D: Language
• How clear is the candidate’s written expression?
• How well has the candidate observed the conventions of written work?
(The conventions of written work relate to elements such as paragraphing, grammar, spelling, citation of references.)
• How appropriate is the register selected by the candidate for the particular assignment?
(Register refers, in this context, to the candidate’s sensitivity to elements such as the vocabulary, tone, sentence structure and idiom appropriate to the task.)
Achievement Level
0 The candidate has not reached level 1.
1 Little use of appropriate language
generally inappropriate register for the assignment selected
frequent lapses in the conventions of written work.
2 Some use of appropriate language
generally appropriate register for the assignment selected
some lapses in the conventions of written work
some consistency or clarity of expression.
3 Adequate use of appropriate language
appropriate register for the assignment selected
the conventions of written work are generally followed
consistency and some clarity of expression.
4 Good use of appropriate language
the register is effective and appropriate for the assignment selected
the conventions of written work are closely followed
clarity, consistency and general fluency of expression.
5 Excellent use of appropriate language
the register is highly effective and appropriate for the assignment selected
careful attention is given to the conventions of written work
clarity, consistency and fluency of style.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Batch 1 English A1: quotes from Pygmalion
1. "If the play makes the public aware that there are such people as phoneticians, and that they are among its most important people in England at present, it will serve its turn." Preface, pg. 9
2. "Nah then, Freddy: look wh' y' gowin, deah," Act 1, pg. 15
3. "Garn! Oh do buy a flower off me, Captain. I can change a half-a-crown." Act 1, pg. 19
4. "copper's nark." Act 1, pg. 21
5. "A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere - no right to live. Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift or articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespear and Milton and The Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon." Act 1, pg. 27
6. "He is, in fact, but for his years and size, rather like a very impetuous baby 'taking notice' eagerly and loudly, and requiring almost as much watching to keep him out of unintended mischief." Act 2, pg. 34
7. "It's almost irresistible. She is so deliciously low - so horribly dirty" Act 2, pg. 40
8. "The moment I let a woman make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a damned nuisance. I find that the moment I let myself make friends with a woman, I become selfish and tyrannical. Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and youre driving at another." Act 2, pg. 50
9. "Only this morning you applied it to your boots, to the butter, and to the brown bread." Act 2, pg. 51
10. "I'm willing to tell you. I'm wanting to tell you. I'm waiting to tell you." Act 2, pg. 55
11. "Well whats a five-pound note to you? And whats Eliza to me?" Act 2, pg. 57
12. "genteel poverty." Act 3, pg. 70
13. "Walk! Not bloody likely [Sensation]. I am going to take a taxi." Act 3, pg. 78
14. "You have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class and soul from soul." Act 3, pg. 82
15. "It was a silly notion: the whole thing has been a bore." Act 4, pg. 98
16. " Higgins: [formally] Damn Mrs. Pearce; and damn the coffee; and damn you; and [wildly] damn my own folly in having lavished my hard-earned knowledge and the treasure of my regard and intimacy on a heartless guttersnipe. [ He goes out with impressive decorum, and spoils it by slamming the door savagely.]" Act 4, pg. 105
17. "The constable shakes his head, reflecting on his own courtship and on the vanity of human hopes." Act 4, pg. 106
18. "the most original moralist at present in England, to the best of [his] knowledge, was Alfred Doolittle, a common dustman?" Act 5, pg. 115
19. "you took the money for the girl; and you have no right to take her as well." Act 5, pg. 117
20. "You find me cold, unfeeling, selfish, don't you? Very well: be off with you to the sort of people you like. Marry some sentimental hog or other with lots of money, and a thick pair of lips to kiss you with and a thick pair of boots to kick you with." Act 5, pg. 130
21. "Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and The Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon."
22. "Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and you're driving at another."
23. "But you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from classand soul from soul."
24. "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else."
25. " . . . the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated."
"The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another."
26. "I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle class morality."
27. "Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby!"
28. "What is life but a series of inspired follies?"
29. "Would the world ever have been made if its maker had been afraid of making trouble? Making life means making trouble."
2. "Nah then, Freddy: look wh' y' gowin, deah," Act 1, pg. 15
3. "Garn! Oh do buy a flower off me, Captain. I can change a half-a-crown." Act 1, pg. 19
4. "copper's nark." Act 1, pg. 21
5. "A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere - no right to live. Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift or articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespear and Milton and The Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon." Act 1, pg. 27
6. "He is, in fact, but for his years and size, rather like a very impetuous baby 'taking notice' eagerly and loudly, and requiring almost as much watching to keep him out of unintended mischief." Act 2, pg. 34
7. "It's almost irresistible. She is so deliciously low - so horribly dirty" Act 2, pg. 40
8. "The moment I let a woman make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a damned nuisance. I find that the moment I let myself make friends with a woman, I become selfish and tyrannical. Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and youre driving at another." Act 2, pg. 50
9. "Only this morning you applied it to your boots, to the butter, and to the brown bread." Act 2, pg. 51
10. "I'm willing to tell you. I'm wanting to tell you. I'm waiting to tell you." Act 2, pg. 55
11. "Well whats a five-pound note to you? And whats Eliza to me?" Act 2, pg. 57
12. "genteel poverty." Act 3, pg. 70
13. "Walk! Not bloody likely [Sensation]. I am going to take a taxi." Act 3, pg. 78
14. "You have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class and soul from soul." Act 3, pg. 82
15. "It was a silly notion: the whole thing has been a bore." Act 4, pg. 98
16. " Higgins: [formally] Damn Mrs. Pearce; and damn the coffee; and damn you; and [wildly] damn my own folly in having lavished my hard-earned knowledge and the treasure of my regard and intimacy on a heartless guttersnipe. [ He goes out with impressive decorum, and spoils it by slamming the door savagely.]" Act 4, pg. 105
17. "The constable shakes his head, reflecting on his own courtship and on the vanity of human hopes." Act 4, pg. 106
18. "the most original moralist at present in England, to the best of [his] knowledge, was Alfred Doolittle, a common dustman?" Act 5, pg. 115
19. "you took the money for the girl; and you have no right to take her as well." Act 5, pg. 117
20. "You find me cold, unfeeling, selfish, don't you? Very well: be off with you to the sort of people you like. Marry some sentimental hog or other with lots of money, and a thick pair of lips to kiss you with and a thick pair of boots to kick you with." Act 5, pg. 130
21. "Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and The Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon."
22. "Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and you're driving at another."
23. "But you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from classand soul from soul."
24. "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else."
25. " . . . the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she's treated."
"The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another."
26. "I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle class morality."
27. "Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby!"
28. "What is life but a series of inspired follies?"
29. "Would the world ever have been made if its maker had been afraid of making trouble? Making life means making trouble."
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Batch 1 English A1:Quotes from The Cherry Orchard
1."You are too refined.you should remember your place." (p. 2)
Lopakhin, the former serf now turned landowner, treats the nervous young servant Dunyasha first as familiar friend by confiding in her and then as an upstart servant who should know her place. This illustrates the great social change inherent in Russia's newfound class mobility.
2. "My mistress has come home; at last I've seen her. Now I'm ready to die." (p. 6)
Firs, the aging man who spent most of his life as a serf, continues to think like one. He has remained a serf in his mind, waiting longingly for six years for the return of his mistress Madame Ranevsky from Paris. He represents the old way of living in feudal Russia.
3. "In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and unbusinesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say." (p. 20)
Madame Ranevsky and her brother Gayef insist they have written to their aunt to send them money but Lopakhin is shocked to find how little they have requested and insists such a small amount will never be enough to make the mortgage payment. This quote demonstrates how out of touch the aristocracy is while the former serf Lopakhin has a much clearer grasp of contemporary economics.
4. "Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and when he dies the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive . . . Everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear . . . But we must work." (p. 23)
Trophimof the tutor expresses a philosophy of idealism to Lopakhin, Madame Ranevsky, Anya and Gayef in his argument that the days of the aristocracy are over and now all classes must work.
5. "All you ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls. Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?" (p. 27)
Anya tells Trophimof that he has caused her to no longer love the cherry orchard by making her realize that despite its beauty, it is the product of years of backbreaking labor by unpaid serfs. Her consciousness has been raised and she realizes that she can no longer live a life of luxury served by others but must go out into the world and work herself.
6. "A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat." (p. 28)
Pishtchik says this to Trophimof at the beginning of Act III. He is agreeing with Trophimof who has explained how much Pishtchik could have achieved had he not constantly felt the necessity to spend his time scrounging for money to pay off his loans.
7. "You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes." (p. 32)
Madame Ranevsky says this to the philosopher and perpetual student Trophimof after he insists that she face up to reality. She should have, he insists, taken action to ward off financial disaster by selling the cherry orchard while she attempts to make him understand how much the property means to her.
8. "My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it." (p. 33)
Madame Ranevsky says this to Trophimof after he attempts to get her to change her mind about returning to her abusive Parisian lover. He himself, he insists, is above love while she regrettably says she is beneath love.
9. "What's the use of talking? You can see for yourself that this is a barbarous country; the people have no morals; and the boredom!" (p. 35)
Yasha, the self-serving servant complains about his Russian homeland. Since he has seen Paris, he finds Russia intolerable and will use all of his wiles to convince Madame Ranevsky to take him back to Paris with her.
10. "Life has gone by as if I never lived" (p. 49)
Firs mutters this during the last scene of the play where he lies ill after all have abandoned him. After a life of servile and selfless devotion, his "betters" have left him behind. Firs' death represents the real end of the feudal Russian way of life.
11. She brought me over to the wash-stand here in this very room, the nursery as it was. 'Don't cry, little peasant,' she said. "You'll soon be as right as rain." [Pause]. Little peasant. It's true my father was a peasant, but here am I in my white waistcoat and brown boots, barging in like a bull in a china shop. The only thing is, I am rich.
12. Oh my childhood my innocent childhood! This is the nursery where I slept and I used to look out at the orchard from here! Look, Mother's walking in the orchard. In a white dress.
13. Then last year, when the villa had to be sold to pay my debts, I left for Paris where he robbed me, deserted me and took up with another woman. I tried to poison myself. It was also stupid and humiliating. Then I suddenly longed to be back in Russia, back in my own country with my little girl. [Dries her eyes.] Lord, lord, be merciful, forgive me my sins. Don't punish me any more.
14. All Russia is our orchard. The earth is so wide, so beautiful, so full of wonderful places. [Pause]. Just think, Anya. Your grandfather, your great-grandfather and all your ancestors owned serfs, they owned human souls. Don't you see that from every cherry-tree in the orchard, from every leaf and every trunk, men and women are gazing at you? if we're to start living in the present isn't it abundantly clear that we've first got to redeem our past and make a clean break with it? And we can only redeem it by suffering and getting down to real work for a change.
15. [Stamps his feet.] Don't laugh at me. If my father and grandfather could only rise from their graves and see what happened, see how their Yermolay- Yermolay who was always being beaten, who could hardly write his name and ran round barefoot in the winter-how this same Yermolay bought this estate, the most beautiful estate in the world.
16. My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it.
17. A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat.
18. Dear and most respected bookcase! I welcome your existence, which has for over one hundred years been devoted to the radiant ideals of goodness and justice.
19. The cherry orchard is now mine!... I bought the estate on which my grandfather and father were slaves, where they were not even permitted in the kitchen.
20. Don't laugh at me. If my father and grandfather could only rise from their graves and see what happened, see how their Yermolay -- Yermolay who was always being beaten, who could hardly write his name and ran round barefoot in the winter -- how this same Yermolay bought this estate, the most beautiful estate in the world.
21. You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes.
22. Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and when he dies the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive . . . Everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear . . . But we must work.
23. Life has gone by as if I never lived.
Lopakhin, the former serf now turned landowner, treats the nervous young servant Dunyasha first as familiar friend by confiding in her and then as an upstart servant who should know her place. This illustrates the great social change inherent in Russia's newfound class mobility.
2. "My mistress has come home; at last I've seen her. Now I'm ready to die." (p. 6)
Firs, the aging man who spent most of his life as a serf, continues to think like one. He has remained a serf in his mind, waiting longingly for six years for the return of his mistress Madame Ranevsky from Paris. He represents the old way of living in feudal Russia.
3. "In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and unbusinesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say." (p. 20)
Madame Ranevsky and her brother Gayef insist they have written to their aunt to send them money but Lopakhin is shocked to find how little they have requested and insists such a small amount will never be enough to make the mortgage payment. This quote demonstrates how out of touch the aristocracy is while the former serf Lopakhin has a much clearer grasp of contemporary economics.
4. "Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and when he dies the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive . . . Everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear . . . But we must work." (p. 23)
Trophimof the tutor expresses a philosophy of idealism to Lopakhin, Madame Ranevsky, Anya and Gayef in his argument that the days of the aristocracy are over and now all classes must work.
5. "All you ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls. Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?" (p. 27)
Anya tells Trophimof that he has caused her to no longer love the cherry orchard by making her realize that despite its beauty, it is the product of years of backbreaking labor by unpaid serfs. Her consciousness has been raised and she realizes that she can no longer live a life of luxury served by others but must go out into the world and work herself.
6. "A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat." (p. 28)
Pishtchik says this to Trophimof at the beginning of Act III. He is agreeing with Trophimof who has explained how much Pishtchik could have achieved had he not constantly felt the necessity to spend his time scrounging for money to pay off his loans.
7. "You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes." (p. 32)
Madame Ranevsky says this to the philosopher and perpetual student Trophimof after he insists that she face up to reality. She should have, he insists, taken action to ward off financial disaster by selling the cherry orchard while she attempts to make him understand how much the property means to her.
