Rhetorical Figures: Crowning the Glory of the English Language, Explained from Common Usage and Poetry

1. Introduction:

A language is well recognized in literature by virtue of its various special grammar characteristics. Figures of speech in any language create a niche for a language, and in this sense, the English language occupies a special place in the world of literature by virtue of the beautiful applications of figures of speech. Several languages ​​use figures of speech, but English is unique due to its more modern usage.

Figures of speech are used primarily by efficient writers, skilled speakers, talented poets, and talented playwrights. We will see, in this article, how these talented genres use this technique to add brilliance and glory to the language.

But we must insist on that, learning language lessons through exercises has a limited use and only an innate quality can give this talent. However, by reading various articles and listening to lectures, one can improve, rather polish his innate talents and present his writings in a more brilliant way.

With these few words of introduction, let me analyze figures of speech in various writings, one after another.

2. What is a figure of speech?

Any writer or poet will put his soul in his writings and such writings, thus it will be a pure representation of his soul. Your readers must be in tune with the same wavelength and realize the soul behind the creations. Mere words will not be enough to do this job because words will represent only the body and a deeper technique is needed to convey and understand the soul. Figures of speech will do this job; The words may not be the same that are required to convey the meaning, but something beyond the meaning to convey the soul. English is very rich in this technique and there are various forms of figures of speech. In this article we will see some of them. It is by no means an exhaustive list and readers are left to read more prose and poetry to learn more and more figures of speech.

It will not be out of place to mention that the classical Tamil language is very rich in this technique and some examples of the Tamil language are also given.

3. Similes and metaphors:

The most fundamental figures of speech are the simile and the metaphor. There will be no writer or poet without using these two. A simile is the comparison of two things using words like ‘such or as’, which have some aspect in common.

Poets always compare the woman to a moon (fresh and beautiful) and the man to a lion (brave and handsome). Women are sometimes compared to creepers and the man to trees, especially a teak tree. In other words, the man is always strong like teak wood, while the creeper hugs the tree out of love. Another simile that is often used is: The man, by mental cruelty, spoils the life of a woman as a garland is squeezed by a wild animal.

The imagination of poets has no limits. They are not content to describe the lover as a moon, but she is a perfect moon. For the moon there is only one day as a full moon, but for you, darling, every day is a full moon day (because your beauty never fades), so writes a poet.

The metaphor differs from the simile in the sense that it is not about comparing two things, but about freezing both in one.

“The Lion roared that he would achieve freedom” – describing a freedom fighter

The following are some examples of similes and metaphors.

“I was wandering as lonely as a cloud …”

“Go on like the stars that shine

And shine in the Milky Way ”

-They both form the poem ‘Narcissuses’ written by William Wordsworth.

If life is a journey, take it

If life is a game, play it

If life is a challenge, face it

If life is a fight, win it.

“A Himalayan blunder”, phrase used by Gandhi.

4. Hyperbole and Litotes:

Hyperbole is the unique quality of poets. In ordinary life, lying is an offense, but in poetry, lying is much loved to attract the attention and admiration of readers. It’s also a huge exaggeration. Even if it is a lie, it will describe the situation well and therein lies the greatness of the poet.

Some examples of hyperbole:

The author wants to add some humor to this article and the following paragraph describing the use of hyperbole will be helpful.

In India, especially in Tamilnadu, people use hyperbole to please their bosses, etc. very freely. The following examples will explain this.

The moment a political leader gains some recognition, posters will be posted on walls throughout the city praising him.

“Long live our permanent leader,

Just show your little finger, we will bring the Earth to your feet ”

You are our breath, you are our food, you are our life, etc. ”

(In the next election, if the leader is defeated, the posters will also disappear and new posters will appear praising the winner. After all, “Nothing triumphs like success.”

Another field that receives more affection and affection from the public is the cinema. Fans will congratulate matinee idols on their birthdays as follows:

“You are the Sun, you give it light. When you wake up, He rises, when you close your eyes, it will darken”

The Earth rotates thanks to you. The Lion learned to roar for your laugh, flowers bloom for your smile “and so on.

Litotes are the opposite, which is to degrade a thing speaking negatively.

For example: “Okay, the image is not bad” means that the image was satisfactorily good.

The man is not stupid means that the man was intelligent. 5 Euphemisms, dysphemism and oxymoron.

5. The understatement is saying something unpleasant in a pleasant way.

“Oh! My leader sleeps there!” which means that he is dead and buried there.

“I go to the bathroom” means I go to the bathroom, etc.

Dysphemism is opposite of euphemism.

