A part is put for the whole, as, "Twenty heads of cattle;" "A strange sail appeared." The whole is put for a part, as, "The window is broken," i. e. a pane of glass. The genus is put for the species, as, "The beast," for the ox. The species for the genus, as, a flinty heart for a stony heart. "Yet suffer not thy soul to sink with dread : From me no harm shall touch thy reverend head." Flutter'd your Volces in Corioli : Alone I did it. -Boy!" POPE. SHAKSPEARE-Coriolanus. IRONY. The IRONY, (from epwveia, a dissimulation,) is a figure by which the contrary to what is affirmed is intended to be understood, as, " He is a pretty fellow truly," implying by the tone and air of derision with which the observation is made, that he is a contemptible fellow. Elijah, in order to convince Baal's prophets that the Lord was the true God, desired them to take a bullock, cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, putting no fire under it, while he would do the same with another bullock; the prophets were then to call on their God, and Elijah was to call on the name of the Lord, and it was agreed that the god who answered by fire, should be considered the true God. After Baal's prophets had prepared the bullock, and spent some time, ineffectually, in calling on their deity. to consume it, Elijah used the following irony: Cry aloud for he is a GOD, either he is talking or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked." 1 Kings xviii. 27. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." Ecclesiastes, xi. 9. "Here under leave of Brutus, and the rest, SHAKSPEARE. By this figure, a fool is sometimes called a Solomon, a harlot, a Penelope, &c. The term little is, in a similar manner, applied to men of great stature, as little John the companion of Robinhood. We sometimes also, ironically, beg a slow person not to over hurry himself, and overwhelm a bad actor with applause instead of hisses. THE SARCASM, (from σapraw, to tear the flesh,) is a kind of irony; it properly consists in insulting with scoff, and derision, a dead or dying person: but most satirical expressions are termed sarcasms: Thus, "Let Christ the king of Israel descend now from the cross," Mark xv. 32. "Hail king of the Jews," Matt. xxvii. 29. "Thou who destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days save thyself. If thou be the Son of God come down from the cross. Matt. xxvii. 40. " "Him when the Daunian hero spy'd from far, HYPERBOLE. Pitt's Virgil, En. xii. 353. The HYPERBOLE, (from UTEрßoλn, a throwing beyond, ab υπερ and ẞaw, to throw,) is a figure by which facts are exaggerated, in order to give the highest sense, or the meanest conception of the thing represented, as, " Higher than heaven." 66 Deeper than hell.” "Jonathan was swifter than an eagle, stronger than a lion.” Why man he doth bestride the narrow world, Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about "Could we with ink the ocean fill, SHAKSPEARE. To write the love of God on high Walked crowns and crownets; realms and islands were SHAKSPEARE-Antony and Cleopatra. A certain quack, in order to enhance his mode of imparting information, stated that he could teach a person, of the most moderate ability, the Greek and Latin languages in a single month; "nay," said he, (attempting an hyperbole,) "give me but an ass, and I will positively engage to make him capable of taking a doctor's degree in less than ten years. He shall be a profound grammarian, a complete orator, a sublime poet, and a Christian philosopher." The king, having heard of his fame, commanded him to appear before him, when he thus addressed him: "I have in my stable an ass of bright conception; him I would fain have made an orator; what is your charge for the undertaking?" To which the man replied, "he only required maintenance, clothing, and a piece of gold in his pocket; and, if in ten year's time, the ass were not to his will, he would voluntarily be hung before the populace, as a spectacle of infamy, and as a proof of his impostures." He was subsequently asked if he were not afraid that the king would really take him at his word, and hang him as an impostor? "O, no," replied he, " if neither the king nor I should die before the term expires, I will take care that the ass shall." CATACHRESIS. The CATACHRESIS (from Karαxpаoμau, to abuse,) is a trope by which words are anomalously wrested from their primitive sense, or generally received acceptation, as, "A wooden tombstone;" A glass inkhorn;" "My bones stare upon me," Psalm xxii. 17.; "Thou hast stripped the naked of their clothing," Job xxii. 6. "These things to hear Would Desdemona seriously incline: But still the house affairs would draw her thence; SHAKSPEARE-Othells. "Phemius! let acts of gods and heroes old, The principal Rhetorical Figures, as distinguished from Tropes, are as follows: ALLITERATION. The alliteration (from ad, and litera, a letter,) is an ornament of language chiefly used in poetry, and consists in the repetition of the same letter or letters at intervals, as, "Behemoth, biggest, born." :"Eternal beauties grace the shining scene, Confusion on thy banners wait! Tho' fann'd by conquest's crimson wing, Helm nor hauberk's twisted mail, MILTON. POPE. Nor e'en thy virtues, Tyrant, shall avail To save thy secret soul from nightly fears, From Cambria's curse, from Cambria's tears." "Hark! heard ye not yon footstep dread, That shook the earth with thund'ring tread? The warrior past; High tower'd his helmed head: I mark'd his mail, I mark'd his shield, I spy'd the sparkling of his spear, I saw his giant arm the falchion wield; Gray's Bard. Wide wav'd his bickering blade, and fir'd the angry air." AMPLIFICATION. Mason's Caractacus. The AMPLIFICTION (from amplifico, to enlarge,) is a figure by which the writer or speaker enlarges a narration, heightens a praise, or aggravates a crime, for the purpose of exciting the feelings, as, "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties 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!" SHAKSPEARE-Hamlet. "Then from his ear He pois'd, and aim'd, and launch'd the trembling spear. He staggers round: his eye-balls roll in death, Dryden's Virgil, Æn. ix. 551. ANAPHORA. The ANAPHORA, (from avaosow, to bring over again,) sometimes called the Epanaphora, is a figure by which several sentences, or the clauses of a sentence, begin with the same word, as, "The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon," Psalm xxix. 4, 5. "And when kind fortune with thy lover smiled! "Death is the crown of life; Were death denied, poor man would live in vain : "Thee, his loved wife, along the lonely shores, ANTITHESIS. YOUNG. YOUNG. Virgil's Georgics. The ANTITHESIS, (from avτ, against, and rinμ, to place,) or Contrast, is a figure by which words or sentiments are placed in opposition to one another, generally, for the purpose of heightening the effect, or displaying the superiority of one of them, as, "Homer is a more cheerful and sprightly poet than Ossian. You discern in him all the Greek vivacity; whereas Ossian uniformly maintains the gravity and solemnity of a Celtic hero. Both poets are eminently |