8. "My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it." (p. 33)
Madame Ranevsky says this to Trophimof after he attempts to get her to change her mind about returning to her abusive Parisian lover. He himself, he insists, is above love while she regrettably says she is beneath love.
9. "What's the use of talking? You can see for yourself that this is a barbarous country; the people have no morals; and the boredom!" (p. 35)
Yasha, the self-serving servant complains about his Russian homeland. Since he has seen Paris, he finds Russia intolerable and will use all of his wiles to convince Madame Ranevsky to take him back to Paris with her.
10. "Life has gone by as if I never lived" (p. 49)
Firs mutters this during the last scene of the play where he lies ill after all have abandoned him. After a life of servile and selfless devotion, his "betters" have left him behind. Firs' death represents the real end of the feudal Russian way of life.
11. She brought me over to the wash-stand here in this very room, the nursery as it was. 'Don't cry, little peasant,' she said. "You'll soon be as right as rain." [Pause]. Little peasant. It's true my father was a peasant, but here am I in my white waistcoat and brown boots, barging in like a bull in a china shop. The only thing is, I am rich.
12. Oh my childhood my innocent childhood! This is the nursery where I slept and I used to look out at the orchard from here! Look, Mother's walking in the orchard. In a white dress.
13. Then last year, when the villa had to be sold to pay my debts, I left for Paris where he robbed me, deserted me and took up with another woman. I tried to poison myself. It was also stupid and humiliating. Then I suddenly longed to be back in Russia, back in my own country with my little girl. [Dries her eyes.] Lord, lord, be merciful, forgive me my sins. Don't punish me any more.
14. All Russia is our orchard. The earth is so wide, so beautiful, so full of wonderful places. [Pause]. Just think, Anya. Your grandfather, your great-grandfather and all your ancestors owned serfs, they owned human souls. Don't you see that from every cherry-tree in the orchard, from every leaf and every trunk, men and women are gazing at you? if we're to start living in the present isn't it abundantly clear that we've first got to redeem our past and make a clean break with it? And we can only redeem it by suffering and getting down to real work for a change.
15. [Stamps his feet.] Don't laugh at me. If my father and grandfather could only rise from their graves and see what happened, see how their Yermolay- Yermolay who was always being beaten, who could hardly write his name and ran round barefoot in the winter-how this same Yermolay bought this estate, the most beautiful estate in the world.
16. My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it.
17. A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat.
18. Dear and most respected bookcase! I welcome your existence, which has for over one hundred years been devoted to the radiant ideals of goodness and justice.
19. The cherry orchard is now mine!... I bought the estate on which my grandfather and father were slaves, where they were not even permitted in the kitchen.
20. Don't laugh at me. If my father and grandfather could only rise from their graves and see what happened, see how their Yermolay -- Yermolay who was always being beaten, who could hardly write his name and ran round barefoot in the winter -- how this same Yermolay bought this estate, the most beautiful estate in the world.
21. You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes.
22. Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and when he dies the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive . . . Everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear . . . But we must work.
23. Life has gone by as if I never lived.
Batch 1 English A1: Quotes from The Crucible
1. I cannot sleep for dreamin'; I cannot dream but I wake and walk about the house as though I'd find you comin' through some door. -Abigail to John Proctor trying to entice him into resuming their illicit affair. Act I (page 23)
2. There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old respects and ancient friendships. - Reverend Hale to Francis Nurse defending the witch trials in the face of the outrageous arrest of Rebecca Nurse. Act II (page 71)
3. Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up. -Reverend Hale to Elizabeth Proctor attempting to convince her to compel her husband into confession. He realizes his part in the whole affair and is trying to save lives in the only way possible. Act IV (page 132)
4. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Abigail to Betty and Mary Warren who initially express fear about their actions in the woods and express a desire to confess. Abigail asserts her power over the girls right away so as to ensure she is not exposed. Act I (page 20)
5. There is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell is burning! Parris to Proctor. Parris desires to secure his position as the minister. He is the third minister of Salem in seven years and does not want the community to have the ability to put him out. He demands the deed to his house and preaches fire and brimstone regarding whatever he is after until he has it. Act I (page 30)
6. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time-we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God's grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it. Danforth to Francis Nurse who is trying to prove his wife is simply the victim of scheming townspeople. He is completely convinced by the girls and believes that the court is doing the work of God. Act III (page 94)
7. She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it;. Proctor to the men of the court in his last attempt to save his wife and prove the dishonesty of the girls. He reveals Abigail's motivation to see Elizabeth Proctor condemned. Act III (page 110) Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. Elizabeth Proctor to her husband, explaining why Abigail would continue to pursue him though he had ended the affair. She tells him that by sleeping with her, he made a commitment to her, at least in her eyes. Act II (page 61) A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud-God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together! Proctor after Mary Warren turns on him to save her own life and he finds himself suddenly condemned. Act III (page 119-20).
10. I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it John Proctor, having decided to save his life by confessing to witchcraft, refuses to accuse anyone else. He has been defeated by Abigail but will not join her ranks by hurting others.
11. "'I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you . . .. I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!'" Act 1, Scene 2, pg.
12. "'There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!'" Act 1, Scene 4, pg. 26
13. "'I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more.'" Act 1, Scene 4, pg. 27
14. "'they are weighted with authority.'" Act 1, Scene 5, pg. 34
Quote 5: "'You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband anymore. I have forgot Abigail, and -'" Act 2, Scene 1, pg. 52
15. "'I'll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life, and I will never tear it free!'" Act 2, Scene 2, pg. 59
16. "'I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I'll not conceal it.'" Act 2, Scene 3, pg. 62
17. "'I have seen too many frightful proofs in court - the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!'" Act 2, Scene 3, pg. 68
18. "'I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance! I'll not give my wife to vengeance!'" Act 2, Scene 4, pg. 73
19. "'Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside? . . . .This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?'" Act 3, Scene 1, pg. 79
20. "'a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.'" Act 3, Scene 1, pg. 87
21. "'God is dead!'" Act 3, Scene 3, pg. 111
22. "'A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud - God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!'" Act 3, Scene 3, pg. 111
23. "'There will be no postponement.'" Act 4, Scene 2, pg. 118
24. "'It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it . . ..it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.'" Act 4, Scene 2, pg. 122
25. "'I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!'" Act 4, Scene 4, pg. 133
26. I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!
27. I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!
28. You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God's grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it.
29. A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance . . .
30. Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!
2. There is a misty plot afoot so subtle we should be criminal to cling to old respects and ancient friendships. - Reverend Hale to Francis Nurse defending the witch trials in the face of the outrageous arrest of Rebecca Nurse. Act II (page 71)
3. Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up. -Reverend Hale to Elizabeth Proctor attempting to convince her to compel her husband into confession. He realizes his part in the whole affair and is trying to save lives in the only way possible. Act IV (page 132)
4. And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Abigail to Betty and Mary Warren who initially express fear about their actions in the woods and express a desire to confess. Abigail asserts her power over the girls right away so as to ensure she is not exposed. Act I (page 20)
5. There is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell is burning! Parris to Proctor. Parris desires to secure his position as the minister. He is the third minister of Salem in seven years and does not want the community to have the ability to put him out. He demands the deed to his house and preaches fire and brimstone regarding whatever he is after until he has it. Act I (page 30)
6. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time-we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God's grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it. Danforth to Francis Nurse who is trying to prove his wife is simply the victim of scheming townspeople. He is completely convinced by the girls and believes that the court is doing the work of God. Act III (page 94)
7. She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it;. Proctor to the men of the court in his last attempt to save his wife and prove the dishonesty of the girls. He reveals Abigail's motivation to see Elizabeth Proctor condemned. Act III (page 110) Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. Elizabeth Proctor to her husband, explaining why Abigail would continue to pursue him though he had ended the affair. She tells him that by sleeping with her, he made a commitment to her, at least in her eyes. Act II (page 61) A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud-God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together! Proctor after Mary Warren turns on him to save her own life and he finds himself suddenly condemned. Act III (page 119-20).
10. I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it John Proctor, having decided to save his life by confessing to witchcraft, refuses to accuse anyone else. He has been defeated by Abigail but will not join her ranks by hurting others.
11. "'I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you . . .. I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down!'" Act 1, Scene 2, pg.
12. "'There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires!'" Act 1, Scene 4, pg. 26
13. "'I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart, Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more.'" Act 1, Scene 4, pg. 27
14. "'they are weighted with authority.'" Act 1, Scene 5, pg. 34
Quote 5: "'You will not judge me more, Elizabeth. I have good reason to think before I charge fraud on Abigail, and I will think on it. Let you look to your own improvement before you go to judge your husband anymore. I have forgot Abigail, and -'" Act 2, Scene 1, pg. 52
15. "'I'll plead no more! I see now your spirit twists around the single error of my life, and I will never tear it free!'" Act 2, Scene 2, pg. 59
16. "'I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I'll not conceal it.'" Act 2, Scene 3, pg. 62
17. "'I have seen too many frightful proofs in court - the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!'" Act 2, Scene 3, pg. 68
18. "'I'll tell you what's walking Salem - vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrant's vengeance! I'll not give my wife to vengeance!'" Act 2, Scene 4, pg. 73
19. "'Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside? . . . .This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it?'" Act 3, Scene 1, pg. 79
20. "'a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between.'" Act 3, Scene 1, pg. 87
21. "'God is dead!'" Act 3, Scene 3, pg. 111
22. "'A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud - God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together!'" Act 3, Scene 3, pg. 111
23. "'There will be no postponement.'" Act 4, Scene 2, pg. 118
24. "'It is mistaken law that leads you to sacrifice. Life, woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it . . ..it may well be God damns a liar less than he that throws his life away for pride.'" Act 4, Scene 2, pg. 122
25. "'I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor. Not enough to weave a banner with, but white enough to keep it from such dogs. Give them no tear! Tears pleasure them! Show honor now, show a stony heart and sink them with it!'" Act 4, Scene 4, pg. 133
26. I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men! And now you bid me tear the light out of my eyes? I will not, I cannot! You loved me, John Proctor, and whatever sin it is, you love me yet!
27. I want to open myself! . . . I want the light of God, I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!
28. You must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between. This is a sharp time, now, a precise time—we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world. Now, by God's grace, the shining sun is up, and them that fear not light will surely praise it.
29. A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything, I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you—see her what she is . . . She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whore's vengeance . . .
30. Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!
Batch 2 Extended Essay Topics and Questions
My EE advisees topics and tentative questions are:
1) Nabila
Topic: Significance of clothing in the books Sex and the City
Question: To what extent does the theme of fashion affect the story of Sex and the City?
2) Sonia
Topic: Metawriting in Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist, the Witch of Portobello and The Devil and Mrs. Prynn
Question: How does Paolo Coelho use the technique of exemplum in his books, TheAlchemist, the Witch of Portobello and The Devil and Mrs. Prynn?
3) Ivana
Topic: Greek Myths in Gossip Girl
Question: How does Greek Mythology influence the contemporary literature, Gossip Girl?
4) Isa
Topic: The theme of grief as presented in the poetry of Shel Silverstein and Tim Burton
Question: How is the theme of grief presented by the poets Shel Silverstein and Tim Burton?
5) Cavin
Topic: Depiction of homosexual relationship
Question: How does the setting in the books, Call Me By Your Name, A separate Peace and Boy in the Striped Pajamas
6) Filza
Topic: Abuse of colored women in the Color Purple and Wicked
Question: How is the abuse of colored women in the Color Purple and Wicked similar?
1) Nabila
Topic: Significance of clothing in the books Sex and the City
Question: To what extent does the theme of fashion affect the story of Sex and the City?
2) Sonia
Topic: Metawriting in Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist, the Witch of Portobello and The Devil and Mrs. Prynn
Question: How does Paolo Coelho use the technique of exemplum in his books, TheAlchemist, the Witch of Portobello and The Devil and Mrs. Prynn?
3) Ivana
Topic: Greek Myths in Gossip Girl
Question: How does Greek Mythology influence the contemporary literature, Gossip Girl?
4) Isa
Topic: The theme of grief as presented in the poetry of Shel Silverstein and Tim Burton
Question: How is the theme of grief presented by the poets Shel Silverstein and Tim Burton?
5) Cavin
Topic: Depiction of homosexual relationship
Question: How does the setting in the books, Call Me By Your Name, A separate Peace and Boy in the Striped Pajamas
6) Filza
Topic: Abuse of colored women in the Color Purple and Wicked
Question: How is the abuse of colored women in the Color Purple and Wicked similar?
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Themes from THE CHERRY ORCHARD
The Cherry Orchard
Theme Analysis
"Social Change
In 1861, Russian Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs. This act, called the Liberation, ended a form of servitude that emulated the feudal system of people belonging to the land that dated back to medieval times. In the aftermath of Liberation, some of the aristocracy continued to flourish while others perished and some of the hardest working serfs, in turn, rose through their hard work to the highest rungs of the social ladder. Although Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard forty years after this historic event, the fallout, so to speak, from this monumental shift was still being felt.
This new social paradigm can be observed in The Cherry Orchard. Madame Ranevsky, who has failed to manage her cherry orchard estate and squandered her money on an unfaithful Parisian lover, has fallen on hard times. Her mortgage payment is due and she does not have the funds to cover the payment. Her former serf Lopakhin, a shrewd businessman, tells her she must cut down the cherry orchard and build villas for the newly emerging middle class. However, unable to change her way of thinking, she continues to act the aristocrat to the end and thus loses her estate to her former serf Lopakhin.
