country in Asia as Switzerland is in Europe. (simile)

•  The waves  ‘thundered’  on the shore. (metaphor)

As the thunder produces a loud defeaning sound so the sea waves hitting on the shore produce defeaning loud sound. (simile)

•  Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.   (metaphor)

Kalidas is the greatest dramatist of India as Shakespeare is of England. (simile)

•  Variety is the ‘spice’ of life. (metaphor)

As spice flavours food so variety makes life pleasant.

An Allegory is a narrative either in prose or verse which carries a second deeper meaning or significance besides its literal or surface meaning. In other words, to say, an Allegory is a narrative description of a subject under the guise of another similar subject. In a sense, an Allegory may be called an Extended Metaphor . In an allegory, the author invokes objects with symbolic significance. An allegory defers from Fable in the respect that the characters of a fable are not human beings but beasts, birds or inanimate objects that point to a moral lesson. There are three main types of allegory as-(1) Religious Allegory, (2) Political Allegory and (3) Historical Allegory. The English Language has produced some exemplary allegories such as- John Bunyan’s  The Pilgrim’s Progress,  Edmund Spencer’s  The Faery Queen , John Dryden’s  Absalom and Achitophel,  Jonathan Swift’s  Gulliver’s Travels , Tennyson’s  The Idylls of the King  and some others.

A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral, spiritual or religious truth. It is in a sense, an earthly story with a divine meaning.  The parable may be called an expanded simile. There are some best parables in the Bible among which mention may be made of the Parables of the Good Samaritan (St. Luke’s Gospel, Chapter Chapter-X- 30-37) and the Parable of the Prodigal Son (St. Luke’s Gospel, Chapter XV, 11-32).

The parable of the Good Samaritan describes that there was a traveler (probably a Jew), who was robbed and beaten badly by some people and was left on the roadside. A Levite and a priest passed through that road, but both ignored him.

Eventually, a Samaritan came and helped the wounded and miserable person, regardless of his race or religious belief (usually, Samaritans despised Jews). Later, the traveler revealed himself as Christ.

The moral of this parable is to help all those in need, without prejudice to anyone because of perceived differences.

The parable of the Prodigal Son reads like this-

Once upon a time, there was a rich man and he had two sons. His first son was good and obedient to his father. But the second son was wayward and did not want to wait for his inheritance till the death of his father and immediately demanded his share. Then his father divided his property among his two sons. But within a few months, he wasted all his wealth and became miserable. Later, realizing that he would need his father’s help in order to survive, he returned home and begged to become one of his father’s hired servants. Then his father, instead of being furious, welcomed his wayward son, celebrating his return.

The eldest son, who lived with his father all the time, was furious and refused to participate in the celebration. He told his father:

“Look, I serve you for so many years, and never disobey you, and yet you haven’t given me a kid that I can make merriment with my friends…”

The father replied to his eldest son:

“Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. I am to rejoice for your brother as he was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found again.”

When the father died, he left the rest of his inheritance to his eldest son.

The story conveys the symbolic message that God is like a father who loves humanity despite his rebellious nature, and that those who follow His path are welcomed by Him, even if they have gone astray.

Likewise, there are parables in the Upanishad, in the Koran, and in the Deuteronomy.

The Parable is considered to be a great teaching tool because it often uses symbolic imagery and metaphors that the readers can easily recognize. Thus, the storyteller can express complex moral truths in such a way that they become related and understandable to their own lives. Sometimes the audience has to understand the text that a parable tells, and they participate in arriving at the conclusion that way. Generally, parables help readers to understand philosophical issues or moral lessons in related terms, while story-tellers can better lead them to apply such principles in their everyday lives.

The word ‘Fable’ has come from the Latin ‘Fabula’ meaning a ‘discourse’ or ‘story’. A Fable is a short narrative in prose or verses the main characters of which are not human beings, but beasts, birds or inanimate objects that point to a moral lesson. The characters are types rather than individuals which represent men and women living in society, with their frailties, foibles, sins or vices. For examples- ‘ Aesop’s Fables’  in Greek, Chaucer’s ‘ Nonnes Prestes Tale’  in English, ‘ Roman de Renard’  in French, Vishnu Sharma’s ‘ Hitopadesh’  in Sanskrit and so on.

Fable either in written or oral form is present among people in almost all languages all over the world. The Fables may be divided into two types as- (a) Traditional or Primitive Fables and (b) Literary Fables.

Traditional Fables  or  Primitive Fables refer to those fables which were composed orally by mostly unknown authors and have been coming down orally from generation to generation, from person to person. These types of fables were the products of the Classical as well as the Medieval Ages of literature. This type of fable belongs to the large group of folk literature. Only a few of these types of fables were compiled and to some extent reshaped by some compilers during the middle ages. Still today there are lots of fables to be collected and preserved. Otherwise, the din and bustle of the present day would bury them forever. Among these types of fables that have got preserved, mention may be made of Aesop’s Fables , Vishnu Sharma’s  Hitopadesh , Chaucer’s  Nonnes Prestes Tales  etc.

On the other hand,  Literary Fables refer to those types of Fables which are written imitating Traditional or Primitive Fables. Among this type of fables examples may be made of George Orwell’s Animal Farm , James Thurber’s  Fables of Our Time , Vikram Seth’s  The Frog and Nightingale  and so on.

A study of those two types of fables shows that there are some salient features that are generally common to any fables; these are- (i) characters are non-human beings as- birds, beasts, supernatural agents or inanimate objects; (ii) the characters are mostly type representing frailties, foibles, vices, sins and virtues of men and women living in society; (iii) allegorical or metaphorical in device; (iv) humorous or satirical in tone and (v) ending in moral lesson expressed by the characters or by the narrator. 0 0 0

Figures based on Association include (1) Metonymy (2) Synecdoche (3) Hypallage and (4) Allusion. Let us illustrate them as follows

The word ‘metonymy’ has come from the Greek word ‘metonumia’ meaning substitution of name. This figure of speech consists of the substitution of the thing named for the thing meant. For example

I read ‘Shakespeare’ regularly.

In this statement, Shakespeare is used for this work.

• Mohammad lived a pious life from ‘cradle to grave’. = (from childhood to death).
• Rajen was raised to ‘the bench’. = (the office of the judge).
• He succeeded to the ‘crown’. = (monarchy)
• We are accustomed to ‘red-tape’. = (official formality).
• The ‘grey hairs’ should be respected. = (old people)
• ‘Leather’ pays better than learning. = (shoe-making job)
• The ‘crown’ (king) would not yield to the ‘mitre’ (priest).
• The ‘pen’ (writer) is mightier than the ‘sword’ (soldier).
• The ‘press’ (journalists) are being harassed these days.
• Give thy ear (attention) to everyman.
• This book is bound in ‘Morocco’ (leather made in Morocco).
• I read ‘Milton’ (Milton’s works) in College.
• The ‘whole city’ (all the inhabitants of the city) went out to see the scientist.
• He drank the ‘cup’ (the content of the cup).
• Mahatma Gandhi is known to ‘all India’ (all Indians).
• The ‘jug’ (the contents of the jug) boils.
• Ram is basking in the ‘sun’ (sunshine).
• A thing of beauty is a ‘joy’ (cause of joy) forever.
• His success was his ‘honour’ (cause of honour).
• Rabindranath is the ‘pride’ (object of pride) of India.
• Weep no more, woeful shepherds, weep no more

For Lycidas, ‘your sorrow’ (object of sorrow) is not dead. – Milton.

• All the houses (people living in the houses) are hungry.

Synecdoche is a figure of speech that usually consists in using one noun for another of kindred meaning. Example,

• We need ‘more hands’ (more workmen) to complete the work.
• Uneasy lies the ‘head’ (king) that wears the crown.
• ‘Silver and gold’ (riches) I have none.
• I have been here for consecutive ‘three winters’. (three years)
• A fleet of hundred ‘sails’ (ships) left the harbour.
• Give us our daily ‘bread’ (food).
• All the ‘rank and fashion’ (people of rank and fashion) came to the concert.
• Let not ‘ambition’ (ambitious people) mock their useful toil.
• There is a mixture of the ‘tiger’ (ferocity) and the ‘ape’ (tendency to imitate others) in the character of a Frenchman. –Voltaire.
• ‘The mother’ (motherly affection) rose in her breast.
• Every king is not a ‘Solomon’ (wise man).
• ‘A Daniel’ (very wise judge) comes to judgment. –Shakespeare.
• He is not a ‘Demosthenes’ (orator).
• The Knight was clad in complete ‘steel’ (armour made of steel).
• Her hands and feet were bound in ‘irons’ (fetters made of iron).
• Some mute inglorious ‘Milton’ (great poet like Milton) here may rest.
• India needs some ‘Newtons’ (great scientists) today.

