Figures of Speech may be described as that language which is prompted
either by the imagination, or by the passions. They generally imply some
departure from simplicity of expression; and exhibit ideas in a manner
more vivid and impressive, than could be done by plain language. Figures
have been commonly divided into two great classes; Figures of _Words_,
and Figures of _Thought_.
Figures of Words are called _Tropes_, and consist in a word's being
employed to signify something that is different from its original
meaning; so that by altering the word, we destroy the figure.
When we say of a person, that he has a fine _taste_ in wines, the word
taste is used in its common, literal sense; but when we say, he has a
fine _taste_ for painting, poetry, or music, we use the word
figuratively. "A good man enjoys comfort in the midst of adversity," is
simple language; but when it is said, "To the upright there ariseth
_light_ in _darkness_," the same sentiment is expressed in a figurative
style, _light_ is put in the place of _comfort_, and _darkness_ is used
to suggest the idea of _adversity_.
The following are the most important figures:
1. A METAPHOR is founded on the resemblance which one object bears to
another; or, it is a comparison in an abridged form.
When I say of some great minister, "That he upholds the state like a
_pillar_ which supports the weight of a whole edifice," I fairly make a
comparison; but when I say of such a minister, "That he is the _pillar_
of the state," the word pillar becomes a metaphor. In the latter
construction, the comparison between the minister and a pillar, is made
in the mind; but it is expressed without any of the words that denote
comparison.
Metaphors abound in all writings. In the scriptures they may be found in
vast variety. Thus, our blessed Lord is called a vine, a lamb, a lion,
&c.; and men, according to their different dispositions, are styled
wolves, sheep, dogs, serpents, vipers, &c.
Washington Irving, in speaking of the degraded state of the American
Aborigines who linger on the borders of the "white settlements," employs
the following beautiful metaphor: "The proud _pillar_ of their
independence has been shaken down, and the whole moral _fabric_ lies in
ruins."
2. AN ALLEGORY may be regarded as a metaphor continued; or it is several
metaphors so connected together in sense, as frequently to form a kind
of parable or fable. It differs from a single metaphor, in the same
manner that a cluster on the vine differs from a single grape.
The following is a fine example of an allegory, taken from the 60th
psalm; wherein the people of Israel are represented under the image of a
vine. "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the
heathen and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it; and didst cause
it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered
with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly
cedars. She sent out her boughs into the sea, and her branches into the
river."
3. A SIMILE or COMPARISON is when the resemblance between two objects,
whether real or imaginary, is expressed in form.
Thus, we use a simile, when we say, "The actions of princes are like
those great rivers, the course of which every one beholds, but their
springs have been seen by few." "As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people." "The music of Caryl
was like the memory of joys that are past, pleasant and mournful to the
soul." "Our Indians are like those wild plants which thrive best in the
shade, but which wither when exposed to the influence of the sun."
"The Assyrian came down, like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming with purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee."
4. A METONYMY is where the cause is put for the effect, or the effect
for the cause; the container for the thing contained; or the sign for
the thing signified.
When we say, "They read _Milton_," the cause is put for the effect,
meaning "Milton's _works_." "Gray hairs should be respected;" here the
effect is put for the cause; meaning by "gray hairs," _old age_, which
produces gray hairs. In the phrase, "The kettle boils," the container is
substituted for the thing contained. "He addressed the _chair_;" that
is, the person in the chair.
5. A SYNECDOCHE OR COMPREHENSION. When the whole is put for a part, or a
part for the whole; a genus for a species, or a species for a genus; in
general, when any thing less, or any thing more, is put for the precise
object meant, the figure is called a Synecdoche.
Thus, "A fleet of twenty _sail_, instead of, _ships_." "The _horse_ is a
noble animal;" "The _dog_ is a faithful creature:" here an individual is
put for the species. We sometimes use the "head" for the _person_, and
the "waves" for the _sea_. In like manner, an attribute may be pat for a
subject; as "Youth" for the _young_, the "deep" for the _sea_.
6. PERSONIFICATION or PROSOPOPOEIA is that figure by which we attribute
life and action to inanimate objects. When we say, "The ground _thirsts_
for rain," or, "the earth _smiles_ with plenty;" when we speak of
"ambition's being _restless_," or, "a disease's being _deceitful_;" such
expressions show the facility, with which the mind can accommodate the
properties of living creatures to things that are inanimate.
The following are fine examples of this figure:
"Cheer'd with the grateful smell, old _Ocean smiles_;"
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and
the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."
7. AN APOSTROPHE is an address to some person, either absent or dead, as
if he were present and listening to us. The address is frequently made
to a personified object; as, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O
_death!_ where is thy sting? O _grave!_ where is thy victory?"
"Weep on the rock of roaring winds, O _maid_ of Inistore; bend thy
fair head over the waves, thou fairer than the ghost of the hills,
when it moves in a sun-beam at noon over the silence of Morveu."
8. ANTITHESIS. Comparison is founded on the resemblance, antithesis, on
the contrast or opposition, of two objects.
_Example._ "If you wish to enrich a person, study not to _increase_ his
_stores_, but to _diminish_ his _desires."_
9. HYPERBOLE or EXAGGERATION consists in magnifying an object beyond its
natural bounds. "As swift as the wind; as white as the snow; as slow as
a snail;" and the like, are extravagant hyperboles.
"I saw their chief, tall as a rock of ice; his spear, the blasted
fir; his shield, the rising moon; he sat on the shore, like a cloud
of mist on the bills."
10. VISION is produced, when, in relating something that is past, we use
the present tense, and describe it as actually, passing before our eyes.
11. INTERROGATION. The literal use of an interrogation, is to ask a
question; but when men are strongly moved, whatever they would affirm or
deny with great earnestness, they naturally put in the form of a
question.
Thus Balaam expressed himself to Balak: "The Lord is not man, that he
should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repeat. Hath he said it?
and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken it? and shall he not make it
good?" "Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice
like him?"
12. EXCLAMATIONS are the effect of strong emotions, such a surprise,
admiration, joy, grief, and the like.
"O that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of way-faring men!"
"O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be
at rest!"
13. IRONY is expressing ourselves in a manner contrary to our thoughts;
not with a view to deceive, but to add force to our remarks. We can
reprove one for his negligence, by saying, "You have taken great care,
indeed."
The prophet Elijah adopted this figure, when he challenged the priests
of Baal to prove the truth of their deity. "He mocked them, and said.
Cry aloud for he is a god: either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or
he is on a journey, or, peradventure, he sleepeth, and must be waked."
14. AMPLIFICATION or CLIMAX consists in heightening all the
circumstances of an object or action, which we desire to place in a
strong light.
Cicero gives a lively instance of this figure, when he says, "It is a
crime to put a Roman citizen in bonds: it is the height of guilt to
scourge him; little less than parricide to put him to death: what name,
then, shall I give to the act of crucifying him?"