Liberation
The liberation of Russia's serfs by Tsar Nicholas II serves as the historical background for The Cherry Orchard. The Liberation freed millions of people who otherwise would have lived out lives of servitude on Russian estates with no opportunity for freedom. Seemingly then it would seem that everyone in Russia, thirty years after Liberation, would have become accustomed to freedom or liberty with opportunities for mobility and social advancement. Yet, many of Chekhov's characters seem to be frozen or inert-in other words, not free at all. In regards to freedom, they fall into two groups: those who are free and positively approach the future and those who are imprisoned in the past.
First, there is no doubt that Trophimof, the play's idealist, feels free. Indeed, he refuses Lopakhin's offer of money because after all he "a free man; nothing that you value . . . has the smallest power over me" (43). Similarly, although Anna has been brought up amidst aristocratic splendor, she has a mind of her own and can see how her spendthrift mother tosses away money. Anna desires an education and a new future and her act of leaving the estate ("goodbye old house, goodbye old life") with Trophimof casts her as a free spirit. There is no doubt about Lopakhin who has utilized the Liberation to move up rapidly through the social ranks. Even Dunyasha the young servant has moved socially upward by adopting lady-like mannerisms, and the aristocrat Gayef has become a banker and seems happier at the end of the play. Although a landowner, Pishtchik at first seems to be imprisoned by his mortgage but he changes after coming into money and actually pays back money to Madame Ranevsky.
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On the other hand, Madame Ranevsky remains frozen, imprisoned in time and unable to move forward. She cannot accept that she has lost her money, her estate, indeed her way of life. Even at the end she gives her purse away to her departing peasants. She will return to Paris to an abusive lover sure to leave her penniless. Barbara also seems to be unable to move, forced to take a job she doesn't want, and resigned to hard work because she doesn't have money. Similarly, Charlotte will retain her role as governess because she is limited by financial restraint: "don't forget to get me a new place, please. I can't do without it" (44). More than anyone, Firs the elderly former serf has never been liberated and he will die forgotten and alone.
The Cherry Orchard
Top Ten Quotes
1."You are too refined.you should remember your place." (p. 2)
Lopakhin, the former serf now turned landowner, treats the nervous young servant Dunyasha first as familiar friend by confiding in her and then as an upstart servant who should know her place. This illustrates the great social change inherent in Russia's newfound class mobility.
2. "My mistress has come home; at last I've seen her. Now I'm ready to die." (p. 6)
Firs, the aging man who spent most of his life as a serf, continues to think like one. He has remained a serf in his mind, waiting longingly for six years for the return of his mistress Madame Ranevsky from Paris. He represents the old way of living in feudal Russia.
3. "In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and unbusinesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say." (p. 20)
Madame Ranevsky and her brother Gayef insist they have written to their aunt to send them money but Lopakhin is shocked to find how little they have requested and insists such a small amount will never be enough to make the mortgage payment. This quote demonstrates how out of touch the aristocracy is while the former serf Lopakhin has a much clearer grasp of contemporary economics.
4. "Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and when he dies the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive . . . Everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear . . . But we must work." (p. 23)
Trophimof the tutor expresses a philosophy of idealism to Lopakhin, Madame Ranevsky, Anya and Gayef in his argument that the days of the aristocracy are over and now all classes must work.
5. "All you ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls. Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?" (p. 27)
Anya tells Trophimof that he has caused her to no longer love the cherry orchard by making her realize that despite its beauty, it is the product of years of backbreaking labor by unpaid serfs. Her consciousness has been raised and she realizes that she can no longer live a life of luxury served by others but must go out into the world and work herself.
6. "A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat." (p. 28)
Pishtchik says this to Trophimof at the beginning of Act III. He is agreeing with Trophimof who has explained how much Pishtchik could have achieved had he not constantly felt the necessity to spend his time scrounging for money to pay off his loans.
7. "You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes." (p. 32)
Madame Ranevsky says this to the philosopher and perpetual student Trophimof after he insists that she face up to reality. She should have, he insists, taken action to ward off financial disaster by selling the cherry orchard while she attempts to make him understand how much the property means to her.
8. "My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it." (p. 33)
Madame Ranevsky says this to Trophimof after he attempts to get her to change her mind about returning to her abusive Parisian lover. He himself, he insists, is above love while she regrettably says she is beneath love.
9. "What's the use of talking? You can see for yourself that this is a barbarous country; the people have no morals; and the boredom!" (p. 35)
Yasha, the self-serving servant complains about his Russian homeland. Since he has seen Paris, he finds Russia intolerable and will use all of his wiles to convince Madame Ranevsky to take him back to Paris with her.
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10. "Life has gone by as if I never lived" (p. 49)
Firs mutters this during the last scene of the play where he lies ill after all have abandoned him. After a life of servile and selfless devotion, his "betters" have left him behind. Firs' death represents the real end of the feudal Russian way of life.
The Cherry Orchard
Biography
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is considered one of Russia's most important writers as well as one of the world's greatest playwrights. He was born on January 17, 1860, in Taganrog, a small seaport town in Southern Russia. His father was a grocer, his grandfather a serf who had bought his own freedom. His mother, Yevgenia Morozov, was the daughter of a cloth merchant. The author was only one year old when Czar Nicholas II freed Russia's serfs. This historic event, generally referred to as the Liberation, plays a central role in many of Chekhov's writings, including The Cherry Orchard.
After his father was forced to declare bankruptcy, the family moved to Moscow, which presented young Chekhov with the opportunity to gain a good education. He began attending medical school at the University of Moscow when he was twenty years old and while there began to publish humorous articles for newspapers and magazines in an effort to alleviate his family's financial difficulties. Deeply influenced by famous novelist and short story writer Tolstoy, at this time Chekhov also began to write short stories. In time he became a master of this literary genre.
Chekhov graduated from medical school in 1884 and spent the rest of his life engaged in medicine as well as writing. In 1888, Chekhov wrote the popular short story "The Bear" and two years later he published "The Wedding." In 1887, he wrote "The Wood Demon," which was not well received critically but which in time he would rewrite as the enormously popular Uncle Vanya.
For much of his life, Chekhov suffered from bad health and was forced to travel to more healthful climates, such places as Singapore, India, Ceylon, and Egypt among them. He especially enjoyed France and utilized the opportunity to study other literary forms in depth, especially French theatre, aspects of which he incorporated into his own work. By the turn of the century Chekhov had authored four plays which were to bring him lasting repute: The Sea Gull in 1896, Uncle Vanya that same year, The Three Sisters in 1901, and The Cherry Orchard, his last play. The Cherry Orchard was staged in Moscow on his birthday, January 17, 1904, and featured his wife Olga Knipper, whom he had married in 1901, in the leading role. Six months later, Chekhov died in Germany.
In addition to his dramatic works, Chekhov is highly regarded for his short stories which also combine comedy and tragedy. In addition, he is greatly admired for his use of ordinary conversations and verbal pauses to reveal reality in inconsequential words and everyday life.
Oftentimes, his characters, like those in The Cherry Orchard, are provincial aristocratic landowners of the era before the Russian Liberation who are unable to take action in times of crisis. In addition, Chekhov's intermingling of the comic and tragic genres characterizes him as one of the greatest playwrights of all time. In addition, he remains highly regarded for his technique, which has come to be called "indirect action." This technique emphasizes the off-stage action which the audience never sees but hears about from the onstage characters.
Essay Q&A
1. Discuss the effect of Liberation on Chekhov's characters Lopakhin and Firs.
Both Lopakhin and Firs were born on the cherry orchard estate as serfs and meant to spend their lives in the unpaid service of Madame Ranevsky's family. However, with the enactment of the Liberation in 1865 by Czar Nicholas II, the lives of both men, which seemed so predestined at birth, changed drastically. However, both men reacted very differently to the new social system. Lopakhin views the Liberation as an opportunity to create a better life. He takes action, working day and night to advance socially and economically. He succeeds, much to everyone's amazement, by becoming the owner of the cherry orchard estate and usurping the power of his former mistress, the aristocrat Madame Ranevsky. Lopakhin says in jubilation, "if only my father and grandfather could rise from their graves and see the whole affair" (38).
On the other hand, the elderly Firs fails to hear the call to action. He pays no heed at all to the Liberation and chooses instead to live his life passively as if freedom had never occurred. He shuffles around, waiting on people who generally take him for granted as they would a piece of the furniture. While he had every opportunity to leave the estate on which he was born, he remains waiting for five years for his mistress Madame Ranevsky to return from Paris. He is so cemented into the feudal system of serfdom that when Madame Ranevsky asks what he will do after the cherry orchard has been sold he simply he tells her, "wherever you tell me there I'll go" (35). Hardly surprisingly, Firs is overlooked and dies alone, a remnant of the past in a locked house after the family leaves the estate.
2. Critics argue that some of Chekhov's characters are affected by blindness. Consider the character Madame Ranevsky in this regard and agree or disagree.
As a character, Madame Ranevsky is metaphorically blind and remains blind throughout the play and thus fails to grow. She grew up in the lap of luxury, so to speak, on the Russian cherry orchard estate surrounded by serfs who would carry out her slightest whim. When she returns from Paris having left an abusive lover, she arrives believing that time has stood still and under the assumption that since her girlhood home belongs to her that nothing has changed. But everything has changed. It is she who has remained the same.
While she has been gone, her former serf Lopakhin, who as a child was not even permitted into the estate kitchen, has used his wits to become a successful businessman, so successful in fact that he attempts to convince Madame Ranevsky as to the necessity to change: sell the cherry orchard for the construction of villas-or perish. However, although she listens to Lopakhin she cannot accept what he has to say. Indeed, she cannot even consider cutting down the cherry orchard because she has constructed the idea that destroying the orchard would in effect be suicide. In her blindness, she fails to take any action and Lopakhin steps in to take over as master of the cherry orchard, leaving her to return to Paris to a bleak future. Her blindness represents the blindness of all those unwilling to accept the new Russia where all the people and not just the aristocrats have the chance to live free and be successful.
3. Some readers read Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard as a comedy while some read it as a tragedy. Address this duality.
Chekhov manages to combine the genres of comedy and tragedy. The playwright originally wrote The Cherry Orchard play as a comedy and was aghast the first time he saw it staged because the director had produced it as a tragedy. Scholars have argued about this duality and there is now general agreement that the play cleverly mixes comedy and tragedy. Readers, or viewers for that matter, cannot help but find certain sections of the play nothing but slapstick. For instance, when Trophimof walks out after Madame Ranevsky calls him a freak for not having a mistress, a clattering noise is heard off stage, Barbara screams and Anya runs in to declare "Peter's tumbled downstairs" (33). And some of the main characters also display great humor. For instance, Gayef inanely interjects comments about billiards into everyday conversation. Madame Ranevsky says she can't afford to pay her mortgage and almost immediately loans her neighbor Pishtchik money to pay his own mortgage. So, while the content of the play is serious, many times the tragic aspect is alleviated by the inclusion of comedy.
In Act III, the simultaneous comedy/tragedy is also apparent. While the most tragic events occur indirectly off stage-the sale of the cherry orchard-the atmosphere at the estate onstage is farcical, high comedy as in the background musicians play. While they await news of the sale of the cherry orchard, Barbara, worried about paying the musicians, scolds Trophimof and Pishtchik for getting drunk and the young servant Dunyasha for dancing like a guest. Characters are falling down, getting drunk, running around, dancing and playing billiards in a very circus-like atmosphere with Charlotte even performing magic tricks, until Lopakhin, who has no intention of proposing to Barbara, returns to tell them the tragic news-the cherry orchard, which has been in the family for hundreds of years, will be chopped down to make way for villas. But even the villain Lopakhin is humorous by being socially so ill at ease and misquoting Shakespeare.
4. How does the character Trophimof function in The Cherry Orchard?
Trophimof is the former tutor of Madame Ranevsky's young son Grisha whose death through drowning resulted in the family's flight to France. For some unknown reason, Trophimof has remained on the family estate and is still in residence when Madame Ranevsky returns. Everyone makes fun of him for being "the perpetual student," except Anya who takes an immediate liking to him. Madame Ranevsky harshly criticizes him by telling him that at his age he should have a mistress. So, while on the surface it might appear that Trophimof is a comic figure, and he certainly is comical when he falls down the stairs, on the other hand Trophimof is an idealist and has the ability see what is going on, unlike Madame Ranevsky, who remains blind to reality. He has the ability to stand back and look to the future with the knowledge that people in the new Russia are doomed unless they change with the times. For instance, Trophimof argues with the "villain" Lopakhin about his means of accruing wealth: "you are a rich man; you will soon be a millionaire . . . just like a beast of prey" (23). In this regard, he makes the reader aware that Lopakhin has something up his sleeve as he befriends Madame Ranevsky. Trophimof optimistically looks to the future: "mankind marches forward, perfecting its strength" and argues that change is inevitable (24). He lectures the others that if they don't change with the times, their lives will end in disaster. In other words, he encourages them to take action, work hard and not remain passive: "everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear; but we must work" (24).