Hypallage (Transferred Epithet)

‘Hypallage’ is a Greek word that means ‘interchange’. This figure consists in the transference of an adjective or adverb from the word to which it properly belongs to another. Example:

Rajesh was weary of the ‘sleepless’ night.

In this sentence, the adjective ‘sleepless’ belongs to Rajesh who could not sleep in the night but it is transferred from ‘Rajesh’ to ‘night’.

More Examples:

• I live a ‘busy’ life.
• They were walking fifteen ‘weary’ miles.
• Let us speak our ‘free’ hearts to each other.
• Some ‘glorious’ days await him.

Allusion is a figure of speech in which an indirect reference is made in speech or writing to a book, character, person, legend, event, etc. Example

Chocolate is my ‘Achilles heel’.

Here the allusion is made to Achilles, a hero in Greek mythology, whose heel was his weakness. In this case, the speaker’s ‘weakness’ is chocolate .

More Examples,

• Sabina is a good swimmer, but she is no ‘Ariel’.

(This allusion is to the fairy tale of a Disney movie entitled “The Little Mermaid” whose name was Ariel. Referring to someone as “no Ariel” implies that she is not as natural in swimming as Ariel is.

• I was left there helpless but fortunately, some good ‘Samaritan’ came and helped me out!

(In this statement an allusion is made to the Biblical story of the good Samaritan, from Luke 10:29-37. A good Samaritan is someone who helps others in need, just as the Samaritan does in the story.

• He is a poet no doubt, but think him not be the author of ‘The Paradise lost’.

(In this statement an allusion is made to John Milton and his great work.)

• Do you need the right guidance? Then read the ‘Last Testament’ revealed to the ‘last Prophet’.

(Here the allusion is made to The Holy Koran and the prophet Hazarat Muhammad)

• The sun of his freedom set down with the death of his father as India lost its freedom in the battle fought in 1757.

(Here the allusion is made to the Battle of Plassey fought in 1757 between Siraj-ud-daullah and the British East India Company. 0 0 0

Figures Based on Difference

Figures based on difference includes (1) Antithesis (2) Epigram (3) Oxymoron (4) Paradox (5) Climax (6) Anti-climax and (7) The Condensed Sentence. Let us illustrate them as follows

The word ‘Antithesis’ has come from the Greek word ‘antitheton’ meaning ‘opposition. Etymologically this figure of speech consists in the use of two contrasting ideas in a sentence for the sake of emphasis. Example:

Art is long, life is short.

In this statement there are two contrasting ideas- (i) art is long and (ii) life is short and they are set against each other.

• United we stand, divided we fall.
• Man proposes; God disposes.
• We live in deeds, not in years.
• The prodigal robs his heirs, the miser himself.
• To err is human, to forgive is divine.
• A man exaggerates his friend’s virtues, an enemy his crimes.
• God made the country, man made the town.
• Give every man thy ear, few thy voice. –Shakespeare.
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
• I must be cruel only to be kind.
• Let us be sacrificers, not butchers.
• Sleep is silvern, silence is golden.
• Many are called but few are chosen.
• A small leak will sink a great ship.
• Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. – Shakespeare.
• Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing. –Goethe.
• That is one small step for a man, but a giant leap for mankind. –Neil Armstrong.

This figure consists in an apparent contradiction in language which, by causing temporary shock, rouses our attention to some deeper meaning underlying it. An epigram is often brief and witty. Example

The child is the father of man.

This statement contains an apparent verbal contradiction, but a thoughtful examination reveals that there is a general truth in the statement i.e. the habits and inclinations of a child give us almost an idea of what he will like when he grows up.

• He makes no friend, who never makes a foe.
• He is in all faults, who has no fault at all.
• Language is the art of concealing thoughts.
• Our antagonist is our helper.
• The more corrupt the state is, the more numerous the laws are.–Tacitus
• Defend me from my friends.
• None can teach well who wants to teach.
• I am not young enough to know everything. –Oscar Wilde
• Art lies in concealing art.
• The king is dead, long live the king!
• Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing. -Oscar Wilde
• Cowards die many times before their death. –Shakespeare.
• I can resist everything but temptation. — Oscar Wilde
• Silence is sometimes more eloquent than words.
• Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. – John F. Kennedy
• The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.
• No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.
• No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
• It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
• I am starting with the man in the mirror. –Michael Jackson.
• Blessed are the peacemakers. –Jesus Christ.
• There is neither a moral book nor an immoral book. Books are well-written or badly written. That is all.
• To define the beautiful is to misunderstand it.

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory words or phrases with opposing meanings. Example:

It was an ‘open’ ‘secret’.

In this statement two contradictory words ‘open’ and ‘secret’ are set together. Oxymorons may seem illogical at first but in context they usually make sense.

• His ‘honour’ rooted in ‘dishonour’ stood

And faith unfaithful kept him ‘falsely’ ‘true’. –Tennyson.

• Since his father’s death, Rajen is spending his days with ‘pleasing anxiety’.
• My wife is ‘carefully careless’ in matters of buying costly clothes.
• The owner of this factory lived a life of ‘active’ ‘idleness’.
• Life is ‘bitter’ ‘sweet’.
• Such ‘welcome’ and ‘unwelcome’ things happen to him often.
• I am pleased at this ‘tedious’ ‘amusement’.
• He read aloud the report in ‘expressive silence’.
• Who believes in your ‘tormenting white lie’.
• Jenny left her garage as an ‘organised mess’.
• Jenifa and her sister had a ‘friendly fight’ over the lipstick.
• Jenny is a ‘deeply’ ‘superficial’ person.
• O brawling love! O loving hate!

O anything of nothing first create!

O heavy lightness, serious vanity! – Shakespeare (Romes and Juliet)

A Paradox is a self-contradictory statement. At first reading, a paradox seems to be absurd or impossible, but deeper reading shows that it contains a valid truth. Example:

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. -Thomas Gray

At first, the above-quoted line seems to be absurd or impossible, but a little thought shows that it states an important or valid truth as the final end of human life is death; though glorious are its achievements. The purpose of a paradox is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought.

• Save money by spending it.
• I know that I know nothing. –Socrates.
• That was the beginning of the end.
• I only message those who don’t message.
• The most corrected copies are commonly the least correct.
• The less is more.
• Nobody goes to that restaurant, it is too crowded.
• Don’t go near the water till you learn how to swim.
• Stay home and visit me.

The word ‘climax’ is derived from the Greek word ‘Klimax’ which means a ladder. In this figure of speech, a series of ideas are presented in such a way that the sense rises by successive steps to what is more and more important and impressive. Examples-

The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself

Yea, all which it inherits shall dissolve. – Shakespeare (The Tempest)

In this statement, the poet goes on to present his ideas that all things must come to ruin in course of time but he comes to the conclusion in five successive steps as (i) the cloud-capped towers, (ii) the gorgeous palaces, (iii) the solemn temples (iv) the great globe itself, and (v) all which it inherits and thus makes his ideas impressive.

• As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him, but as he was ambitious, I slew him. –Shakespeare.
• There is tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honour for valour and death for ambition. – Shakespeare.
• He had a heart to resolve, a head to contrive, a hand to execute.
• To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield. –Tennyson
• I came, I saw, I conquered. –Shakespeare
• Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie open unto the fields and to the sky. –Wordsworth.
• Look up at the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a superman!
• Let a man acknowledge his obligation to himself, his family, his country and his God.
• Since concord was lost, friendship was lost, fidelity was lost, liberty was lost- all was lost.

Anti-climax

Anti-climax or Bathos is a figure of speech that is just opposite to climax. Anticlimax is a  figure of speech where a series of ideas or thoughts are arranged from higher to lower ones for producing a ludicrous effect. Example:

Who in course of one revolving moon

Was a lawyer, statesman,  fiddler and buffoon.

In this statement, the ideas are arranged in a descending manner-from lofty to commonplace ones for producing a ludicrous effect.

