TIP OF THE DAY 105: Speaking with style - figures of speech continued

MJ. Smith

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QUESTION: What schemes and tropes are most common in the Bible?

ANSWER: from Perplexity:

Based on the search results and my knowledge of biblical literature, here are the top 50 figures of speech commonly used in the Bible, considering the ecumenical canon:

Comparison Figures

1. Simile: Explicit comparison using "like" or "as"

2. Metaphor: Implied comparison without "like" or "as"

3. Analogy: Comparison of similar attributes or circumstances

4. Hypocatastasis: Implied comparison with one element unstated

Word Usage Figures

5. Metonymy: Using one name or noun instead of a related one

6. Synecdoche: Using a part to represent the whole or vice versa

7. Euphemism: Substituting a mild expression for a harsh one

8. Personification: Attributing human characteristics to non-human things

9. Apostrophe: Addressing an absent person or inanimate object

10. Oxymoron: Combining contradictory terms

Structural Figures

11. Acrostic: Verses or sections starting with successive alphabet letters

12. Inclusio: Beginning and ending a section with similar words

13. Chiasmus: Inverted parallelism in word or thought order

14. Merism: Expressing totality by mentioning parts

15. Hendiadys: Expressing a single idea using two words

Emphasis Figures

16. Hyperbole: Exaggeration for effect

17. Litotes: Understatement for emphasis

18. Pleonasm: Using more words than necessary for emphasis

19. Epizeuxis: Immediate repetition of words

20. Climax: Arrangement in order of increasing importance

Rhetorical Figures

21. Erotesis: Rhetorical question

22. Irony: Expressing meaning opposite to the literal meaning

23. Sarcasm: Cutting or contemptuous remarks

24. Antiphrasis: Using words in a sense opposite to their proper meaning

25. Epanorthosis: Recalling a statement to correct or strengthen it

Narrative Figures

26. Allegory: Extended metaphor telling a story

27. Parable: Short story illustrating a moral or spiritual truth

28. Fable: Story using animals or inanimate objects as characters

29. Type: Person or thing prefiguring a future person or event

30. Anthropomorphism: Attributing human form or personality to God

Omission Figures

31. Ellipsis: Omission of words for effect

32. Aposiopesis: Sudden breaking off of speech

33. Meiosis: Diminishing or lessening for effect

34. Zeugma: Using one word to modify two or more words in different ways

35. Brachylogy: Concise or abrupt statement

Addition Figures

36. Parenthesis: Insertion of a word or phrase

37. Epexegesis: Addition of words to further explain

38. Polysyndeton: Repeated use of conjunctions

39. Asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions

40. Anacoluthon: Abrupt change in grammatical construction

Sound Figures

41. Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds

42. Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds

43. Paronomasia: Wordplay or pun

44. Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sounds

45. Rhyme: Correspondence of sound at the end of words

Miscellaneous Figures

46. Idiom: Expression with a non-literal meaning

47. Antithesis: Contrasting ideas expressed in parallel structure

48. Paradox: Seemingly contradictory statement that may be true

49. Prolepsis: Anticipating and answering objections in advance

50. Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

These figures of speech enrich the biblical text, providing depth, emphasis, and beauty to its language and message.

QUESTION: What are some rhetoric exercises?

ANSWER: from Silva Rhetoricae:

Rhetorical exercises in imitation, amplification and variation are found broadly within rhetorical pedagogy, both at the most rudimentary and advanced levels. Instruction in imitation, and exercises to amplify and vary would precede doing practice speeches, but would also be employed to help polish and develop the progymnasmata or declamation exercises. The various exercises in imitation, amplification, and variation are based upon or make use of the four categories of change, and are permutations of the basic notion of imitation: to change the content of a model while retaining its form, or to change its form while retaining its content:

Varying a sentenceEramus demonstrates how to add, subtract, invert, and substitute both grammatical and rhetorical elements of a model sentence (giving 150 ways to say "Your letter pleased me greatly" as an example).

Double TranslationA favorite exercise of Juan Luis Vives, this included translating a passage from Latin to English, letting it rest a day, and then (without help of the original) attempting to retranslate the English back into Latin.

MetaphrasisThis included "translating" within a given language from one genre to another, such as a prose letter into a poem.

ParaphrasisThis exercise did not mean to shorten a model text but to express its meaning using other words.

EpitomeTo abbreviate a model text or passage, boiling its content down to a pithy summary.

Sources: See Burton, ch. 5-6 for details from Renaissance primary sources, and especially Erasmus, De copia.

VOCABULARY: Figures of comparison

Hypocatastasis is a kind of comparison as are metaphor, simile, and allegory which we were taught in school

Allegory - An extended metaphor in which a story, poem, or picture can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. It involves a continuous comparison throughout the work.

Analogy - A comparison between two things that are alike in some way, often used to explain something unfamiliar by comparing it to something familiar. Analogies can be more extensive and elaborate than similes or metaphors.

Antithesis - The direct opposite of something. While not a comparison in the traditional sense, it involves comparing two contrasting ideas to highlight their differences.

Contrast - Similar to antithesis, but broader. It simply points out differences between two things, without necessarily implying a direct opposition. This is a foundational element in creating comparisons.

Hypocatastasis - A comparison without explicitly stating both parts of the comparison. It's like a compressed metaphor or simile where one element is left unsaid but understood

Metaphor - A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that one is the other.

Metonymy - Substituting the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. It's a comparison by association.

Pathetic fallacy - A specific type of personification where human emotions are attributed to aspects of nature. This also involves an implicit comparison, and often enhances the emotional tone of a passage.

Parable - A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. It often uses comparisons to familiar situations to convey its message.

Personification - Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. This involves an implicit comparison between the non-human entity and a human being.

Simile - A comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as."

Synecdoche - Substituting the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. It's a comparison by association.

Note all of these can be analyzed using an M chart:

Item A			Item B
Attributes of A only		Shared attributes			Attributes of B only