5. What role does memory and the past play in The Cherry Orchard?
Throughout The Cherry Orchard characters struggle with remembering their past. In an effort to forget her young son Grisha's death, Madame Ranevsky flees Russia for Paris and meets a man who steals her money, abuses her and only returns to Russia when he leaves her for another woman. However, she seems happy to be home until memories of her son flood her mind after she meets his tutor Trophimof who has remained on the estate. Madame Ranevsky's former serf Lopakhin also suffers from difficult memories from his early life as a serf and feels ill at ease at the new social level he has managed to achieve. In addition, Trophimof preaches that all of Russia should forget the past before the Russian Liberation which freed the serfs, to be able to live a bright future. He believes that the people, especially the aristocrats, should not look back and romanticize the past. They should be willing to put these memories of the past aside and embrace the possibilities of a bright future. Trophimof is able to help Madame Ranevsky's young daughter Anya accomplish this by pointing out to her that the glorious and enormous cherry orchard estate where she grew up in the lap of luxury came about as a result of painful unpaid human labor: "all your ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls.
Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?" (27). When Anya realizes the true cost of the cherry orchard, she no longer feels attached and is willing to leave and start a new life. Alas, her mother Madame Ranevsky is unable to forget the past. She returns to Paris doomed to a sad life that will end in poverty. The elderly servant Firs, who has all along been unwilling to forget the past (even though he goes around the estate muttering about his faulty memory), ironically dies forgotten by all."
http://www.novelguide.com/TheCherryOrchard/index.html
Theme Analysis
"Social Change
In 1861, Russian Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs. This act, called the Liberation, ended a form of servitude that emulated the feudal system of people belonging to the land that dated back to medieval times. In the aftermath of Liberation, some of the aristocracy continued to flourish while others perished and some of the hardest working serfs, in turn, rose through their hard work to the highest rungs of the social ladder. Although Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard forty years after this historic event, the fallout, so to speak, from this monumental shift was still being felt.
This new social paradigm can be observed in The Cherry Orchard. Madame Ranevsky, who has failed to manage her cherry orchard estate and squandered her money on an unfaithful Parisian lover, has fallen on hard times. Her mortgage payment is due and she does not have the funds to cover the payment. Her former serf Lopakhin, a shrewd businessman, tells her she must cut down the cherry orchard and build villas for the newly emerging middle class. However, unable to change her way of thinking, she continues to act the aristocrat to the end and thus loses her estate to her former serf Lopakhin.
Liberation
The liberation of Russia's serfs by Tsar Nicholas II serves as the historical background for The Cherry Orchard. The Liberation freed millions of people who otherwise would have lived out lives of servitude on Russian estates with no opportunity for freedom. Seemingly then it would seem that everyone in Russia, thirty years after Liberation, would have become accustomed to freedom or liberty with opportunities for mobility and social advancement. Yet, many of Chekhov's characters seem to be frozen or inert-in other words, not free at all. In regards to freedom, they fall into two groups: those who are free and positively approach the future and those who are imprisoned in the past.
First, there is no doubt that Trophimof, the play's idealist, feels free. Indeed, he refuses Lopakhin's offer of money because after all he "a free man; nothing that you value . . . has the smallest power over me" (43). Similarly, although Anna has been brought up amidst aristocratic splendor, she has a mind of her own and can see how her spendthrift mother tosses away money. Anna desires an education and a new future and her act of leaving the estate ("goodbye old house, goodbye old life") with Trophimof casts her as a free spirit. There is no doubt about Lopakhin who has utilized the Liberation to move up rapidly through the social ranks. Even Dunyasha the young servant has moved socially upward by adopting lady-like mannerisms, and the aristocrat Gayef has become a banker and seems happier at the end of the play. Although a landowner, Pishtchik at first seems to be imprisoned by his mortgage but he changes after coming into money and actually pays back money to Madame Ranevsky.
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On the other hand, Madame Ranevsky remains frozen, imprisoned in time and unable to move forward. She cannot accept that she has lost her money, her estate, indeed her way of life. Even at the end she gives her purse away to her departing peasants. She will return to Paris to an abusive lover sure to leave her penniless. Barbara also seems to be unable to move, forced to take a job she doesn't want, and resigned to hard work because she doesn't have money. Similarly, Charlotte will retain her role as governess because she is limited by financial restraint: "don't forget to get me a new place, please. I can't do without it" (44). More than anyone, Firs the elderly former serf has never been liberated and he will die forgotten and alone.
The Cherry Orchard
Top Ten Quotes
1."You are too refined.you should remember your place." (p. 2)
Lopakhin, the former serf now turned landowner, treats the nervous young servant Dunyasha first as familiar friend by confiding in her and then as an upstart servant who should know her place. This illustrates the great social change inherent in Russia's newfound class mobility.
2. "My mistress has come home; at last I've seen her. Now I'm ready to die." (p. 6)
Firs, the aging man who spent most of his life as a serf, continues to think like one. He has remained a serf in his mind, waiting longingly for six years for the return of his mistress Madame Ranevsky from Paris. He represents the old way of living in feudal Russia.
3. "In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and unbusinesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say." (p. 20)
Madame Ranevsky and her brother Gayef insist they have written to their aunt to send them money but Lopakhin is shocked to find how little they have requested and insists such a small amount will never be enough to make the mortgage payment. This quote demonstrates how out of touch the aristocracy is while the former serf Lopakhin has a much clearer grasp of contemporary economics.
4. "Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and when he dies the five senses that we know perish with him, and the other ninety-five remain alive . . . Everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear . . . But we must work." (p. 23)
Trophimof the tutor expresses a philosophy of idealism to Lopakhin, Madame Ranevsky, Anya and Gayef in his argument that the days of the aristocracy are over and now all classes must work.
5. "All you ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls. Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?" (p. 27)
Anya tells Trophimof that he has caused her to no longer love the cherry orchard by making her realize that despite its beauty, it is the product of years of backbreaking labor by unpaid serfs. Her consciousness has been raised and she realizes that she can no longer live a life of luxury served by others but must go out into the world and work herself.
6. "A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat." (p. 28)
Pishtchik says this to Trophimof at the beginning of Act III. He is agreeing with Trophimof who has explained how much Pishtchik could have achieved had he not constantly felt the necessity to spend his time scrounging for money to pay off his loans.
7. "You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes." (p. 32)
Madame Ranevsky says this to the philosopher and perpetual student Trophimof after he insists that she face up to reality. She should have, he insists, taken action to ward off financial disaster by selling the cherry orchard while she attempts to make him understand how much the property means to her.
8. "My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it." (p. 33)
Madame Ranevsky says this to Trophimof after he attempts to get her to change her mind about returning to her abusive Parisian lover. He himself, he insists, is above love while she regrettably says she is beneath love.
9. "What's the use of talking? You can see for yourself that this is a barbarous country; the people have no morals; and the boredom!" (p. 35)
Yasha, the self-serving servant complains about his Russian homeland. Since he has seen Paris, he finds Russia intolerable and will use all of his wiles to convince Madame Ranevsky to take him back to Paris with her.
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10. "Life has gone by as if I never lived" (p. 49)
Firs mutters this during the last scene of the play where he lies ill after all have abandoned him. After a life of servile and selfless devotion, his "betters" have left him behind. Firs' death represents the real end of the feudal Russian way of life.
The Cherry Orchard
Biography
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is considered one of Russia's most important writers as well as one of the world's greatest playwrights. He was born on January 17, 1860, in Taganrog, a small seaport town in Southern Russia. His father was a grocer, his grandfather a serf who had bought his own freedom. His mother, Yevgenia Morozov, was the daughter of a cloth merchant. The author was only one year old when Czar Nicholas II freed Russia's serfs. This historic event, generally referred to as the Liberation, plays a central role in many of Chekhov's writings, including The Cherry Orchard.
After his father was forced to declare bankruptcy, the family moved to Moscow, which presented young Chekhov with the opportunity to gain a good education. He began attending medical school at the University of Moscow when he was twenty years old and while there began to publish humorous articles for newspapers and magazines in an effort to alleviate his family's financial difficulties. Deeply influenced by famous novelist and short story writer Tolstoy, at this time Chekhov also began to write short stories. In time he became a master of this literary genre.
Chekhov graduated from medical school in 1884 and spent the rest of his life engaged in medicine as well as writing. In 1888, Chekhov wrote the popular short story "The Bear" and two years later he published "The Wedding." In 1887, he wrote "The Wood Demon," which was not well received critically but which in time he would rewrite as the enormously popular Uncle Vanya.
For much of his life, Chekhov suffered from bad health and was forced to travel to more healthful climates, such places as Singapore, India, Ceylon, and Egypt among them. He especially enjoyed France and utilized the opportunity to study other literary forms in depth, especially French theatre, aspects of which he incorporated into his own work. By the turn of the century Chekhov had authored four plays which were to bring him lasting repute: The Sea Gull in 1896, Uncle Vanya that same year, The Three Sisters in 1901, and The Cherry Orchard, his last play. The Cherry Orchard was staged in Moscow on his birthday, January 17, 1904, and featured his wife Olga Knipper, whom he had married in 1901, in the leading role. Six months later, Chekhov died in Germany.
In addition to his dramatic works, Chekhov is highly regarded for his short stories which also combine comedy and tragedy. In addition, he is greatly admired for his use of ordinary conversations and verbal pauses to reveal reality in inconsequential words and everyday life.
Oftentimes, his characters, like those in The Cherry Orchard, are provincial aristocratic landowners of the era before the Russian Liberation who are unable to take action in times of crisis. In addition, Chekhov's intermingling of the comic and tragic genres characterizes him as one of the greatest playwrights of all time. In addition, he remains highly regarded for his technique, which has come to be called "indirect action." This technique emphasizes the off-stage action which the audience never sees but hears about from the onstage characters.
Essay Q&A
1. Discuss the effect of Liberation on Chekhov's characters Lopakhin and Firs.
Both Lopakhin and Firs were born on the cherry orchard estate as serfs and meant to spend their lives in the unpaid service of Madame Ranevsky's family. However, with the enactment of the Liberation in 1865 by Czar Nicholas II, the lives of both men, which seemed so predestined at birth, changed drastically. However, both men reacted very differently to the new social system. Lopakhin views the Liberation as an opportunity to create a better life. He takes action, working day and night to advance socially and economically. He succeeds, much to everyone's amazement, by becoming the owner of the cherry orchard estate and usurping the power of his former mistress, the aristocrat Madame Ranevsky. Lopakhin says in jubilation, "if only my father and grandfather could rise from their graves and see the whole affair" (38).
On the other hand, the elderly Firs fails to hear the call to action. He pays no heed at all to the Liberation and chooses instead to live his life passively as if freedom had never occurred. He shuffles around, waiting on people who generally take him for granted as they would a piece of the furniture. While he had every opportunity to leave the estate on which he was born, he remains waiting for five years for his mistress Madame Ranevsky to return from Paris. He is so cemented into the feudal system of serfdom that when Madame Ranevsky asks what he will do after the cherry orchard has been sold he simply he tells her, "wherever you tell me there I'll go" (35). Hardly surprisingly, Firs is overlooked and dies alone, a remnant of the past in a locked house after the family leaves the estate.
2. Critics argue that some of Chekhov's characters are affected by blindness. Consider the character Madame Ranevsky in this regard and agree or disagree.
As a character, Madame Ranevsky is metaphorically blind and remains blind throughout the play and thus fails to grow. She grew up in the lap of luxury, so to speak, on the Russian cherry orchard estate surrounded by serfs who would carry out her slightest whim. When she returns from Paris having left an abusive lover, she arrives believing that time has stood still and under the assumption that since her girlhood home belongs to her that nothing has changed. But everything has changed. It is she who has remained the same.
While she has been gone, her former serf Lopakhin, who as a child was not even permitted into the estate kitchen, has used his wits to become a successful businessman, so successful in fact that he attempts to convince Madame Ranevsky as to the necessity to change: sell the cherry orchard for the construction of villas-or perish. However, although she listens to Lopakhin she cannot accept what he has to say. Indeed, she cannot even consider cutting down the cherry orchard because she has constructed the idea that destroying the orchard would in effect be suicide. In her blindness, she fails to take any action and Lopakhin steps in to take over as master of the cherry orchard, leaving her to return to Paris to a bleak future. Her blindness represents the blindness of all those unwilling to accept the new Russia where all the people and not just the aristocrats have the chance to live free and be successful.
3. Some readers read Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard as a comedy while some read it as a tragedy. Address this duality.
Chekhov manages to combine the genres of comedy and tragedy. The playwright originally wrote The Cherry Orchard play as a comedy and was aghast the first time he saw it staged because the director had produced it as a tragedy. Scholars have argued about this duality and there is now general agreement that the play cleverly mixes comedy and tragedy. Readers, or viewers for that matter, cannot help but find certain sections of the play nothing but slapstick. For instance, when Trophimof walks out after Madame Ranevsky calls him a freak for not having a mistress, a clattering noise is heard off stage, Barbara screams and Anya runs in to declare "Peter's tumbled downstairs" (33). And some of the main characters also display great humor. For instance, Gayef inanely interjects comments about billiards into everyday conversation. Madame Ranevsky says she can't afford to pay her mortgage and almost immediately loans her neighbor Pishtchik money to pay his own mortgage. So, while the content of the play is serious, many times the tragic aspect is alleviated by the inclusion of comedy.
In Act III, the simultaneous comedy/tragedy is also apparent. While the most tragic events occur indirectly off stage-the sale of the cherry orchard-the atmosphere at the estate onstage is farcical, high comedy as in the background musicians play. While they await news of the sale of the cherry orchard, Barbara, worried about paying the musicians, scolds Trophimof and Pishtchik for getting drunk and the young servant Dunyasha for dancing like a guest. Characters are falling down, getting drunk, running around, dancing and playing billiards in a very circus-like atmosphere with Charlotte even performing magic tricks, until Lopakhin, who has no intention of proposing to Barbara, returns to tell them the tragic news-the cherry orchard, which has been in the family for hundreds of years, will be chopped down to make way for villas. But even the villain Lopakhin is humorous by being socially so ill at ease and misquoting Shakespeare.