• Here, thou great Anna!

When three realms obey

Dost sometimes counsel take and sometimes tea.

• He lost his wife, his child, his goods, his dog at one full sweep.
• He won the war, the kitchen and the widow.
• Honour to you as you are promoted from a teacher to clerk and then to ward boy.
• If you want I can put my hand into the hole of a snake

If you want I can spend the night in the cage with a tiger

If you want I can jump down the sea in the trembling cold

Only I can not go to the airport because it is drizzling. –Nakul Kumar Biswas

The Condensed Sentence

The condensed sentence is a figure of speech based on difference. It consists in joining together some ideas which are so different that they should be separately stated. It is used to produce a comic effect. Examples:

She dropped tears and her pocket-handkerchief.

In this statement, two ideas as dropping tears’ and ‘dropping a handkerchief are so different that they should be stated separately but they are joined together for producing a ludicrous effect.

• Lalita left her child and the shoe forlorn on the road.
• He lost the war and the monkey.
• The king lost his kingdom and his cat in the war. 0 0 0

Figures based on Imagination include (1) Personification (2) Pathetic Fallacy (3) Apostrophe (4) Vision and (5) Hyperbole (Exaggeration). Let us illustrate them as follows

Personification

Personification is a figure of speech in which inanimate objects and abstract ideas are spoken of as if they are human beings. Example:

The thirsty ‘earth’ soaks up the rain

And drinks and gapes up to drink again.

Here, the poet personifies the earth and speaks of it as thirsty as a man.

• ‘Venice’, the eldest child of liberty.
• ‘Ancient oaks’ are groaning with rheumatism.
• ‘The river’ glideth at his own sweet will.
• ‘No grandeur’ hear, with a disdainful smile

The short and simple annals of the poor.

• ‘Nature’ might stand up

And say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’ –Shakespeare.

• ‘Opportunity’ knocks at the door but once.
• ‘The mountains and the hills’ broke forth into singing.
• Fear at my heart as at a cup

‘My life blood’ seemed to sip. –Coleridge.

• ‘Death’ lays his icy hand on the king.
• I like ‘onions’, but they don’t like me.
• The ‘school bell’ called us from outside.
• This ‘advertisement’ speaks to me.
• ‘The wind’ is whispering outside us.
• ‘The sun’ kissed my cheeks when I went outside.
• The smiling brook glides down and sings untold songs to our hearts.

Pathetic Fallacy

The pathetic fallacy is another species of personification. In this figure of speech, nature is portrayed as taking a definite interest in human action. This figure has been so called because it is a fallacy or illusion caused by an excited state of feelings (emotion). Example:

Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat

Sighing through all her works, gave sighs of woe. –Milton

Here Milton shows nature as mourning when Eve plucked and ate the forbidden fruit.

• The pale yellow woods were waning.

The broad stream in his banks complaining. –Tennyson.

Here the poet shows the woods as paining away at, and the broad stream as complaining against the tragic misfortune of Lady of Shallot.

• The oaks forgot their whispering

The pines their reverie.

The pathetic fallacy should not be confused with personification as personification attributes human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas while the pathetic fallacy takes a definite interest in human action.

The word ‘apostrophe’ is derived from the Greek word ‘apos-strepho’ which means ‘turn away’. By this figure, the speaker turns away from the course of his speech and addresses a person absent or dead or an inanimate object or an abstract idea. Apostrophe involves personification when the address is made to an inanimate object or an abstract idea. Personification implied by this figure is sometimes called ‘Passive Personification’ because the inanimate objects or abstract ideas are here conceived of as having the capacity of passively listening to the address made to them. Example:

O friend! I know not which way I must look for comfort. –Wordsworth

Here the poet suddenly turns away from his course of speech and addresses one of his friends who is absent and expresses his feeling.

(a) Person:

• O Christ! It is the Incheape Rock. –Southey
• Dear God! The very houses seem asleep. –Wordsworth.
• Milton! Thou should be living at this hour. –Wordsworth.

(b) Inanimate Object:

• Chillon! Thy prison is a holy place. – Byron
• Earth! render back from out thy breast.

A remnant of our Spartan dead! –Byron

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? –Shelley

(c) Abstract idea:

• O Liberty! My spirit felt thee there. –Coleridge.
• O Solitude! Where are the charms

That sages have seen in thy face? –Cowper

• O Judgment! Thou art fled to brutish breast. –Shakespeare.
• Mischief! Thou art afoot. –Shakespeare.

Vision is a figure of speech by which a speaker or a writer, in relating something past, or in describing some anticipated future, employs the present tense instead of the past or future, and thus makes it appear as if the event were actually happening before his eyes. Examples:

• I seem to behold this great city, the ornament of the earth and the capitals of all nations, suddenly involves in one conflagration. I see before me the slaughtered heaps of citizens lying unburied in the midst of the ruined country. –Cicero
• The sack and carnage of Delhi lasts from three o’clock in the morning until three afternoon. The streets echo with the shouts of brutal soldiery, and with the cries and shrieks of the inhabitants. The atmosphere reeks with blood. The houses are set on fire, and hundreds perish in the flame. The husbands kill their wives and then destroy themselves. –Wheeler’s India.
• Pride in their port, defiance in their eye

I see the lords of human kind pass by. –Goldsmith.

• Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand

I see the rural virtues leave the land. – Goldsmith

Hyperbole (Exaggeration)

‘Hyperbole’ is a Greek word meaning ‘excess’. By this figure of speech, things are presented as greater or less,  better or worse than they really are. It is an exaggeration in describing a thing. Examples:

• Here’s the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten the little hand.- Shakespeare (Macbeth)
• I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers

Could not with all their quantity of love

Make up the sum. –Shakespeare (Hamlet)

• They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions.
• Put a tongue

In every wound of Caesar, that should move

The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny. –Shakespeare

• He doth bestride the narrow world

Like a Colossus; and we pretty men

Walk under his huge legs, and peep about

To find ourselves dihonourable grave. –Shakespeare

• I have told you a million times not to lie!
• I will die if she asks me to dance.
• The person in front of me walked as slow as a turtle.
• I would move mountains for some coffee right now.
• I shall believe you when the pig flies.

Figures Based Indirectness

Figures based on Indirectness include (1) Innuendo (2) Irony (3) Sarcasm (4) Periphrasis (5) Euphemism and (6) Litotes. Let us illustrate them as follows

The word ‘innuendo’ means an oblique hint.  In this figure of speech, a thing is hinted or insinuated instead of plainly stated. In this figure of speech, the main purpose of the speaker or writer is kept out of view and is left to be inferred by the listeners or readers. Examples:

• He was born rich but honest parents.

Here the use of ‘but’ instead of ‘and’ obliquely suggests that the rich are generally dishonest.

• I want to die a natural death.

This was a statement of a patient and he made this when he was asked to consult a physician. It indirectly means that the doctors instead of curing a patient hastens death.

• My friends are poor but honest.
• Nitish is pious, he spent only some days with Alisa.

The word ‘iony’ is derived from the Greek word ‘eiron’ meaning ‘a dissembler’. By this figure of speech, the speaker of the writer pretends to praise something or someone but means to blame or ridicule it or him. To say in other words, by this figure we say one thing but mean just the opposite.  It is said to be the most insulting of all figures of speech. Example:

• A good father! a good husband! Ample apologies for fifteen years of persecution, tyranny and falsehood. -Macaulay

In the statement, the speaker pretends to praise by saying ‘a good father, and ‘a good husband’ but means just the opposite because this good man is accused of persecution, tyranny and falsehood.

• Are you so gospelled

To pray for this good man and his issue. –Shakespeare

• Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,

And Brutus is an honourable man. – Shakespeare.

• The brotherly love of our enlarging Christianity is proved by the multiplication of murder. –Ruskin.
• Except thunder, lightning and hailstorm off and on we are having beautiful weather.
• Oh, fantastic! Now I cannot attend the party I had been waiting for 3 months.
• William has been a marriage counselor for fifteen years and he’s just filing for divorce.

