d'literary+publishing gloss(by Gorgonz+herbivor)

fleurzsa

Antonomasia

The substitution of the name of some prominent character for the class he or she typifies;

as,

A Daniel comes to judgment.

His Lordship was tired.

He is a Don Juan (i.e. a person having the character of Don Juan).

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Onomatopoeia

A word or group of words, which suggests the sound, it represents;

As,

‘Cuckoo’, ‘boom’, etc.

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Alliteration

Beginning with the same sound; that is, repeating similar sounds at the beginning of closely connected words;

As,

Dead as a doornail

Pretty as a picture.

The furrow followed free.

From stem to stern.

seribulan

Alliteration

Beginning with the same consonant sounds actually....
if rhyming vowel sounds, then it is not alliteration
but Assonance...

e.g. of Anomotopeia is buzz.....

the buzzing of bees reminds me of my mother's nagging....

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Antithesis

The placing of one idea against another is order to heighten the contrast between them;

as,

'Give me liberty or give me death."

To err his human, to forgive divine.

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Antithesis

The placing of one idea against another is order to heighten the contrast between them;

as,

'Give me liberty or give me death."

To err his human, to forgive divine.

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Epigram

A brife, witty saying, often satirical, with an unexpected sting in it;

as,

"Speech was given to us to conceal our thought".    - Oscar Wilde.

The luxuries of to-day are the necessities of to-morrow.

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Paradox

A statement which appears absurd or contradictory, but which on closer examination is found to contain an important truth;

As,

“The child is the father of the man.”                - Wordworth.

Cowards die many times before their deaths.

Any game that is worth playing is worth playing badly.

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Oxymoron

A kind of condensed paradox in which contradictory words are placed as closely together as possible.  The surprise of the contradiction emphasizes a hidden truth in the thought behind it;

as,

Love is bitter sweet.

Be cruel to be kind.

Make haste slowly.

The wisest fool.

Terribly attractive.

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Irony

A statement which means the opposite of what it says, usually with critical intention;

as,

“For Brutus is an honourable man, so are they all, all honourable men.”
                                                                     - Antony, in Julius Ceasar.

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Innuendo

An indirect, unfavourable reference or insinuation, often ironical:

As,

“conscience….had told us that we ought to visit Napoleon’s house – now, very suitably, a natural history museum.”   - Aldous Huxley.

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Hyperbole

Exaggeration for the sake of emphasis;

as,

'a thousand thanks.'

Your new hat looks simply divine.

'to wait an eternity.'

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Euphemism

The use of pleasing words to express something unpleasant or coarse;

As,

“to pass away,” (for, “to die”).

The girl is decidedly plain (i.e. very ugly).

“gentleman of the road,” (for, highwayman).

“the king’s guest (i.e. prisoner).

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Litotes

An understatement; the opposite of hyperbole.  It makes a positive assertion in negative form;

As,

‘not bad at all.’

That girl is far from shy.

He is no fool.

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Lyric

The words of a song.  Also a type of poem which is usually fairly short, and often expresses the poet's feelings.

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Ode

A rather vague term, usually applied to a poem addressed to someone or something, or to celebrate some special occasion.

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Climax

An arrangement of ideas or aseries of words in which the most impressive is put last, and gradually led up to it;

as,

I came, I saw, I conquered.

Born a pauper, attained affluence in middle age, and finally died a millionaire.

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Anticlimax

An arrangement of words or ideas in which an unimpressive item is put at the end.  It is often due to muddled thinking.  If done deliberately, it usually has a satirical effect.  If there is a sudden descent from the elevated to the commonplace or the sublime to the ridiculous, the result is known as bathos.

Love your country; tell the truth; and don't dawdle.

He's a gambler, a drunkard and a thief - he'll take to smoking next!

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Syllepsis

The use of one word in two different senses, usually literally and figuratively, in the same context;

As,

She stole away my heart – and then my money.  (The word ‘stole’ is not repeated after ‘then’)

The little boy broke his promise and his father’s study window.  (The word ‘broke’ is not repeated after ‘and’.)

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Zeugma

Another condensed form either by mistake or for the sake of brevity in which a verb or adjective relates to two or more nouns, but is strictly applicable to only one of them;

As,

Kill the boys and the luggage!

  With flowers adorned and odours sweet.

  There were more weeds than (there was) grass on the tennis court.

This is a construction which generally is best avoided.

[ Last edited by fleurzsa on 4-4-2004 at 03:10 AM ]