4. How does the character Trophimof function in The Cherry Orchard?
Trophimof is the former tutor of Madame Ranevsky's young son Grisha whose death through drowning resulted in the family's flight to France. For some unknown reason, Trophimof has remained on the family estate and is still in residence when Madame Ranevsky returns. Everyone makes fun of him for being "the perpetual student," except Anya who takes an immediate liking to him. Madame Ranevsky harshly criticizes him by telling him that at his age he should have a mistress. So, while on the surface it might appear that Trophimof is a comic figure, and he certainly is comical when he falls down the stairs, on the other hand Trophimof is an idealist and has the ability see what is going on, unlike Madame Ranevsky, who remains blind to reality. He has the ability to stand back and look to the future with the knowledge that people in the new Russia are doomed unless they change with the times. For instance, Trophimof argues with the "villain" Lopakhin about his means of accruing wealth: "you are a rich man; you will soon be a millionaire . . . just like a beast of prey" (23). In this regard, he makes the reader aware that Lopakhin has something up his sleeve as he befriends Madame Ranevsky. Trophimof optimistically looks to the future: "mankind marches forward, perfecting its strength" and argues that change is inevitable (24). He lectures the others that if they don't change with the times, their lives will end in disaster. In other words, he encourages them to take action, work hard and not remain passive: "everything that is unattainable for us now will one day be near and clear; but we must work" (24).
5. What role does memory and the past play in The Cherry Orchard?
Throughout The Cherry Orchard characters struggle with remembering their past. In an effort to forget her young son Grisha's death, Madame Ranevsky flees Russia for Paris and meets a man who steals her money, abuses her and only returns to Russia when he leaves her for another woman. However, she seems happy to be home until memories of her son flood her mind after she meets his tutor Trophimof who has remained on the estate. Madame Ranevsky's former serf Lopakhin also suffers from difficult memories from his early life as a serf and feels ill at ease at the new social level he has managed to achieve. In addition, Trophimof preaches that all of Russia should forget the past before the Russian Liberation which freed the serfs, to be able to live a bright future. He believes that the people, especially the aristocrats, should not look back and romanticize the past. They should be willing to put these memories of the past aside and embrace the possibilities of a bright future. Trophimof is able to help Madame Ranevsky's young daughter Anya accomplish this by pointing out to her that the glorious and enormous cherry orchard estate where she grew up in the lap of luxury came about as a result of painful unpaid human labor: "all your ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls.
Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?" (27). When Anya realizes the true cost of the cherry orchard, she no longer feels attached and is willing to leave and start a new life. Alas, her mother Madame Ranevsky is unable to forget the past. She returns to Paris doomed to a sad life that will end in poverty. The elderly servant Firs, who has all along been unwilling to forget the past (even though he goes around the estate muttering about his faulty memory), ironically dies forgotten by all."
http://www.novelguide.com/TheCherryOrchard/index.html
Monday, February 2, 2009
Macbeth Sample analysis
http://www.litworks.com/Macbeth%20Sample%20Section.htm
Macbeth: A Study Commentary - Contents and Sample Section
(Please make sure you have opened the page to its full width on your screen)
CONTENTS
Act One Scene One
Commentary 1
Overview
2
Student Response
3
Act One Scene Two
Commentary 4
Overview 7
Student Response 8
Act One Scene Three
Commentary 10
Overview 15
Student Response 17
Act One Scene Four
Commentary 19
Overview 20
Student Response 21
Act One Scene Five Commentary 22
Overview 27
Student Response 28
Act One Scene Six Commentary 30
Overview 30
Student Response 31
Act One Scene Seven Commentary 32
Overview 36
Student Response 37
Additional Essay Questions (A Level)
39
Commentary Practice – General
39
Practice Commentary 1
41
Model Commentary
44
Commentary – Further Suggestions
46
Act Two Scene One
Commentary 48
Overview 51
Student Response 52
Act Two Scene Two
Commentary 53
Overview 55
Student Response 56
Act Two Scene Three
Commentary 57
Overview 61
Student Response 62
Act Two Scene Four
Practice Commentary 2 64
Additional Essay Questions (A Level) 68
Act Three Scene One
Commentary 69
Overview 72
Student Response 73
Act Three Scene Two
Commentary 75
Overview 77
Student Response 78
Act Three Scene Three
Commentary 79
Overview 79
Student Response 80
Act Three Scene Four
Commentary 81
Overview 86
Student Response 86
Act Three Scene Five
Commentary 88
Overview 88
Student Response 89
Act Three Scene Six
Commentary 90
Overview 92
Student Response 92
Additional Essay Questions (A Level)
92
Practice Commentary 3
93
Act Four Scene One
Commentary 95
Overview 100
Student Response 102
Act Four Scene Two
Commentary 103
Overview 105
Student Response 106
Act Four Scene Three
Commentary 108
Overview 114
Student Response 116
Act Five Scene One
Commentary 118
Overview 120
Student Response 121
Act Five Scene Two
Commentary 122
Overview 124
Student Response 124
Act Five Scene Three
Commentary 126
Overview 129
Student Response 129
Act Five Scene Four
Commentary 130
Overview 130
Student Response 131
Act Five Scene Five
Commentary 132
Overview 135
Student Response 136
Act Five Scene Six
Commentary 138
Overview 138
Student Response 138
Act Five Scene Seven
Commentary 139
Overview 139
Student Response 140
Act Five Scene Eight
Commentary 142
Overview 143
Student Response 144
Act Five Scene Nine
Commentary 146
Student Response 146
Practice Commentary 5
147
Additional Essay Questions (A Level)
148
Further Essay Questions (International Baccalaureate)
149
Further Essay Questions (A Level)
150
Advanced Placement Free-Response Questions
151
Commentary ‘Help’ Pages
152
Act One Scene Five
Commentary
Lady Macbeth is half-way through Macbeth’s letter when she enters – a realistic effect.
1-2 ‘By the perfect’st report’ (on the most reliable grounds): Macbeth is still, in spite of Banquo’s warning,
pinning his faith on the ‘trifle’ the Witches have given him, as proof that their promises can be trusted.
3 ‘Burned in desire’: Can you recall the word Banquo used to suggest how Macbeth might be excited at the
prospect of kingship?
‘That, trusted home, might enkindle you to the crown’ (Act One Scene Three lines 120-121)
4 ‘Made themselves air’: Banquo’s ‘bubbles’. They vanished into another world.
‘Rapt’: That interesting word again, but this time without any suggestion that he is hiding something – he is just
‘enraptured’.
7
‘The coming-on of time’: Macbeth still hopes that kingship will ‘come on’ to him without his having to do very
much. He continues to be reluctant to take any initiative himself – which may be why he is eager to involve
his wife as quickly as possible. She, he knows, has it in her to be pro-active, if that is what will be needed.
Lady Macbeth in her response to this letter shows that she knows her husband well; there’s no reason to
suppose that Macbeth knows any less about her. So when he says he has written to her so that she can share
the good news, he really means, ‘Tell me what to do.’
The letter is in prose (usual) and Lady Macbeth’s response to it is in blank verse (expected). What effect does
the switch from one to the other have?
Macbeth has written in a clear and ordered manner and has kept his excitement in check. His language
is largely non-figurative (literal).
Lady Macbeth’s speech is strong in both rhythms and imagery. She is immediately more passionate
about the prospect before them than Macbeth has so far been.
14 ‘What thou art promised’: The possibility is so enormous that she cannot speak of it in plain terms – the
prize, and the means to it, are unnameable. All the way through this speech she uses indirect phrases to refer
both to the kingship and to the murder which will lead to it. List them.
The kingship:
'be great'
'ambition'
'what thou wouldst highly'
'that which cries'
'the golden round' (the crown - a bit more to the point)
The murder:
'the nearest way'
'the illness'
'wrongly win'
'Thus thou must do'
'that which...thou dost fear to do'
14 Lady Macbeth fears Macbeth’s ‘nature’, she says. But she doesn’t simply mean that he’s too weak for the
job. It is his human nature which is at fault. That’s what ‘human kindness’ is – it would be more clearly
written as ‘humankind-ness’, and refers to what makes us people, as distinct from animals – or witches. So
Lady Macbeth isn’t complaining about Macbeth, but about us. We are not fitted for the kind of action which is
necessary to make us ‘great’; we don’t deserve greatness.
That essentially human nature (which Lady Macbeth does see as weak) is passed down to us through the
15 generations, in the very ‘milk’ with which we are nursed. To become truly great we must be prepared to deny
our inheritance and act ruthlessly in our own self-interest. So Lady Macbeth’s speech is a rejection of all that
we have seen happening (in the previous scene) in Duncan’s court, where humane (another spelling of the
word with slightly different connotations) and kind (in the more modern sense) behaviour is both ordained and
practised. Lady Macbeth, in other words, wants Mankind to take a different path in his evolution.
Womankind, too. Women can out-man men. She herself asks in a moment (lines 45-46) to have her milk
turned to gall (bitter fluid); and in Scene Seven (lines 54-58) she claims (boasts, even) that she would snatch
her nipple from her feeding baby’s mouth and dash its brains out, if she had sworn to do it. You can’t get
much more of a denial of humankind-ness than that.
It's important that you grasp that full meaning of those easily misunderstood lines (14-15). If you say, in an
essay or a commentary, ‘Lady Macbeth thinks Macbeth is too kind to kill Duncan,’ you’ll have missed an
opportunity.
16 Macbeth has been ‘seized’ by the idea of kingship, you will remember. He in his turn must seize – ‘catch’ –
the swiftest means to achieve it. Lady Macbeth does not think he will.
The next few line are maybe overburdened with antithesis. It’s as if Lady Macbeth has drawn up two lists:
*
What Macbeth wants
*
Why he will never get it without help
She moves from one to the other in a manner which makes for a very contrived speech (and a demanding one
for an actress); but the rhythms generated are powerful and convincing. She seems to know what she is
talking about.
23 ‘Hie thee hither’ has some dramatic impact (get used to that phrase). Things are about to move swiftly.
Duncan will arrive before night and be dead before morning.
24 She wants Macbeth here so that she can ‘pour [her] spirits’ in his ear. She may mean ‘the spirit of boldness
25 (‘valour’) which will put the new Mankind wholly in control of his own future’. But if you know Othello and
Hamlet you’ll perhaps remember that the only thing poured into people’s ears in those plays is poison.
27-28 ‘Do seem to have thee crowned withal’: The phrasing is strange. (‘Withal’ just means ‘with’.) The tense of
the verb suggests that Macbeth is already crowned – in the world from which the Witches come, and perhaps
also in Lady Macbeth’s imagination.
29 'Thou'rt mad to say it': She starts in much the same way Macbeth did earlier; she too has been caught
thinking bad things. The unexpected arrival of the king has something of the same impact, briefly, as the
knocking on the gate which will wake up the household (in Act Two) to the discovery of his death. Her
reaction here is that of a guilty person. (Some commentators have even suggested that when the Messenger
says, ‘The king comes here tonight’ she is so far forward in her imaginings that she thinks he means King
Macbeth, and is momentarily flustered – and guilty – when she comes to her senses.)
She does attack the messenger, rather.
He is apologetic. You probably wouldn’t want to contradict Lady Macbeth either.
36
The messenger has brought ‘great news’ (‘news of greatness’ would be more accurate) and deserves to be
rewarded, at least by being taken care of (line 34).
Ravens croak to announce imminent death (it was believed); the more important the death the louder the
croak (we might imagine). This one has croaked himself almost to silence. Shakespeare needs us to be aware
of just how momentous the impending murder will be: it will shake the very structures of the world.
38 ‘Under my battlements’: Why ‘under’? Why ‘my’?
The impression given is that the battlements will loom over Duncan threateningly. (Look at what he
himself says about the battlements when he arrives, however.)
This is Lady Macbeth's, not Macbeth's, castle - a telling slip. It will in a sense be her plot too, since she
becomes the force which drives it to its conclusion...and she's the one who cleans up afterwards.
Just who or what the ‘spirits’ are to which Lady Macbeth refers here and in line 46 (‘murdering ministers –
if both sets of supernatural creatures are the same) we don’t really, as commentators, know. But as an
audience in the theatre we will assume she means the Witches (or something very like). As often in drama, it’s
the impression, not the facts, which matters.
‘Unsex me here’ doesn’t really confuse the issue of the New Mankind discussed above. The New Person will
be sexless, and will have neither the softness of a woman nor the principles of a man; there will be no room
inside this creature for anything but ‘direst cruelty’. Its blood will be too thick to carry feelings such as
compassion (‘remorse’) to its heart and it will have no conscience (‘compunctious visitings of nature’). Its
purposes will be ‘fell’ (‘ruthless’); and it will be very efficient at doing what it is programmed to do (nothing
will come between its ‘purpose’ and the ‘effect’ – the carrying out of that purpose).
Recognise the picture? Isn’t it eerily like one of those science-fiction creations, androids, which look like people
but aren’t and which go around proving how indestructible they are while destroying lots of real men and
women? Has Lady Macbeth looked into the same future as some of our film-makers?
48
‘Nature’s mischief’ may give us a bit of trouble, unless we see it as referring not to human nature (in which
there is not enough mischief according to Lady M) but to Nature as a whole (ie Creation), including that part
of it in which evil spirits live. There are other glosses (possible interpretations), but that’s the most
straightforward one.