The word ‘sarcasm’ is derived from the Greek word ‘sarkasmos’ meaning ‘tearing flesh’ or ‘sneering’. It is a figure of speech in which the speaker or writer says something in such a way as to excite contempt or ridicule. Examples:

• Certainly, God did not make man and left it to Aristotle to make him rational. –Locke
• We, Christians have enough religion to make us hate but not enough to make us love each other. –Swift.
• The Chief Priest said, mocking Christ, ‘He saved others but himself he could not save.
• I’m not insulting you, I’m just describing you.
• Stop about growing old and think about growing up.

Note that in sarcasm we don’t state the contrary of what we mean; we really mean exactly what we say, but we say in such a way as to excite contempt or ridicule. The purpose of both irony and sarcasm is to blame or ridicule a thing or a person. In irony what is said means just the opposite. But in sarcasm we don’t mean the contrary of what we state; we state in a way as to ridicule something or someone directly.

Periphrasis or Circumlocution

Periphrasis or circumlocution is a figure of speech that consists in expressing a thing in a round-about way instead of stating directly. Examples:

• His ‘prominent feature’ was like an eagle’s beak.

In the statement, the phrase ‘prominent feature’ indirectly refers to the nose.

• Don’t be proud of the ‘shroud of sentient clay’. (flesh/ body)
• He ‘sleeps the sleep that knows no breaking’. (is dead)
• His statement was ‘purely an effort of imagination’. (false)
• He resembles ‘the animal that browses on thistles’. (an ass)
• His thoughts are set on ‘the sightless courier of the air’. (wind)
• He will return in the year’s penultimate month. (November).
• He has ‘worn the nuptial tie’. (got married)
• ‘The lords of the creation’ are on the verge of falling down from piety. (mankind)
• We can not avoid ‘the weaker vessels of the creator’. (womankind)

Euphemism is a figure of speech that consists in saying something offensive, unpleasant, harsh or disagreeable in a pleasant,  softening or agreeable way. Examples:

• He is ‘not quite exact in his statement’. (a liar)
• Hari is ‘an imaginative person’. (a liar)
• He has ‘passed away’. (he is dead)
• He has ‘joined the great majoriy’. (is dead)
• He is telling me a ‘fairy tale’ (a lie)
• They ‘dropped down one by one’. (died) –Coleridge
• He that’s coming must be ‘provided for’. (killed) –Shakespeare.
• William is an ‘economically challanged’ person. (a poor person)
• Jennie has left us for her ‘heavenly abode’. (has died)

Litotes is a deliberate understatement. This figure of speech consists of the use of negative words or phrases to express a positive statement. Examples:

• He is not wise.

Here ‘not wise’ is used to express a positive meaning that ‘he is a fool’.

• You are ‘not wrong’. (right)
• Shakespeare is a writer of ‘no mean order’. (high order).
• It was ‘no earthly’ sacrifice. (heavenly)
• Hiren is ‘not unknown’ in the literary circle. (known)
• I had ‘no little difficulty’ in persuading Ratan to join the club. (much difficulty)
• ‘Days not dark’ are ahead of you. (bright days)
• Visiting a marketplace is ‘not uncommon for him. (common)
• The weather is ‘not unpleasant’. (pleasant). 0 0 0

Figures based on Sound includes (1) Onomatopoeia (2) Alliteration and (3) Pun. Let us illustrate them as follows

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech in which words evoke the actual sound of the thing they refer to or describe. To say in other words, onomatopoeia is a figure of speech in which certain words are used which suggests the natural sound of a thing. It creates a sound effect and makes a description more expressive and interesting.

• ‘Tick tock’ of a clock,
• ‘Ding dong’ of a doorbell.
• The ‘buzzing bee’ flew away.
• The ‘rustling’ leaves kept me awake.
• With a heavy ‘thump’, a lifeless ‘lump’

They dropped down one by one. –Coleridge.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a figure of speech that consists in the repetition of the same letter or syllable at the beginning of two or more words in a sentence. Examples:

• Alone, alone, all, all alone,

Alone on a wide, wide sea. –Coleridge

(Here the syllable ‘al’ is repeated in more than two words.)

• The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew

The furrow followed free. –Coleridge

• Birds of a feather flock together.
• A strong man struggles bravely against the storms of life.
• Ruin seizes thee, ruthless king.
• By apt alliteration’s artful aid. –Pope
• Cut your coat according to your cloth.
• He is talking no nonsense.
• Some house hunters are handcapped by the police.
• Wicked witch of the west.
• I feel like making melodies in my heart.

Pun (also called paronomasia) is a figure of speech that involves a wordplay suggesting two or more meanings. It is often used for humorous or rhetorical effects. Sometimes it provides verbal ambiguity and bewilders the listeners. Examples:

• If a man loses his wife, he pines for a ‘second’. (Here, the pun is made on the word ‘second.’ It may either mean ‘for a very short time’ or ‘for a second wife’)
• The leopard changes its ‘spots’ whenever it goes from one ‘spot’ to another.

(The first ‘spots’ is used in the sense of ‘small round marks on the body of a leopard’ and the second ‘spot’ is used in the sense of a particular place.)

• Her cat is near the computer to keep an eye on the ‘mouse’. (In this statement the pun is made with the word ‘mouse’ i.e. it may mean either a mouse (creature) or the input tool or a computer.)
• Make like a tree and ‘leave’. (Here the pun is made with the word ‘leave’.
• The road to success is always under ‘construction’.

Figures based on Construction include (1) Zeugma (2) Chiasmus (3) Interrogation (4) Exclamation (5) Aposiopesis (6) Hendiadys (7) Asyndeton (8) Polysyndeton and (9) Hyperbation. Let us illustrate them as follows:

Zeugma is a Greek word and it means ‘yoke’. In this figure of speech a verb or an adjective does duty on two nouns to one of which it is strictly applicable, while the word appropriate to the other is not used. This figure of speech intends to produce a humorous effect. Example:

He killed the boys and the luggage.

Here the verb ‘kill’ governs ‘boys’ and luggage’ though it is strictly applicabel to ‘boys’ only. The word appropriate to ‘luggage’ is ‘destroyed’ but it is not used.

More examples”

• The ‘moment’ and the ‘vessel’ passed. –Tennyson.
• The ‘feast’ and ‘noon’ grew high. – Milton.
• They left the place with weeping ‘eyes’ and ‘heart’.
• They covered themselves with ‘dust’ and ‘glory’.
• He opened his ‘mind’ and ‘wallet’ every time he went out with his wife. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures. This figure is used in order to produce an artistic effect.

• Beauty is truth, truth is beauty.

In this statement, the order of words in the first clause (i.e. Beauty is truth) is reversed in the second (i.e. truth is beauty)

• Fair is foul and foul is fair. –Shakespeare
• We live to learn and learn to live.
• For the sky and the sea, and the seas and the sky

Lay like a load on my weary eye. –Coleridge

• Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.
• You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
• Do I love you because you are beautiful?

Or are you beautiful because I love you? The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Interrogation or Rhetorical Question

In this figure of speech, something is sought to be denied or affirmed under the form of an earnest interrogation in order to draw the attention of the listeners or readers. Examples:

• Who is so vile that will not love his country?
• Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?
• Am I my brother’s keeper?
• You may think that you are not superstitious. But would you walk under a burning building?
• Am I not a native? Were my parents born in any foreign country? The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Rhetorical Exclamation

Rhetorical Exclamation refers to the abrupt expression of emotion or wish or contemplation. This figure of speech is generally introduced by an interjection or by such words as ‘how’, ‘what’ etc. Examples:

• What piece of work is a man!

How noble in reason!

How infinite in faculty!

In form and moving how express and admirable!

In action, how like an Angel!

In apprehension, how like a God!

The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—

And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? –Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act-II, Scene II)

• O that those lips had language!
• O what a fall was there, my countrymen! –Shakespeare
• How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Aposiopesis

Aposiopesis is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker suddenly breaks off from what he is going to say and leaves the sentence incomplete or unwilling to continue. Examples:

• Oh thou–by what name shall I call thee?
• I will do such thing-

What they would be, I know not

But they shall be the terror of the earth!

• If meet him once I shall do-

The world would gaze at me and say-how this man could do such a thing. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Hendiadys is a Greek word meaning ‘one thing by two’. In this figure of speech, two words (usually nouns) are joined by the conjunction ‘and’ in which one qualifies the other grammatically. Examples:

• His look drew ‘audience and attention’. (=attentive audience.)
• ‘Life and sufferance’. (= suffering life)
• The air was resonant with ‘joy and song’. (= joyous song)
• With joy and tidings fraught. (=joyous tidings)
• He came despite the rain and weather. (= rainy weather)
• ‘The cold and the wind’ blew down the hill. (= the cold wind)
• Whatever you ‘pray and ask’. (=ask and pray). The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

‘Asyndeton’ is a Greek word meaning ‘unconnected’. It is a figure of speech in which the connecting conjunctions are omitted for the sake of vividness. Examples:

• I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance.