For example: Call a thrifty man a “stingy guy.”

Calling a freedom fighter a ‘terrorist’

A company boss is described as a “pig’s head type”.

Oxymoron combines two contradictory things to define a common characteristic.

From father to son: “You are a wise fool. You have a clever way of causing trouble.”

“I am doing voluntary work out of obligation”

The king was a merciful dictator.

“The guy was obediently brave”

The UN sends its “peacekeeping force” to countries at war.

6. Personification:

Personification is imagining that lifeless things have life.

“Oh death, why do you put your cruel hands on all the great characters?

Oh death, won’t you receive death one day? ”, For Others To Live, taken from a Tamil poem.

“Look! His pride and Vanity are going to speak”

7. Apostrophe:

“Oh. Mahatma (Gandhi) is this why he got us free?”

This is a direct conversation with the dead as if they were alive and in front of us.

Sometimes lifeless objects are assumed to be alive and addressed.

Oh India, is there anyone who can save him from this mess? ”

“Oh, Indian cinema, do you have a future?”

8. Antithesis:

The antithesis is saying two totally contradictory things in a sentence to emphasize a particular point.

The best example of antithesis is’; Man proposes, God disposes’ which emphasizes that nothing is in our hands.

To err is human, but to forgive is Divine.

Speech is silver but silence is gold.

“Not that I love Caesar less, but I love Rome more”

9. Epigram:

Epigrams are almost proverbial sayings that correspond to the antithesis, which excite surprise in the minds of the listeners.

Fools rush to enter where angels fear to tread.

The child is the father of the man.

Poetry is nothing more than a glorified lie.

Marriages are legalized prostitution.

10: Irony:

Irony is an essential ingredient in poetry and drama. The irony of the circumstances enhances the pathos in them and a reflection of the talent of the writer or poet. It is a subject for which thousands of examples of poetry, prose, theater and film could be given. In fact, it requires a series of articles to cover this vast topic. However, let me just highlight a few examples to highlight this figure of speech. (Examples given from own observations).

I). We have seen in several movies, the child is separated from the father. The irony is that the father will help his son in various difficult circumstances without knowing that he is helping his own son.

ii) Lovers are separated by cruel fate. When the lover meets his girlfriend after say five years, she is none other than his stepmother, having married his father. The irony is added when shown as blind.

iii) A student fights with a lady. When he arrives in his exam room, he is surprised to find that she is none other than his new teacher.

Readers are asked to read more poetry and prose and identify this figure of speech and enjoy the richness of the language.

11. PUN:

PUN is quoting a word that has different meanings: some people are great experts in this way of speaking. It takes a lot of wisdom to play with a particular word.

A very famous example of this is “Mr. … conceived three times and delivered nothing” when commenting on a British MP who said, “I conceive, I conceive, I conceive” but did not complete the statement.

A father, on a cloudy day, comments, “neither the sun is bright, nor is my son bright” to comment on his son’s terrible performance.

“We ‘dye you'”, a sign.

How long we live depends on the “liver”.

12. Metonymy:

It implies a name change, by virtue of the functions performed:

The court (judges) awarded the death penalty.

The tribune (committee of three members) settled the offer.

The Crown (King) is pleased, etc.

The faculty (Teachers) had a meeting

13. Climax and anticlimax:

Climax is a dramatic ending to a sentence on a positive note, and on a negative note it is ‘anticlimax’.

He is smart, hardworking, intelligent, studious and, in fact, he is ‘Intelligence personified’.

He is my Friend, Philosopher and Guide and, ultimately, He is my God.

She is very beautiful. charming, beautiful and none other than Venus who has come to Earth.

These are some examples of Climax.

Examples of anticlimax are:

He is a man as rich as the God of wealth, he owns all the gold and money, and he never gives a single paisa to the poor.

She buys kilos of food, drinks and fruit, but cannot eat a single piece on the doctor’s advice (also an example from Irony).

He is a great soccer player, he represented the varsity team in dozens of games and never scored a goal.

Water everywhere, not a drop to drink.

14. Conclusion:

These are some very simple examples of figures of speech, mostly reproduced from personal observations and some from well-known examples. This is just a tip of the iceberg (not hyperbole). In fact, it is a vast area of ​​any language that needs in-depth study. But the habit of most students is to skip this chapter, which usually comes to the end of grammar classes and seems lazy to learn. This article can help create an orientation towards this aspect of learning. If readers are motivated to learn more about figures of speech, the purpose of this article is satisfied.

I wish readers ALL THE BEST.

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