The last part of this speech echoes Macbeth’s in the previous scene, where he too calls for the stars to hide
their fires so that he can act unseen. But Lady Macbeth’s thinking and her poetry are much more fully
developed.
Night is to be ‘thick’ like the blood of the creature Lady Macbeth wishes to become, and will hinder sight in the
same way that the thickness of her blood will ‘stop up th’access’ (line 42) to human feeling. The darkness
(gloomy smoke from hell) in which it will wrap itself will act as a ‘pall’ (both a cloak capable of hiding
something and a funeral winding-cloth).
50 ‘My keen knife’: Does Lady Macbeth think she will have to commit the murder herself? She almost has to
when the time comes.
There are perhaps forces in Creation which could work against the powers of darkness; but they have not been
51 named hitherto, and ‘heaven’ receives here only a feeble mention. The Witches, it seems, will have
everything their own way.
52 Just as Lady Macbeth reckons she can out-man men in ruthlessness, so she now out-does both the Witches
and Ross in greeting Macbeth with his new titles.
Note, however, that she does not yet address him as king.
She has been carried away (‘transported’) – into an unreal world, we might suggest – by the news in his
letter. It is the world of ‘hereafter’ (line 53) which exists ‘beyond this ignorant present’ and lies in ‘the
future’. But if things here and now can disappear into thin air (as those ‘bubbles’ the Witches did) how much
more likely it is that things offered for some future time will fail to materialise at all, and turn out to be illusions
promised by illusions. We know that; but the two schemers do not, or do not want to.
(Macbeth does become king, of course, so in that sense the Witches keep their word. His assumption has been
that kingship will last, however, and will bring content. That mistake is his, not theirs.)
Macbeth barely greets his wife. He is too full of the news of Duncan’s arrival.
The next exchange is full of innuendo (hint and double meaning) – none of it particularly original, but chilling
nonetheless. Are they concerned that someone may be listening? Or just afraid to hear themselves utter the
terrible words which are in their minds? Actors have a bit of a problem – it’s easy to melodramatise
(exaggerate the villainy of) these lines.
57
‘And when goes hence?’: ‘Go hence’ can mean ‘depart this life’; in even plainer words…
die.
‘Tomorrow, as he purposes’: How long dare an actor pause between ‘tomorrow’ and ‘as’?
Try it for yourself.
59-60 ‘O! Never /Shall sun that morrow see’: This could be read as no more than the expression of a hostess eager
that her guest….
should stay as long as possible.
Here Lady Macbeth is diverted. She notices the look on Macbeth’s face. What do you imagine that look might
be?
Fear? Horror? Guilt? Astonishment at his wife’s cold-blooded subtleties?
‘Strange matters. To…’: If your edition has a comma after ‘matters’, pretend it’s a full stop. That’s the only
sensible way to punctuate these lines.
62 ‘Look like the time’ means a bit more than just ‘behave normally’. Think back to the previous scene. In order
to ‘look like the time’ at Duncan’s court Macbeth had to go along with its jollity and excessive warmth,
although he was far from being in the mood for it. ‘The time’ means almost ‘the fashion’ – what is acceptable
in the present circumstances. Your purpose in behaving in line with the norms of the day will be to ‘beguile
the time’ (deceive the people around you) so that, like a serpent beneath a flower (a snake in the grass) you
will be able to strike suddenly and secretly. This advice is something of the ‘spirits’ (line 24) Lady Macbeth
wanted so badly to pour into Macbeth’s ear; and it does indeed have some poison in it.
64
‘He that’s coming’: She cannot even name Duncan. There’s almost a kind of superstition in this refusal, as if
to name him will be to break a spell. (Compare this with the theatrical tradition that Macbeth should be
referred to only as The Scottish Play, and never by name, or bad luck will befall the production.)
Here are three more examples of linguistic subterfuge (hiding meaning in ambiguous statement). Try to give
two explanations for each.
'provided for'
'great business'
'my despatch'
'looked after properly'; 'taken care of (ie killed)'
'important visit by Duncan'; 'wonderful opportunity to kill Duncan'
'my care, so that he is made welcome'; 'my care, so that he is "despatched" (murdered)'
You may find this word-play a bit heavy-handed. The Elizabethans will have loved it.
67 ‘All our nights and days to come’ has an ominous ring to it simply because it has an optimistic one. That’s
the case even if we don’t already know that Macbeth will talk poignantly of ‘all our yesterdays’ just before
he dies.
69 ‘We will speak further’: This sounds like a man who is looking for a means of delay.
‘Only look up clear’: Has he been looking physically down?
Lady Macbeth reassures him that all he needs to do is appear calm and she will do everything else. In this she
is misleading him just as surely as the Witches…unless she does intend, at this point, to kill Duncan herself?
Overview: other things to note
Setting
o Lady Macbeth sees and addresses spirits ‘Wherever…you wait’ (lines 47-48); they are in an invisible world outside the one in which she walks up and down reading her husband’s letter.
Character
o Macbeth: Our knowledge of him deepens suddenly in this scene. Lady Macbeth’s almost scornful account of his
character has the effect of bringing him closer to us. He is human (that’s her complaint against him). He is human (that
is what connects him to us).
o Lady Macbeth: A wholly startling woman. An encounter between her and the Witches would have been something to
behold (Mrs Thatcher with an eye on Buckingham Palace as a desres meets the Furies).
Action
o This is two scenes run together and divided by Macbeth’s entrance. They are telescoped to give the impression of time
moving swiftly on.
o The speed of events (same idea): Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to ‘Hie’ to her; ‘the king comes here tonight’ is a
sudden and unexpected piece of news; ‘our thane is coming’ is the next piece; Lady Macbeth then ‘feels the future
in the instant’.
o Indirect reporting. Several important episodes in the play do not happen on stage but are described by someone who
saw them or knows about them. Look out for them and try to analyse the effect produced in each case.
o Foreboding: the raven, yes; but also the rate at which Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are sliding downwards morally
Style
o Its contrasts
o Its gathering pace as it moves from the ordered letter at the beginning, through Lady Macbeth’s intense analyses and invocations to the fragmented dialogue at the end as Duncan’s arrival approaches
Themes
o Unnaturalness. Our whole discussion of human nature (page 23 above) had to do with that theme, and so does much of what Lady Macbeth says in the scene.
o Sexuality (manhood as compared with womanhood)
General
o Macbeth came to his wife looking for advice; by the end of the scene he must feel he has jumped on the back of a wild horse which has galloped away with him. How well did he know her?
Student Response
Carrie wants to know why, when Macbeth was in such a hurry to get to his castle and talk to his wife, he took the time to write quite a long letter before he set off.
There’s a dramatic reason, of course: Macbeth’s letter allows Lady Macbeth to move ahead of him in her imagination. Part of the tension of the scene rests in her struggle to draw him after her, once they are together. But there should also be, to support our theory about characters’ actions needing to be convincing within the context of the play, an internal reason – internal to the story or to Macbeth himself. I ask the class to supply one.
‘He might have thought he was going to be delayed on his journey.’ He certainly didn’t travel at top speed: the messenger who left after him with the news that Duncan was on his way overtook him.
‘He sent the letter express mail.’ (He probably did.)
‘He wants her to know about the prophecy as soon as possible.’ That’s true, but it doesn’t answer Carrie’s question.
We’ve had to struggle a bit, so maybe Shakespeare hasn’t done too well here. But the letter and Lady Macbeth’s reaction to it have been so powerful theatrically that as a sensible audience we aren’t going to worry too much.
‘Letters,’ says Heather. ‘She says ‘letters’: he must have written more than one.’ We shouldn’t worry to much about that either.
‘This whole thing about human nature and a new kind of person: was Shakespeare really serious about that?’ (Anwar).
It would be easy to be pompous and say something like, ‘Shakespeare was serious about everything, even when he was making his audience laugh.’ Instead I put an essay title on the whiteboard:
‘Plays take us into worlds different from our own, but must have something to say about issues of importance in the world to which we, the audience, will return.’
Show how issues relevant to today’s world have been raised in plays you have studied.
‘What’s more relevant than the question of who and what we are, and where we’re going?’
That comes out as a bit pompous anyway, but it gives us plenty to talk about. As we go through the rest of the play we can examine each major idea we come across to see whether it’s ‘an issue of importance in the world to which we, the audience, will return’.
We start, however, with a discussion of just how different Macbeth’s world is from ours. Not so very, we decide.
‘Macbeth might have been happy there if it hadn’t been for…?’ I ask.
o ‘Ambition’ (Philip) – his ‘tragic flaw’ (we’ll talk about that at some later point)
o ‘The Witches’ (Alecia) – temptation
o ‘His wife’ (Ed) – sexual pressure
o ‘Duncan’s wetness’ (Rupert) – the feeling that he, Macbeth, would make a better king (there’s no real evidence for that in the play – but see brief discussion on page 33)
End of Sample Section
Macbeth: A Study Commentary - Contents and Sample Section
(Please make sure you have opened the page to its full width on your screen)
CONTENTS
Act One Scene One
Commentary 1
Overview
2
Student Response
3
Act One Scene Two
Commentary 4
Overview 7
Student Response 8
Act One Scene Three
Commentary 10
Overview 15
Student Response 17
Act One Scene Four
Commentary 19
Overview 20
Student Response 21
Act One Scene Five Commentary 22
Overview 27
Student Response 28
Act One Scene Six Commentary 30
Overview 30
Student Response 31
Act One Scene Seven Commentary 32
Overview 36
Student Response 37
Additional Essay Questions (A Level)
39
Commentary Practice – General
39
Practice Commentary 1
41
Model Commentary
44
Commentary – Further Suggestions
46
Act Two Scene One
Commentary 48
Overview 51
Student Response 52
Act Two Scene Two
Commentary 53
Overview 55
Student Response 56
Act Two Scene Three
Commentary 57
Overview 61
Student Response 62
Act Two Scene Four
Practice Commentary 2 64
Additional Essay Questions (A Level) 68
Act Three Scene One
Commentary 69
Overview 72
Student Response 73
Act Three Scene Two
Commentary 75
Overview 77
Student Response 78
Act Three Scene Three
Commentary 79
Overview 79
Student Response 80
Act Three Scene Four
Commentary 81
Overview 86
Student Response 86
Act Three Scene Five
Commentary 88
Overview 88
Student Response 89
Act Three Scene Six
Commentary 90
Overview 92
Student Response 92
Additional Essay Questions (A Level)
92
Practice Commentary 3
93
Act Four Scene One
Commentary 95
Overview 100
Student Response 102
Act Four Scene Two
Commentary 103
Overview 105
Student Response 106
Act Four Scene Three
Commentary 108
Overview 114
Student Response 116
Act Five Scene One
Commentary 118
Overview 120
Student Response 121
Act Five Scene Two
Commentary 122
Overview 124
Student Response 124
Act Five Scene Three
Commentary 126
Overview 129
Student Response 129
Act Five Scene Four
Commentary 130
Overview 130
Student Response 131
Act Five Scene Five
Commentary 132
Overview 135
Student Response 136
Act Five Scene Six
Commentary 138
Overview 138
Student Response 138
Act Five Scene Seven
Commentary 139
Overview 139
Student Response 140
Act Five Scene Eight
Commentary 142
Overview 143
Student Response 144
Act Five Scene Nine
Commentary 146
Student Response 146
Practice Commentary 5
147
Additional Essay Questions (A Level)
148
Further Essay Questions (International Baccalaureate)
149
Further Essay Questions (A Level)
150
Advanced Placement Free-Response Questions
151
Commentary ‘Help’ Pages
152
Act One Scene Five
Commentary
Lady Macbeth is half-way through Macbeth’s letter when she enters – a realistic effect.
1-2 ‘By the perfect’st report’ (on the most reliable grounds): Macbeth is still, in spite of Banquo’s warning,
pinning his faith on the ‘trifle’ the Witches have given him, as proof that their promises can be trusted.
3 ‘Burned in desire’: Can you recall the word Banquo used to suggest how Macbeth might be excited at the
prospect of kingship?
‘That, trusted home, might enkindle you to the crown’ (Act One Scene Three lines 120-121)
4 ‘Made themselves air’: Banquo’s ‘bubbles’. They vanished into another world.
‘Rapt’: That interesting word again, but this time without any suggestion that he is hiding something – he is just
‘enraptured’.
7
‘The coming-on of time’: Macbeth still hopes that kingship will ‘come on’ to him without his having to do very
much. He continues to be reluctant to take any initiative himself – which may be why he is eager to involve
his wife as quickly as possible. She, he knows, has it in her to be pro-active, if that is what will be needed.
Lady Macbeth in her response to this letter shows that she knows her husband well; there’s no reason to
suppose that Macbeth knows any less about her. So when he says he has written to her so that she can share
the good news, he really means, ‘Tell me what to do.’
The letter is in prose (usual) and Lady Macbeth’s response to it is in blank verse (expected). What effect does
the switch from one to the other have?
Macbeth has written in a clear and ordered manner and has kept his excitement in check. His language
is largely non-figurative (literal).
Lady Macbeth’s speech is strong in both rhythms and imagery. She is immediately more passionate
about the prospect before them than Macbeth has so far been.
14 ‘What thou art promised’: The possibility is so enormous that she cannot speak of it in plain terms – the
prize, and the means to it, are unnameable. All the way through this speech she uses indirect phrases to refer
both to the kingship and to the murder which will lead to it. List them.