Among my skimming swallows. –Tennyson.

• O, what a noble mind is here overthrown!

The courtier’s, scholar’s, soldier’s eye, tongue, sword. –Shakespeare

• The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood is stopped. –Shakespeare.
• O, I like your eyes, nose, cheeks, ears, black hairs. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Polysyndeton

‘Polysndeton’ is a Greek word meaning ‘excessive’. This figure of speech consists in the redundant or excessive use of conjunctions as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’ etc). It is the opposite of Asyndeton. Examples:

• That hoard ‘and’ sleep ‘and’ feed ‘and’ know not me- Tennyson.
• If there be cords or knives or poison or fire or suffocating streams, I’ll not endure it. –Shakespeare.
• First the air is blue and then it is bluer and then green and then black.
• Here are my table and books and pens and pencils and note books. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Hyperbation

This figure of speech consists in the inversion of the grammatical order of words in a sentence for the sake of emphasis. Examples:

• My days among the dead are passed. (=My days are passed among the dead.)
• Much have I travelled in the realms of gold. (=I have travelled much in the realms of gold.)
• Much have I seen and known.
• Immense is the impact of science in our everyday life.

Minor Figures of Speech

In addition to the figures of speech discussed above, there are some other figures of speech that are categorized as minor figures. They are- (1) Paralipsis (2) Anaphora (or Epanaphora) (3) Epistrophe and (4) Tautology (or Pleonasm). Let us illustrate them as follows: The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Paralipsis is a figure of speech in which a speaker or writer professes to omit all mention of a subject that he really wants to emphasize. To say in other words, Paralipsis is a way of denying or pretending to deny what has already been spoken.  Examples:

• I come to bury Caesar, not ‘to praise’ him. –Shakespeare (‘Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II)

Here Antony really wants to emphasize what he professes to omit (i.e. to praise Caesar).

• I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke

But here I am to speak what I do know.

• I will not do them wrong: rather I choose

To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you.

• I know who did it, but I won’t mention Rasel’s name (the person has already mentioned the name).
• I will speak only about his good nature (implies that the person certainly has a bad side).
• I need not mention that everything should be done within the deadline. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

  Anaphora (or Epanaphora)

‘Anaphora’ or ‘Epanaphora’ means ‘carrying back’. This figure consists in the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. Examples:

• Ring out the old shapes of foul disease

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold

Ring out the thousand wars of old. –Tennyson (In Memoriam)

• Be bold, be brief, be gone.
• Stay safe, stay well, stay happy.
• Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice, shame on me. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

‘Epistrophe’ is a figure of speech which consists in the repetition of the same words or phrases at the end of successive clauses or sentences. Examples:

• Swimming is ‘good for health’,

Walking is ‘good for health’,

Everything that helps in the circulation of blood is ‘good for health’.

• Shakespeare was ‘a poet’, Milton was ‘a poet’, Wordsworth was ‘a poet’, Keats was ‘a poet’.
• It was the best of ‘times’, it was the worst of ‘times’. The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

Tautology (or Pleonasm)

Tautology is a figure of speech in which the same fact or idea is repeated in different words within a sentence. Examples:

• Virtue and virtue ‘alone’ is the ‘only’ thing that counts in life. (Here tautology consists in repeating the word ‘only’ that has already been expressed in ‘alone’).
• I ‘rejoiced’ at the ‘happy’ sight.
• He was quite ‘exhausted’ and ‘fatigued’.
• To have a say in public is the privilege and birthright of every man in a democratic country. 0 0 0.

Analysis of Figures of Speech  

We use figures of speech in our daily speech without being aware that we are using them. Both prose writers and poets make abundant use of figures of speech in their works, either consciously or unconsciously. For a better understanding of any literary work, we must have a thorough knowledge of all the figures of speech. But mastering rhetoric is not an easy task. Here, some verses, sentences, or short paragraphs are collected from various writings to analyze the figures of speech that lie within them. Students or readers are advised to practice these as much as possible in order to gain mastery over the use of figures of speech. (The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech)

• I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high over vales and hills

When all at once I saw a crowd

A host of golden daffodils! –Wordsworth.

Analysis: The above-quoted stanza contains two figures of speech (i) simile and (ii) metaphor

The very first line ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ – is a simile. Here the poet compares himself to a cloud with regard to loneliness, (the feature common to both the cloud and the poet) and the similarity is clearly stated by the word ‘as’.

(ii) The second figure of speech is a metaphor and it consists in the comparison between ‘crowd’ and ‘daffodils’; but the comparison is implied only, not clearly stated.

• And the ice, mast-high came floating by

As green as emerald.

Analysis:  These quoted lines contain two figures of speech-metaphor and simile.

The first line contains a metaphor and it consists in the comparison between the height of the ‘mast’ and the height of the ‘ice’ and this comparison is implied only, not clearly stated.

The second figure of speech is a simile and it consists in the explicit statement of the similarity between the ice and emerald in respect of colour. The similarity is stated clearly by the use of the conjunction ‘as’.

Analysis:  From the viewpoint of the figure of speech, the above-quoted line is an example of Antithesis. Here two contradictory ideas –(i) to err is human, and (ii) to forgive is divine –are set against each other for the sake of emphasis.

• For the sky and the sea and the sea and the sky

Lay like a load on my weary eye.

Analysis:  The above-quoted lines contain three figures of speech-chiasmus, simile, and hypallage (or transferred epithet).

The first line i.e. ‘for the sky and the sea and the sea and the sky’ is an instance of chiasmus. It is because the phrase ‘for the sky and the sea’ in the first clause is reversed in the second clause as ‘and the sea and the sky’.

Secondly, the whole passage is an instance of simile. Here a similarity between ‘the sky and the sea’ on the one hand and ‘a load’ on the other is brought about and explicitly stated by using the conjunction ‘like’.

Thirdly, the ‘weary eye’ is an instance of hypallage because the adjective ‘weary’ does not actually belong to the ‘eyes’. It really belongs to the mariner, but the poet has transferred the word from its proper place and used it before ‘eyes.

• Much have I seen and known: cities of men

And manners, climates, councils, governments,

Myself not least, but honoured of them all,

And drunk delight of battle with my peers

Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.

Analysis:  This passage contains a number of figures of speech.

The first sentence (Much have I seen and known) is an instance of Hyperbaton (inversion) which consists in the inversion of the grammatical order of words in a sentence for the sake of emphasis.

Secondly, the expression “cities of men…… not least” is an example of climax. This series of words are here arranged in such a way that the lest impressive or important of them  (i.e. cities of men) comes first, and the most impressive (i.e. myself not least) comes last.

Thirdly, the expression (i.e. delight of battle) is a metaphor. Here ‘delight of battle’ has been compared to wine. The comparison is implied only, not stated clearly.

The last line is an instance of Onomatopoeia which is seen  here in such words as ‘ringing’ and ‘windy’ which suggest their sense  by their sound.

• For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey

This pleasing anxious being e’er resigned

Left the warm precincts of cheerful day,

Nor cast one longing lingering look behind?

Analysis:  There are a number of figures of speech in the stanza.

In the first line, we have a case of Methapor. Here ‘forgetfulness’ is compared to a bird of prey, but this comparison has not been explicitly express, it is implied only. The word ‘Forgetfulness’ is also personified.

The phrase ‘pleasing anxious’ in the second line, is an instance of oxymoron. Here two contradictory words ‘pleasing’ and ‘anxious’ are set together for effect.

In the third verse, there is a metaphor. The word ‘precincts’ belongs properly to a cathedral (or other sacred place), but here it is transferred to the day in such a way that a comparison between a cathedral and the day is implied, though not explicitly stated.

In the same verse, the phrase ‘cheerful day’ is an instance of hypallage. Here the villagers are cheerful, not the day. But this adjective is transferred from the villagers to the day.

In the last line, there is alliteration as the letter ‘l’ occurs at the beginning of the words: ‘longing’, ‘lingering’ and ‘look’.

• Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast

The little tyrant of his fields withstood;

Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest

Some Cromwell guiltless of his country’s blood.

Analysis:  The words ‘Hampden’, ‘Milton’ and ‘Cromwell’ are the instances of Synecdoche in which an individual is used to designate a class. Here ‘Hampden’ stands for the class of men who fight fearlessly against the tyrannical rule; ‘Milton’ is used for the class of great poets and ‘Cromwell’ is used for the class of great public leaders.

‘Fields’ and ‘country’s’ are the instances of Metonymy. In ‘fields’ the instrument is used to mean the agent (i.e. the landlord) and in country’s’ the container (i.e. country) is used to mean the thing contained (i.e. countrymen).

There is synecdoche in ‘tyrant’. In tyrant’ the concrete (i.e. tyrant) is used to designate the abstract (i. e. tyrannies).

In ‘dauntless breast’ we have an instance of hypallage. The adjective ‘dauntless’ properly belongs to some villagers of Hampden’ but it is transferred to ‘breast.

• Far from the madding crowds ignoble strife

Their sober wishes never learned to stray:

Along the cool sequestered vale of life

They kept the noiseless tenour of their way.

The word ‘wishes’ in the second line is personified as some human qualities are attributed in it. In the word ‘stray’ we have a case of metaphor. The word properly belongs to the ‘live stock’ but here it is transferred to ‘wishes’ in such a way that comparison is implied, though not formally stated.

In the third line there is a metaphor again. Here ‘life’ is compared to a ‘vale’ and this comparison is implied only, not clearly stated.

The last line bears an instance of hypallage. The villagers referred to are ‘noiseless’ and not the ‘tenour of their way’. But this epithet (i.e. noiseless) is transferred from the villagers to the ‘tenour’.

9. Fear at my heart as at a cup

My life blood seemed to sip.

Analysis: This passage contains three figures of speech- simile, personification and metonymy.

The very first line is a simile. Here the poet compares his heart with a man that drinks tea or any liquid from a cup and this comparison is stated explicitly by using the word ‘as’.

In the same line the word ‘Fear’ is personified as it is thought of as acting as a human being.

Again the word ‘cup’ is a used as a metonymy because the cup is used here for its contents (wine or tea).

10. Perfume and flowers fall in showers.

Analysis: This sentence contains three figures of speech- hendiadys, onomatopoeia and metaphor.

The expression ‘perfume and flowers’ is an instance of hendiadys. Here the word ‘perfume’ and ‘flowers’ are joined by the conjunction ‘and’. It is used instead of the expression ‘perfumed flowers’ in which ‘perfume’ qualifies ‘flowers’ grammatically.

The whole sentence is also an example of onomatopoeia as the sound of the word ‘showers’ suggests the sense.

The sentence is again an example of metaphor. Here the falling of flowers has been compared to the falling of rain. But the comparison is not stated clearly, instead it is implied only.

11. The child is the father of man.

Analysis:  This sentence is an instance of epigram. At first reading, it appears inappropriate as to how a child can be the father of man. But a deep reading or a little thought reveals to us that the potential of a child foretells how he would be when he grows up.

12. The faint fresh flame of the young year flushes,

From leaf to flower, from flower to fruit.

Analysis:  This passage contains three figures of speech-alliteration, metaphor and chiasmus.

The alliteration consists in the repetition of the letter ‘f’ at the beginning of the words ‘faint, fresh, flame, flushes, from, flower and fruit’.

The first line is also an instance of metaphor. The ‘young’ has been compared to a young child. But the comparison is implied only, not explicitly stated.

In the second line, there is an example of chiasmus. It consists in the inversion of the order of the word ‘flower’.

13. In every society a career should be open to talent.

Analysis: This statement is an example of Synecdoche. Here the abstract is used to designate the concrete. Here ‘talent’ which is an abstract is used for a ‘talented person’ (concrete noun).

14. The oaks forgot their whispering

Analysis:  This passage is an instance of pathetic fallacy. In it, nature is portrayed as taking a definite interest in human action. The oaks and pines have not only been personified but also have been shown as sympathizing with human sorrows.

15. The portly presence of potentates goodly in girth.

Analysis:  This sentence is an instance of alliteration. Here the letter ‘p’ is repeated at the beginning of the words ‘portly, presence and potentates’. Again the words ‘goodly’ and ‘girth’ bears alliteration made up with the letter ‘g’.

16. Into the jaws of Death

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

Analysis:  This passage is an instance of personification. Here ‘Death’ and ‘Hell’ have been personified.

17. Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.

Analysis : This statement is an instance of Epigram. It bears an apparent contradiction in language- namely our sweetest songs are made up of saddest thoughts. But a thoughtful examination of the statement shows that it contains an important truth namely saddest thoughts give us true pleasure by drawing our emotion.

18. Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

Analysis:  This is an instance of Antithesis. Here two contradictory ideas –(i) reign in Hell and (ii) serve in Heaven – are set against each other in a balanced form for effect.

19. The mind is in its own place, and in itself, can make Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.

Analysis:  This is an example of chiasmus.  Here in the statement, we see that the order of words ‘Heaven of Hell’ is reverted at the end.

20. The Hall was full of melody and misses.

Analysis:   This sentence is an instance of Hendiadys. Here the two words ‘melody’ and ‘misses’ (joined by the conjunction ‘and’) have been used instead of the expression ‘melodious misses’ and in this expression the word ‘melodious’ qualifies the noun ‘misses’.

21. I will drink life to the lees.

Analysis:  This is an example of metaphor.  Here ‘life’ has been compared to ‘wine’ and the point of comparison has been implied only, not clearly stated. This metaphor can be expanded in to a simile as under-

I will drink life to the lees just as a man drinks wine to the lees.

22. Man is a hater of truth, a lover of fiction.

Analysis: This is an instance of Antithesis. Here two contradictory ideas- (i) hater of truth and (ii) a lover of fiction are set against each other in a balanced form for the sake of emphasis.

23. Our antagonist is our helper.

Analysis: This is an example of epigram. In the saying, there is an apparent contradiction in language, namely, how an antagonist can be a helper. But a little thought shows us that it contains a deep truth, namely, the hostility of others brings out the talent of a man.

24. I do not consult physician, for I want to die without them.

Analysis: This statement is an example of innuendo. Here the speaker wants to say that physicians do not cure people but they kill them. But this purpose is kept out of view, and is left to be inferred by the hearers. It has only been obliquely hinted.

25. Faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.

Analysis: This is an instance of oxymoron. Here two pairs of contradictory words such as- (i) faith unfaithful and (ii) falsely true are brought together for effect.

26. That consolation, that joy, that triumph was afforded him.

Analysis: This is an instance of climax. Here the words ‘consolation, joy, triumph’ are presented in such a way that the sense rises by successive steps from the least to the more and more impressive or important.

27. Sceptre and crown

Must tumble down

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Analysis:  The passage contains the figure of speech called Metonymy. In ‘sceptre’ and crown’ we have an instance of the substitution of the symbols for the thing symbolized. ‘Sceptre’ and ‘crown’ are the symbols of kings, and they are used to mean the things.

Likewise in ‘scythe’ and spade’ we have the case of the substitution of the instrument for the agent. The instruments ‘scythe’ and ‘spade’ stand for their agent.

28. I must be cruel only to be kind.

Analysis: This statement is an instance of Antithesis. Here two contrasting ideas, namely, (i) to be cruel and (ii) to be kind- are set against each other in a balanced form for the sake of emphasis.

29. The sun breeds maggot in a dead dog.

Analysis: This sentence is an example of metaphor. Here the attributes of a woman have been transferred to the inanimate object ‘sun’. This metaphor can be expanded into a simile as follows:

As a woman breeds a child so the sun breeds maggot in the dead body of a dog.

30. Failures are the pillars of success.

Analysis:  This statement contains two figures of speech-metaphor and epigram.

The word ‘pillar’ which properly belongs to a ‘building’ has been transferred to ‘success’ in such a way that a comparison between ‘pillars’ and ‘failures’ is implied, though not deliberately stated. This metaphor can be expanded into a simile as under:

As pillars hold a building so failures hold the key to success.

The sentence is also an example of epigram. In the sentence there is an apparent contradiction in language- how failures can be the pillars of success. At first reading it may appear to be  impossible but a careful study reveals that it contains a deep truth, namely,  that failures open our eyes to the defects which stand in the way of success.

