How to Speak and Write Correctly

efinitions and Exam

effective, they beautify and emphasize it and give to it a relish and piquancy as salt does to food; besides they add energy and force to expression so that it irresistibly compels attention and interest. There are four kinds of figures, viz.: (1) Figures of Orthogra

t important, really giving to language the construction and style

s extending the list to a useless length. The fact is that any form

imile, Metaphor, Personification, Allegory, Synechdoche, Metonymy, Exclamation, Hy

mblance, the second six on contigu

forceful manner. Contrast it with the simple statement-"His memory is good." Sometimes Simile is prostituted to a low and degrading use; as "His face was like a danger signal in a fog storm." "Her hair was like a furze-bush in bloom." "He was to his lady love as a poodle to its mistress." Such burlesque is never permissible. Mere likeness, it should be remembered, does not constitute a simile. For instance there is no simile when one city is compared to anothe

ng the church," the expression is a simile, but if we say-"He is a great pillar upholding the church" it is a metaphor. The metaphor is a bolder and more lively figure than the simile. It is more like a picture and hence, the graphic use of metaphor is called "word-painting." It enables us to give

roject has met with much opposition, but while its flight has not reached the heights ambitioned, we are yet sanguine

ke) is the treating of an inanimate object as if it were animate a

ether, the hills rejoic

wound; and Natur

all her works, ga

distinguishable forms: (1) when personality is ascribed to the inanimate as in the foregoing examples, and (2) w

a form of expression in which the words are symbolical of something. It

ul to him in many ways so he determined to make her subservient to his will. He commanded her, but she refused to obey, then he resorted to very harsh measures with the little girl, but she still remained obstinate and obdurate. He continued to oppress her until finally she rebelled and became as a thorn in his side to prick him for his evil attitude towards her;" this is an allegory in which the giant plainly represents Eng

ess than we intend. Thus: we speak of the world when we mean only a very limited number of the people who compose the world: as, "The world treated him badly." Here we use the whole for a part. But the most common form of this figure is that

drunkard-"He loves the bottle" we do not mean that he loves the glass receptacle, but the liquor that it is supposed to contain. Metonymy, generally speaking, has, three subdivisions: (1) when an effect is put for cause or vice versa: as "Gray hairs should be respected," meaning old age. "He writes a

stating a fact, simply utters an expression of surprise or emotion. For instance when he hears some har

hus in describing a towering mountain we can write "Heavens, what a piece of Nature's handiwork! how majestic! how sublime! how awe-inspiring in i

effective by overstating it. Here are some examples:-"He was so tall his head touched the clouds." "He was as thin as a poker." "He was so light that a breath might have blown him away." Most people are liable to overwork this figure. We are all more

s to the absent as present, to the inanimate as living, or to the abstract as person

try tis

and of

ee I

th where is thy sting!" This figure is

present in time or place. It is appropriate to animated description, as it produces the effect of an i

he book of Revelation is a vision of the future

is founded on contrast; it consists in putting two unlike things in

he old, rin

false, ring

ds in peace, but

ore it; draw out, without breaking, a thread as fine as a gossamer; and lift up a ship of war like a bauble in the air; it c

ve until the last one, which emphasizes the force of all the preceding ones. "He risked truth, he risked honor, he risked fame, he risked all that

expression. It now means a statement or any brief saying in prose or poetry in which there is an apparent contradiction; as, "Conspicuous for hi

ich an assertion is made by asking a question; as, "Does God not show justice to all

what is intended, with the end in view, that the falsity or absurdity may be apparent; as, "Benedict Arnold wa

ter mingled with contempt; derision is ridicule from a personal feeling of hostility; mockery is i

s to convey a meaning different from their ordinary signification in common every-day speech and writing.