The kingship:
'be great'
'ambition'
'what thou wouldst highly'
'that which cries'
'the golden round' (the crown - a bit more to the point)
The murder:
'the nearest way'
'the illness'
'wrongly win'
'Thus thou must do'
'that which...thou dost fear to do'
14 Lady Macbeth fears Macbeth’s ‘nature’, she says. But she doesn’t simply mean that he’s too weak for the
job. It is his human nature which is at fault. That’s what ‘human kindness’ is – it would be more clearly
written as ‘humankind-ness’, and refers to what makes us people, as distinct from animals – or witches. So
Lady Macbeth isn’t complaining about Macbeth, but about us. We are not fitted for the kind of action which is
necessary to make us ‘great’; we don’t deserve greatness.
That essentially human nature (which Lady Macbeth does see as weak) is passed down to us through the
15 generations, in the very ‘milk’ with which we are nursed. To become truly great we must be prepared to deny
our inheritance and act ruthlessly in our own self-interest. So Lady Macbeth’s speech is a rejection of all that
we have seen happening (in the previous scene) in Duncan’s court, where humane (another spelling of the
word with slightly different connotations) and kind (in the more modern sense) behaviour is both ordained and
practised. Lady Macbeth, in other words, wants Mankind to take a different path in his evolution.
Womankind, too. Women can out-man men. She herself asks in a moment (lines 45-46) to have her milk
turned to gall (bitter fluid); and in Scene Seven (lines 54-58) she claims (boasts, even) that she would snatch
her nipple from her feeding baby’s mouth and dash its brains out, if she had sworn to do it. You can’t get
much more of a denial of humankind-ness than that.
It's important that you grasp that full meaning of those easily misunderstood lines (14-15). If you say, in an
essay or a commentary, ‘Lady Macbeth thinks Macbeth is too kind to kill Duncan,’ you’ll have missed an
opportunity.
16 Macbeth has been ‘seized’ by the idea of kingship, you will remember. He in his turn must seize – ‘catch’ –
the swiftest means to achieve it. Lady Macbeth does not think he will.
The next few line are maybe overburdened with antithesis. It’s as if Lady Macbeth has drawn up two lists:
*
What Macbeth wants
*
Why he will never get it without help
She moves from one to the other in a manner which makes for a very contrived speech (and a demanding one
for an actress); but the rhythms generated are powerful and convincing. She seems to know what she is
talking about.
23 ‘Hie thee hither’ has some dramatic impact (get used to that phrase). Things are about to move swiftly.
Duncan will arrive before night and be dead before morning.
24 She wants Macbeth here so that she can ‘pour [her] spirits’ in his ear. She may mean ‘the spirit of boldness
25 (‘valour’) which will put the new Mankind wholly in control of his own future’. But if you know Othello and
Hamlet you’ll perhaps remember that the only thing poured into people’s ears in those plays is poison.
27-28 ‘Do seem to have thee crowned withal’: The phrasing is strange. (‘Withal’ just means ‘with’.) The tense of
the verb suggests that Macbeth is already crowned – in the world from which the Witches come, and perhaps
also in Lady Macbeth’s imagination.
29 'Thou'rt mad to say it': She starts in much the same way Macbeth did earlier; she too has been caught
thinking bad things. The unexpected arrival of the king has something of the same impact, briefly, as the
knocking on the gate which will wake up the household (in Act Two) to the discovery of his death. Her
reaction here is that of a guilty person. (Some commentators have even suggested that when the Messenger
says, ‘The king comes here tonight’ she is so far forward in her imaginings that she thinks he means King
Macbeth, and is momentarily flustered – and guilty – when she comes to her senses.)
She does attack the messenger, rather.
He is apologetic. You probably wouldn’t want to contradict Lady Macbeth either.
36
The messenger has brought ‘great news’ (‘news of greatness’ would be more accurate) and deserves to be
rewarded, at least by being taken care of (line 34).
Ravens croak to announce imminent death (it was believed); the more important the death the louder the
croak (we might imagine). This one has croaked himself almost to silence. Shakespeare needs us to be aware
of just how momentous the impending murder will be: it will shake the very structures of the world.
38 ‘Under my battlements’: Why ‘under’? Why ‘my’?
The impression given is that the battlements will loom over Duncan threateningly. (Look at what he
himself says about the battlements when he arrives, however.)
This is Lady Macbeth's, not Macbeth's, castle - a telling slip. It will in a sense be her plot too, since she
becomes the force which drives it to its conclusion...and she's the one who cleans up afterwards.
Just who or what the ‘spirits’ are to which Lady Macbeth refers here and in line 46 (‘murdering ministers –
if both sets of supernatural creatures are the same) we don’t really, as commentators, know. But as an
audience in the theatre we will assume she means the Witches (or something very like). As often in drama, it’s
the impression, not the facts, which matters.
‘Unsex me here’ doesn’t really confuse the issue of the New Mankind discussed above. The New Person will
be sexless, and will have neither the softness of a woman nor the principles of a man; there will be no room
inside this creature for anything but ‘direst cruelty’. Its blood will be too thick to carry feelings such as
compassion (‘remorse’) to its heart and it will have no conscience (‘compunctious visitings of nature’). Its
purposes will be ‘fell’ (‘ruthless’); and it will be very efficient at doing what it is programmed to do (nothing
will come between its ‘purpose’ and the ‘effect’ – the carrying out of that purpose).
Recognise the picture? Isn’t it eerily like one of those science-fiction creations, androids, which look like people
but aren’t and which go around proving how indestructible they are while destroying lots of real men and
women? Has Lady Macbeth looked into the same future as some of our film-makers?
48
‘Nature’s mischief’ may give us a bit of trouble, unless we see it as referring not to human nature (in which
there is not enough mischief according to Lady M) but to Nature as a whole (ie Creation), including that part
of it in which evil spirits live. There are other glosses (possible interpretations), but that’s the most
straightforward one.
The last part of this speech echoes Macbeth’s in the previous scene, where he too calls for the stars to hide
their fires so that he can act unseen. But Lady Macbeth’s thinking and her poetry are much more fully
developed.
Night is to be ‘thick’ like the blood of the creature Lady Macbeth wishes to become, and will hinder sight in the
same way that the thickness of her blood will ‘stop up th’access’ (line 42) to human feeling. The darkness
(gloomy smoke from hell) in which it will wrap itself will act as a ‘pall’ (both a cloak capable of hiding
something and a funeral winding-cloth).
50 ‘My keen knife’: Does Lady Macbeth think she will have to commit the murder herself? She almost has to
when the time comes.
There are perhaps forces in Creation which could work against the powers of darkness; but they have not been
51 named hitherto, and ‘heaven’ receives here only a feeble mention. The Witches, it seems, will have
everything their own way.
52 Just as Lady Macbeth reckons she can out-man men in ruthlessness, so she now out-does both the Witches
and Ross in greeting Macbeth with his new titles.
Note, however, that she does not yet address him as king.
She has been carried away (‘transported’) – into an unreal world, we might suggest – by the news in his
letter. It is the world of ‘hereafter’ (line 53) which exists ‘beyond this ignorant present’ and lies in ‘the
future’. But if things here and now can disappear into thin air (as those ‘bubbles’ the Witches did) how much
more likely it is that things offered for some future time will fail to materialise at all, and turn out to be illusions
promised by illusions. We know that; but the two schemers do not, or do not want to.
(Macbeth does become king, of course, so in that sense the Witches keep their word. His assumption has been
that kingship will last, however, and will bring content. That mistake is his, not theirs.)
Macbeth barely greets his wife. He is too full of the news of Duncan’s arrival.
The next exchange is full of innuendo (hint and double meaning) – none of it particularly original, but chilling
nonetheless. Are they concerned that someone may be listening? Or just afraid to hear themselves utter the
terrible words which are in their minds? Actors have a bit of a problem – it’s easy to melodramatise
(exaggerate the villainy of) these lines.
57
‘And when goes hence?’: ‘Go hence’ can mean ‘depart this life’; in even plainer words…
die.
‘Tomorrow, as he purposes’: How long dare an actor pause between ‘tomorrow’ and ‘as’?
Try it for yourself.
59-60 ‘O! Never /Shall sun that morrow see’: This could be read as no more than the expression of a hostess eager
that her guest….
should stay as long as possible.
Here Lady Macbeth is diverted. She notices the look on Macbeth’s face. What do you imagine that look might
be?
Fear? Horror? Guilt? Astonishment at his wife’s cold-blooded subtleties?
‘Strange matters. To…’: If your edition has a comma after ‘matters’, pretend it’s a full stop. That’s the only
sensible way to punctuate these lines.
62 ‘Look like the time’ means a bit more than just ‘behave normally’. Think back to the previous scene. In order
to ‘look like the time’ at Duncan’s court Macbeth had to go along with its jollity and excessive warmth,
although he was far from being in the mood for it. ‘The time’ means almost ‘the fashion’ – what is acceptable
in the present circumstances. Your purpose in behaving in line with the norms of the day will be to ‘beguile
the time’ (deceive the people around you) so that, like a serpent beneath a flower (a snake in the grass) you
will be able to strike suddenly and secretly. This advice is something of the ‘spirits’ (line 24) Lady Macbeth
wanted so badly to pour into Macbeth’s ear; and it does indeed have some poison in it.
64
‘He that’s coming’: She cannot even name Duncan. There’s almost a kind of superstition in this refusal, as if
to name him will be to break a spell. (Compare this with the theatrical tradition that Macbeth should be
referred to only as The Scottish Play, and never by name, or bad luck will befall the production.)
Here are three more examples of linguistic subterfuge (hiding meaning in ambiguous statement). Try to give
two explanations for each.
'provided for'
'great business'
'my despatch'
'looked after properly'; 'taken care of (ie killed)'
'important visit by Duncan'; 'wonderful opportunity to kill Duncan'
'my care, so that he is made welcome'; 'my care, so that he is "despatched" (murdered)'
You may find this word-play a bit heavy-handed. The Elizabethans will have loved it.
67 ‘All our nights and days to come’ has an ominous ring to it simply because it has an optimistic one. That’s
the case even if we don’t already know that Macbeth will talk poignantly of ‘all our yesterdays’ just before
he dies.
69 ‘We will speak further’: This sounds like a man who is looking for a means of delay.
‘Only look up clear’: Has he been looking physically down?
Lady Macbeth reassures him that all he needs to do is appear calm and she will do everything else. In this she
is misleading him just as surely as the Witches…unless she does intend, at this point, to kill Duncan herself?
Overview: other things to note
Setting
o Lady Macbeth sees and addresses spirits ‘Wherever…you wait’ (lines 47-48); they are in an invisible world outside the one in which she walks up and down reading her husband’s letter.
Character
o Macbeth: Our knowledge of him deepens suddenly in this scene. Lady Macbeth’s almost scornful account of his
character has the effect of bringing him closer to us. He is human (that’s her complaint against him). He is human (that
is what connects him to us).
o Lady Macbeth: A wholly startling woman. An encounter between her and the Witches would have been something to
behold (Mrs Thatcher with an eye on Buckingham Palace as a desres meets the Furies).
Action
o This is two scenes run together and divided by Macbeth’s entrance. They are telescoped to give the impression of time
moving swiftly on.
o The speed of events (same idea): Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to ‘Hie’ to her; ‘the king comes here tonight’ is a
sudden and unexpected piece of news; ‘our thane is coming’ is the next piece; Lady Macbeth then ‘feels the future
in the instant’.
o Indirect reporting. Several important episodes in the play do not happen on stage but are described by someone who
saw them or knows about them. Look out for them and try to analyse the effect produced in each case.
o Foreboding: the raven, yes; but also the rate at which Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are sliding downwards morally
Style
o Its contrasts
o Its gathering pace as it moves from the ordered letter at the beginning, through Lady Macbeth’s intense analyses and invocations to the fragmented dialogue at the end as Duncan’s arrival approaches
Themes
o Unnaturalness. Our whole discussion of human nature (page 23 above) had to do with that theme, and so does much of what Lady Macbeth says in the scene.
o Sexuality (manhood as compared with womanhood)
General
o Macbeth came to his wife looking for advice; by the end of the scene he must feel he has jumped on the back of a wild horse which has galloped away with him. How well did he know her?
Student Response
Carrie wants to know why, when Macbeth was in such a hurry to get to his castle and talk to his wife, he took the time to write quite a long letter before he set off.
There’s a dramatic reason, of course: Macbeth’s letter allows Lady Macbeth to move ahead of him in her imagination. Part of the tension of the scene rests in her struggle to draw him after her, once they are together. But there should also be, to support our theory about characters’ actions needing to be convincing within the context of the play, an internal reason – internal to the story or to Macbeth himself. I ask the class to supply one.
‘He might have thought he was going to be delayed on his journey.’ He certainly didn’t travel at top speed: the messenger who left after him with the news that Duncan was on his way overtook him.
‘He sent the letter express mail.’ (He probably did.)
‘He wants her to know about the prophecy as soon as possible.’ That’s true, but it doesn’t answer Carrie’s question.
We’ve had to struggle a bit, so maybe Shakespeare hasn’t done too well here. But the letter and Lady Macbeth’s reaction to it have been so powerful theatrically that as a sensible audience we aren’t going to worry too much.
‘Letters,’ says Heather. ‘She says ‘letters’: he must have written more than one.’ We shouldn’t worry to much about that either.
‘This whole thing about human nature and a new kind of person: was Shakespeare really serious about that?’ (Anwar).
It would be easy to be pompous and say something like, ‘Shakespeare was serious about everything, even when he was making his audience laugh.’ Instead I put an essay title on the whiteboard:
‘Plays take us into worlds different from our own, but must have something to say about issues of importance in the world to which we, the audience, will return.’
Show how issues relevant to today’s world have been raised in plays you have studied.