31. Hate was for him a virtue, vengeance was a duty, pardon was an infamy.

Analysis: This is an instance of climax.  Here the ideas are presented in such a way that the sense rises by successive steps to which is more and more impressive and important.

32. We fall to rise, we baffle to fight batter, we sleep to wake.

Analysis: This is an example of climax. Here the ideas are presented in such a way that the sense rises by successive steps from the lowest to what is higher in importance or impression.

33. All the rank and fashion came out to see the sight.

Analysis: This is an instance of metonymy. It is a figure of speech that consists in the substitution of the thing named for the thing meant. Here ‘rank and fashion’ (the thing named) is used for ‘the people of high rank’ (the thing meant).

34. Faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.

Analysis: This is an instance of oxymoron.  Here two pair of contradictory phrases (i) faith unfaithful (ii) falsely true are set together for effect.

35. Thus idly busy rolls their world away.

Analysis : This is an instance of oxymoron. Here two contradictory words (i) idly and (ii) busy are set together for effect.

36. He is weak in Euclid.

Analysis:  This is an example of Metonymy. Here the author (i.e. Euclid) is substituted for his work (i.e. geometry).

37. O judgment! Thou are fled to brutish beasts.

Analysis:  This statement contains two figures of speech-(i) Apostrophe and (ii) Tautology.

Here ‘O judgment’ is an apostrophe because the author turns away from his subject and addresses an abstract idea ‘judgment’.

There is a tautology in the use of the words ‘brutish’ and ‘beasts’ because what is repeated in the ‘beast’ has already been expressed in the word ‘brutish’.

38. Cowards die many times before their death.

Analysis: This is an instance of epigram. Here an apparent contradiction in language, namely, how a man (coward) can die many times before his death. But a little thought shows us that a coward suffers from death-like mental condition before his physical death.

39. Man proposes; God disposes.

Analysis: This is an instance of antithesis because here two contradictory ideas namely, (i) man proposes and (ii) God disposes are set against each other in a balanced form for the sake of emphasis.

40. He has a fluent tongue.

Analysis: This is an example of metonymy. Here the organ (i.e. tongue) is substituted for the agent (i.e. speech). 0 0 0 . The Rhetoric | Figures of Speech

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Table of Contents

Definition of a Figure of Speech

Classification of figures of speech.

• How to Use a Figure of Speech in a Sentence? – Points to Remember

Examples of Figures of Speech

Frequently asked questions on figures of speech in english, what irs a figure of speech.

A figure of speech is an expression used to make a greater effect on your reader or listener. It includes making comparisons, contrasts, associations, exaggerations and constructions. It also gives a much clearer picture of what you are trying to convey.

Let us take a look at how different dictionaries define a figure of speech to have a much better idea of what it is.

A figure of speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a word or phrase used in a different way from its usual meaning in order to create a particular mental picture or effect.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “an expression that uses words to mean something different from their ordinary meaning.” According to the Collins Dictionary, a figure of speech is “an expression or word that is used with a metaphorical rather than a literal meaning.”

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “ a form of expression (such as a simile or metaphor) used to convey meaning or heighten effect often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning or connotation familiar to the reader or listener.” According to the Macmillan Dictionary, a figure of speech is defined as “an expression in which the words are used figuratively, not in their normal literal meaning.”

Figures of Speech in English Grammar

In English grammar , there are around fifteen to twenty figures of speech. However, there are a few of them which are used more often than the others. Let us look at the most commonly used figures of speech.

• Personification
• Alliteration
• Transferred Epithet

How to Use a Figure of Speech in English? – Points to Remember

You now know that a figure of speech can make your language look and sound a lot more poetical, interesting and flamboyant. However, the challenge is not about learning the different figures of speech but knowing when, where and how to use them. You cannot use it anywhere you like. Only if it is used right and where they are appropriate and necessary, will it make your language better.

Figures of speech are not meant to provide information literally, so it is not suggested that you use figurative language in professional presentations and writings like essays. Since they do not convey literal meanings, it is very important that you learn how each figure of speech can be used. What is more important is knowing what it would mean when used in a particular part of a sentence. So, the most significant point that you have to keep in mind when using figures of speech is to employ them only if they give you the desired effect and meaning.

The figures of speech can be categorized into types based on their functions when used in sentences. Accordingly, the main categories are composed of ones that:

• Show a Relationship or Resemblance
• Show Phonetic Resemblances and Representing Sounds
• Show Emphasis or Unimportance

Showing a Relationship or Resemblance

This category includes figures of speech which are designed to make comparisons to show a relationship or some resemblances. Similes, metaphors, personification, euphemism, metonymy and synecdoche are the figures of speech used for this purpose.

Showing Phonetic Resemblances and Representing Sounds

This category of figures of speech include alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia. The first two figures of speech are used to create an effect by using similar sounding words or words starting with the same consonant and vowel sounds, whereas onomatopoeia includes words that are used to represent sounds.

Showing Emphasis or Unimportance

The figures of speech belonging to this category are used to provide emphasis or show how important or unimportant something is. Hyperbole, antithesis, oxymoron, irony and litotes are figures of speech that can be used for this purpose.

Here are a few examples of the different figures of speech in English grammar.

• Simile – Rachel is as bright as the sun.
• Metaphor – The whole world is a stage.
• Personification – The wind whispered in my ears.
• Apostrophe – O William, you should be living now to see all this.
• Alliteration – Sally sold some seashells.
• Assonance – I seem to like your little green trees.
• Hyperbole – I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
• Oxymoron – Euthanizing their sick pet dog was considered as an act of kind cruelty.
• Epigram – The child is the father of man.
• Irony – A fire station burned down yesterday.
• Pun – Life depends upon the liver.
• Metonymy – The Bench decided that the man is guilty.
• Synecdoche – We need more hands to help us move this cupboard.
• Transferred Epithet – She had a sleepless night.

What is a figure of speech?

What is the definition of a figure of speech.

A figure of speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a word or phrase used in a different way from its usual meaning in order to create a particular mental picture or effect.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “an expression that uses words to mean something different from their ordinary meaning.” According to the Collins Dictionary, a figure of speech is “an expression or word that is used with a metaphorical rather than a literal meaning.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “ a form of expression (such as a simile or metaphor) used to convey meaning or heighten effect often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning or connotation familiar to the reader or listener.” According to the Macmillan Dictionary, a figure of speech is defined as “an expression in which the words are used figuratively, not in their normal literal meaning.”

What are the different figures of speech in English?

Here is a list of the different figures of speech in English.

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Paradox Definition

What is paradox? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is much too important to be taken seriously" is a paradox. At first it seems contradictory because important things are meant to be taken seriously, but Wilde's paradoxical suggestion is that, the more important something is, the more important it is  not  to take it seriously.

Some additional key details about paradox:

• People often use the word paradox simply to express their astonishment at something unexpected or enigmatic, but this is a misuse of the word.
• In the study of logic, paradoxes have a slightly different meaning than the one we cover in this entry. Logical paradoxes are statements that actually  do  contradict themselves, and are therefore unresolvable.
• The word paradox comes from the Greek "paradoxos," meaning contrary to expectation, or strange.

Paradox Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce paradox: par -uh-docks

Literary Paradox in Depth

The special ability of the figure of speech called paradox—which is to simultaneously seem self-contradictory and yet also reveal unexpected meaning—often depends on words that can be interpreted in more than one way. For instance, in Shakespeare's Hamlet , when Hamlet tells his mother "I must be cruel, only to be kind," he's using a paradox to express that his behavior, while it may appear  to be cruel, is actually a form of kindness—but that's only  if you interpret kindness to include harsh actions that may be better for everyone in the long run (Hamlet also turns out to be wrong since, by the end of the play, pretty much everyone is dead). This type of paradox, also called verbal paradox or literary paradox , is the type we'll focus on in this entry.

Literary Paradox vs. Logical Paradox

Literary paradox is distinct from logical paradox, in which the meaning of a statement is contradictory in a way that  cannot  be resolved into sense-making. Here are the differences between literary and logical paradox in more detail:

• Initially:  Literary paradoxes often seem unresolvable, while logical paradoxes often don't immediately seem contradictory.
• Upon further examination:  While further thought leads to literary paradoxes resolving in a way that reveals a deeper truth, further examination reveals a logical paradox to be so thoroughly self-contradictory that it defeats its own meaning (instead of revealing an unexpected meaning based on how the language is interpreted).

The classic example of logical paradox is the statement "This statement is false." The statement is logically impossible to resolve:​​​​​​ if the statement is true, then it is false; and if the statement is false, then it is true.

Put more broadly: rather than using language figuratively to construct a new and unexpected meaning (as in literary paradox), logical paradox actually uses language nonsensically  to create the appearance of meaning which upon further review is revealed as hopelessly contradictory and therefore lacking.

Paradox vs. Related Terms

Literary paradox is easily confused with two other figures of speech, antithesis  and oxymoron . This section outlines how paradox differs from each of these terms.

• Unlike paradoxes, antitheses are not contradictory, nor do they seem to be. Rather than contradiction, antitheses focus on opposition  between two things.
• Further, whereas antithesis generally involves the use of parallelism (two or more parallel grammatical structures at the sentences level), paradox does not.
• While an oxymoron is usually made up of just two words, a paradox can be expressed in many different ways, as a concept or a description of a situation.
• So when, in Romeo and Juliet ,  Juliet tells Romeo that "parting is such sweet sorrow," the oxymoron "sweet sorrow" suggests a deeper paradox at play: that Juliet's pain at parting with Romeo even for a night is cause for joy, since it testifies to the strength of their love. However, this same paradox could also be expressed without the use of the poetic oxymoron, for instance if Juliet were simply to say something like "my sorrow makes me happy."

Paradox Examples

Paradox appear in all sorts of writing, from literature, to speeches, to song lyrics. The examples below show some of each. 

Paradox Examples in Literature

In literature, paradoxes can create humor, express the confusion or frustration of a seeming impossibility, or make clear the absurdity of an unexpected situation.

Paradox in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

As Hamlet interrogates his mother, Gertrude, in Act 3 Scene 4 of Hamlet , after mistakenly killing Polonius, he uses a paradox to explain why he has committed such violent actions and why he has been berating his mother for remarrying Claudius (the brother of Hamlet's father). With this paradoxical statement, Hamlet is attempting to persuade his frightened mother that although he seems wicked in this moment, his intentions are good.

I must be cruel, only to be kind.

Hamlet's phrase sums up a wider paradox at play in many stories, as characters wrestle with the question: is it alright to commit acts that seem morally wrong, in support of causes that seem morally right?

Paradox in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

In the first scene of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet , Romeo has not yet met Juliet and is still heartbroken over his first crush, Rosalind. Shakespeare expresses the whirling confusion of his emotions in this moment with a series of oxymorons  and paradoxes.

Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will ! Where shall we dine?—O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here's much to do with hate but more with love. Why, then, O brawling love ! O loving hate ! O any thing, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness ! serious vanity ! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms ! Feather of lead , bright smoke , cold fire , sick health ! Still-waking sleep , that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this...

The first paradox suggests Romeo's seemingly contradictory wish that a love that is "blind" should nevertheless see a path to accomplish its desires. The second paradox references a central theme of the play: the idea of love and hatred coinciding (remember that the play is about children from warring families falling in love?). The third paradox expresses Romeo's exasperation that such beautiful things could come together to make such a mess. After a number of oxymorons —which express Romeo's sense of confusion in love—the final paradox  is Romeo's expression of sorrow that his feeling of love is unrequited.

Paradox in George Orwell's 1984

In his dystopian novel 1984 , George Orwell imagines a totalitarian government designed on purpose to have contradictory claims at its very core. These contradictions are examples of paradox:

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

The general population of this dystopian future seems numb to the contradiction inherent in this phrase, and this is part of why Orwell sees this society as so dangerous. In it, language no longer has meaning on its own—rather, the ruling party has gained and maintained power to wage constant war, enforce absolute obedience, and nurture general ignorance precisely by annihilating meaning in language so that there is nothing left for any citizen to hold on to or to trust.

Paradox in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself"

In this poem, Walt Whitman famously welcomes the idea that he might be indulging himself in paradoxes, writing "Do I contradict myself?/Very well then, I contradict myself/I am large, I contain multitudes." Paradox is, in fact, a major feature of the poem, as you'll see in this excerpt:

I have said that the soul is not more than the body, And I have said that the body is not more than the soul... And I or you pocketless of a dime may purchase the pick of the earth, And to glance with an eye or show a bean in its pod confounds the learning of all times...

Whitman's writing proposes values that are at odds with those of his culture, and the paradoxes here help to highlight the radical nature of his ideas. Whitman believes that all people, however poor (or "pocketless of a dime"), are capable of 'buying' whatever they please ("the pick of the earth"). He states that the sight of something as insignificant as a bean can reveal more knowledge than a lifetime of schooling. Whitman's paradoxes invite the reader to reconsider what he or she believes to be important.

Paradox in George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman

In his play Man and Superman , Shaw uses his protagonist Jack Tanner to express many of his own unconventional ideas about society. One of the tenets in a book carried by Tanner comes in the form of a witty paradox:

The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.

This statement undermines the sanctity of the traditional "golden rule" (i.e., "do unto others as you'd have them do unto you"), suggesting a more flexible worldview. It creates a paradox, however, since a golden rule against golden rules would seem to defeat its own authority! This makes it similar to the classic "liar's paradox" from logic: "this sentence is a lie."

Paradox in Ralph Waldo Ellison's  Invisible Man

In  Invisible Man , Ellison's protagonist grapples with what it means to be black in predominantly white, racist America. He is haunted by the paradoxical advice of his grandfather, who tells him to "overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction..." In other words, the grandfather suggests that the best way to break the power of the white majority is precisely  to submit to it . Another paradox arises when the protagonist is promoted to chief spokesman of the Brotherhood in Harlem, and Master Jack describes  the position:

"You will have freedom of action— and  you will be under strict discipline to the committee."

This restrained freedom creates a paradox, which ultimately leads the protagonist to decide to leave behind all institutions, as he comes to realize that  all  groups will require him to sacrifice his freedom and identity to their cause.

Paradox in Speeches

Paradox also appears in great political speeches, whose key phrases have survived the test of time in the public imagination.

Paradox in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

In his first inaugural address, Roosevelt spoke about the challenges facing the United States as a result of the Great Depression. One of the most famous lines from his speech is so memorable in part because it creates a paradox:

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself...

With this optimistic message, Roosevelt hoped to unite the struggling nation against a common enemy (fear), all the while asserting the invincibility of the American nation. Every challenge facing the nation could be defeated, Roosevelt argued, as long as its citizens could believe in themselves and vanquish fear.

Paradox in Song

A well-placed paradox can make song lyrics memorable and give them a greater depth of meaning, asking listeners to think twice as they sing along to a catchy tune.

Paradox in Nick Lowe and Ian Gromm's "Cruel to Be Kind"

Nick Lowe and Ian Gromm borrow a turn of phrase from Shakespeare's Hamlet , cited above, in their co-written song "Cruel to Be Kind." Like Hamlet, the speaker here is trying to argue that a little cruelty can be a sign of love, a sentiment that also echoes the paradoxical blending of love and hate in Romeo and Juliet .

You've gotta be Cruel to be kind in the right measure, Cruel to be kind it's a very good sign, Cruel to be kind means that I love you, Baby, you've gotta be cruel to be kind...

Why Do Writers Use Paradox?

Paradoxes are helpful for capturing the sometimes bewildering duality of life. A writer might choose to employ paradox for various reasons, including: 

• To highlight the complexity of a certain situation, or point out the fallacy of a widely-held, preconceived notion.
• To allude to an apparent contradiction and suggest that it might reveal a greater truth if it can be resolved.
• To point out, challenge, or satirize contradictions in the world.
• To craft a word puzzle that draws the reader in and demands their attention.
• To add humor to a work by making a witty observation.

Other Helpful Paradox Resources

• Paradox Wikipedia Page: this entry is specific to paradox as a literary term, but you can also find the link to a general entry on paradox.
• American Rhetoric: this site catalogues examples of literary devices like paradox in famous speeches from history, and even provides free audio clips of the speakers in action.
• Youtube explanation: this video offers a thorough and clear definition of paradox, with helpful literary examples. 

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
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• Figure of Speech
• Juxtaposition
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