‘What’s more relevant than the question of who and what we are, and where we’re going?’
That comes out as a bit pompous anyway, but it gives us plenty to talk about. As we go through the rest of the play we can examine each major idea we come across to see whether it’s ‘an issue of importance in the world to which we, the audience, will return’.
We start, however, with a discussion of just how different Macbeth’s world is from ours. Not so very, we decide.
‘Macbeth might have been happy there if it hadn’t been for…?’ I ask.
o ‘Ambition’ (Philip) – his ‘tragic flaw’ (we’ll talk about that at some later point)
o ‘The Witches’ (Alecia) – temptation
o ‘His wife’ (Ed) – sexual pressure
o ‘Duncan’s wetness’ (Rupert) – the feeling that he, Macbeth, would make a better king (there’s no real evidence for that in the play – but see brief discussion on page 33)
End of Sample Section
Macbeth Site
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* Please see the bottom of this page for helpful Macbeth resources.
* Dramatis Personae.
* Act 1
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 1. A desert place. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 2. A camp near Forres. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3. A heath near Forres. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 4. Forres. The palace. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. Inverness. Macbeth's castle. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 6. Before Macbeth's castle. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. Macbeth's castle. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
* Act 2
o Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 1. Court of Macbeth's castle. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2. The same. (Full Annotations and Glossary)
o Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 3. The same.
o Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 4. Outside Macbeth's castle.
* Act 3
o Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 1. Forres. The palace.
o Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 2. The palace.
o Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 3. A park near the palace.
o Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 4. The same. Hall in the palace.
o Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 5. A Heath.
o Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 6. Forres. The palace.
* Act 4
o Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1. A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron.
o Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 2. Fife. Macduff's castle.
o Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3. England. Before the King's palace.
* Act 5
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1. Dunsinane. Ante-room in the castle.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 2. The country near Dunsinane.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 3. Dunsinane. A room in the castle.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 4. Country near Birnam wood.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5. Dunsinane. Within the castle.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 6. Dunsinane. Before the castle.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 7. Another part of the field.
o Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 8. Another part of the field.
Macbeth's Soliloquies Explained (If it were done...)
Macbeth's Soliloquies (have died hereafter ...)
Blood Imagery in Macbeth
All about Macbeth's Sources
The First Performance of Macbeth
Macbeth Character Analysis
Macbeth Study Quiz
Lady Gruoch Macbeth?
Macbeth Essay Topics
Pronouncing Shakespearean Names
Polanski, Hefner, and Macbeth
Biblical Imagery in Macbeth
Seven Deadly Sins
Unlucky Macbeth
Macbeth's Soliloquies (Is this a dagger ...)
Macbeth's Soliloquies (To be thus is nothing ...)
Mysticism in Macbeth
Witches and Macbeth
Who is Hecate?
Macbeth Plot Synopsis
Macbeth and King James
Famous Quotations from Macbeth
Violent Deaths in the Plays
Shakespeare's Trap Doors
Scary Shakespeare
Shakespeare's Quartos
Shakespearean Character Quiz
Shakespeare on War
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Last updated 12/04/2006 09:01:01
Jungian Analysis
HERO'S JOURNEY : REFERENCE
the hero's journey : summary of the steps
This page summrarizes the brief explanations from every step of the Hero's Journey.
1. Departure
1. The Call to Adventure
The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.
2. Refusal of the Call
Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.
3. Supernatural Aid
Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known.
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.
5. The Belly of the Whale
The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself.
2. Inititation
1. The Road of Trials
The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.
2. The Meeting with the Goddess
The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non-dualistic way. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to be represented by a woman.
3. Woman as the Temptress
At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.
4. Atonement with the Father
In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power. For the transformation to take place, the person as he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into a different realm.
5. Apotheosis
To apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. This is a god-like state; the person is in heaven and beyond all strife. A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.
6. The Ultimate Boon
The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.
3. Return
1. Refusal of the Return
So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes?
2. The Magic Flight
Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.
3. Rescue from Without
Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon.
4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.
5. Master of the Two Worlds
In myth, this step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.
6. Freedom to Live
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.
Heros Journey : Summary of Steps
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI)
Maricopa Community Colleges
the ' net connection at MCLI is Alan Levine
comments about the site to : alan.levine@domail.maricopa.edu
questions about the content to : liz.warren@smcmail.maricopa.edu
last modified: 11/20/1999 03:06:34
URL: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html
the hero's journey : summary of the steps
This page summrarizes the brief explanations from every step of the Hero's Journey.
1. Departure
1. The Call to Adventure
The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.
2. Refusal of the Call
Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.
3. Supernatural Aid
Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known.
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.
5. The Belly of the Whale
The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself.
2. Inititation
1. The Road of Trials
The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.
2. The Meeting with the Goddess
The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non-dualistic way. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to be represented by a woman.
3. Woman as the Temptress
At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.
4. Atonement with the Father
In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power. For the transformation to take place, the person as he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into a different realm.
5. Apotheosis
To apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. This is a god-like state; the person is in heaven and beyond all strife. A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.
6. The Ultimate Boon
The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.
3. Return
1. Refusal of the Return
So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes?
2. The Magic Flight
Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.
3. Rescue from Without
Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon.
4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.
5. Master of the Two Worlds
In myth, this step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.
6. Freedom to Live
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.
Heros Journey : Summary of Steps
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI)
Maricopa Community Colleges
the ' net connection at MCLI is Alan Levine
comments about the site to : alan.levine@domail.maricopa.edu
questions about the content to : liz.warren@smcmail.maricopa.edu
last modified: 11/20/1999 03:06:34
URL: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Rhetorical Devices
A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices
Robert A. Harris
Version Date: October 11, 2008
This book contains definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices, all of which can still be useful today to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and enjoyment of your writing. Note: This book was written in 1980, with some changes since. The devices presented are not in alphabetical order. To go directly to the discussion of a particular device, click on the name below. If you know these already, go directly to the Self Test. To learn about my new book, Writing with Clarity and Style, see the Advertisement.
Alliteration Antithesis Climax Epizeuxis Metanoia Polysyndeton
Allusion Apophasis Conduplicatio Eponym Metaphor Procatalepsis
Amplification Aporia Diacope Exemplum Metonymy Rhetorical Question
Anacoluthon Aposiopesis Dirimens Copulatio Expletive Onomatopoeia Scesis Onomaton
Anadiplosis Apostrophe Distinctio Hyperbaton Oxymoron Sententia
Analogy Appositive Enthymeme Hyperbole Parallelism Simile
Anaphora Assonance Enumeratio Hypophora Parataxis Symploce
Antanagoge Asyndeton Epanalepsis Hypotaxis Parenthesis Synecdoche
Antimetabole Catachresis Epistrophe Litotes Personification Understatement
Antiphrasis Chiasmus Epithet Metabasis Pleonasm Zeugma
A Preface of Quotations
Whoever desires for his writings or himself, what none can reasonably condemn, the favor of mankind, must add grace to strength, and make his thoughts agreeable as well as useful. Many complain of neglect who never tried to attract regard. It cannot be expected that the patrons of science or virtue should be solicitous to discover excellencies which they who possess them shade and disguise. Few have abilities so much needed by the rest of the world as to be caressed on their own terms; and he that will not condescend to recommend himself by external embellishments must submit to the fate of just sentiments meanly expressed, and be ridiculed and forgotten before he is understood. --Samuel Johnson
Men must be taught as if you taught them not; And things unknown propos'd as things forgot. --Alexander Pope
Style in painting is the same as in writing, a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
Whereas, if after some preparatory grounds of speech by their certain forms got into memory, they were led to the praxis thereof in some chosen short book lessoned thoroughly to them, they might then forthwith proceed to learn the substance of good things, and arts in due order, which would bring the whole language quickly into their power. --John Milton
Introduction
Good writing depends upon more than making a collection of statements worthy of belief, because writing is intended to be read by others, with minds different from your own. Your reader does not make the same mental connections you make; he does not see the world exactly as you see it; he is already flooded daily with thousands of statements demanding assent, yet which he knows or believes to be false, confused, or deceptive. If your writing is to get through to him--or even to be read and considered at all--it must be interesting, clear, persuasive, and memorable, so that he will pay attention to, understand, believe, and remember the ideas it communicates. To fulfill these requirements successfully, your work must have an appropriate and clear thesis, sufficient arguments and reasons supporting the thesis, a logical and progressive arrangement, and, importantly, an effective style.
While style is probably best learned through wide reading, comprehensive analysis and thorough practice, much can be discovered about effective writing through the study of some of the common and traditional devices of style and arrangement. By learning, practicing, altering, and perfecting them, and by testing their effects and nuances for yourself, these devices will help you to express yourself better and also teach you to see the interrelatedness of form and meaning, and the psychology of syntax, metaphor, and diction both in your own writing and in the works of others.
The rhetorical devices presented here generally fall into three categories: those involving emphasis, association, clarification, and focus; those involving physical organization, transition, and disposition or arrangement; and those involving decoration and variety. Sometimes a given device or trope will fall mainly into a single category, as for example an expletive is used mostly for emphasis; but more often the effects of a particular device are multiple, and a single one may operate in all three categories. Parallelism, for instance, helps to order, clarify, emphasize, and beautify a thought. Occasionally a device has certain effects not readily identifiable or explainable, so I have not always been able to say why or when certain ones are good or should be used. My recommendation is to practice them all and develop that sense in yourself which will tell you when and how to use them.
Lots of practice and experimentation are necessary before you will feel really comfortable with these devices, but too much practice in a single paper will most assuredly be disastrous. A journal or notebook is the best place to experiment; when a device becomes second nature to you, and when it no longer appears false or affected--when indeed it becomes genuinely built in to your writing rather than added on--then it may make its formal appearance in a paper. Remember that rhetorical devices are aids to writing and not ends of writing; you have no obligation to toss one into every paragraph. Further, if used carelessly or excessively or too frequently, almost any one of these devices will probably seem affected, dull, awkward, or mechanical. But with a little care and skill, developed by practice, anyone can master them, and their use will add not just beauty and emphasis and effectiveness to your writing, but a kind of freedom of thought and expression you never imagined possible.
Practice these; try them out. Do not worry if they sometimes ring false at first. Play with them--learn to manipulate and control your words and ideas--and eventually you will master the art of aggressive instruction: keeping the reader focused with anaphora, emphasizing a point with an expletive, explaining to him with a metaphor or simile, organizing your work in his mind with metabasis, answering his queries with hypophora or procatalepsis, balancing possibilities with antithesis. You will also have gone a long way toward fulfilling the four requirements mentioned at the beginning: the devices of decoration and variety will help make your reader pay attention, the devices of organization and clarification will help him understand your points, the devices of association and some like procatalepsis will help him believe you, and the devices of emphasis, association, beauty, and organization will help him remember.
Rhetorical Devices
1. Expletive is a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the expletive. (We emphasize the words on each side of a pause or interruption in order to maintain continuity of the thought.) Compare:
* But the lake was not drained before April.
* But the lake was not, in fact, drained before April.
Expletives are most frequently placed near the beginning of a sentence, where important material has been placed:
* All truth is not, indeed, of equal importance; but if little violations are allowed, every violation will in time be thought little. --Samuel Johnson
But sometimes they are placed at the very beginning of a sentence, thereby serving as signals that the whole sentence is especially important. In such cases the sentence should be kept as short as possible:
* In short, the cobbler had neglected his soul.
* Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. --John 4:14 (NIV)
Or the author may show that he does not intend to underemphasize an objection or argument he rejects:
* To be sure, no one desires to live in a foul and disgusting environment. But neither do we want to desert our cities.
In a few instances, especially with short sentences, the expletive can be placed last:
* It was a hot day indeed.
* Harold won, of course.
A common practice is setting off the expletive by commas, which increases the emphasis on the surrounding words, though in many cases the commas are necessary for clarity as well and cannot be omitted. Note how the expletive itself is also emphasized:
* He without doubt can be trusted with a cookie.
* He, without doubt, can be trusted with a cookie.
An expletive can emphasize a phrase:
* The Bradys, clearly a happy family, live in an old house with squeaky floors.
Transitional phrases, accostives, some adverbs, and other interrupters can be used for emphasizing portions of sentences, and therefore function as kinds of quasi-expletives in those circumstances.
* We find a few people, however, unwilling to come.
* "Your last remark," he said, "is impertinent."
* There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. --Samuel Johnson
Some useful expletives include the following: in fact, of course, indeed, I think, without doubt, to be sure, naturally, it seems, after all, for all that, in brief, on the whole, in short, to tell the truth, in any event, clearly, I suppose, I hope, at least, assuredly, certainly, remarkably, importantly, definitely. In formal writing, avoid these and similar expletives: you know, you see, huh, get this. And it goes without saying that you should avoid the unprintable ones.
2. Asyndeton consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list of items, asyndeton gives the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account:
* On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.
The lack of the "and" conjunction gives the impression that the list is perhaps not complete. Compare:
* She likes pickles, olives, raisins, dates, pretzels.
* She likes pickles, olives, raisins, dates, and pretzels.
Sometimes an asyndetic list is useful for the strong and direct climactic effect it has, much more emphatic than if a final conjunction were used. Compare:
* They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.
* They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, and understanding.
In certain cases, the omission of a conjunction between short phrases gives the impression of synonymity to the phrases, or makes the latter phrase appear to be an afterthought or even a substitute for the former. Compare:
* He was a winner, a hero.
* He was a winner and a hero.
Notice also the degree of spontaneity granted in some cases by asyndetic usage. "The moist, rich, fertile soil," appears more natural and spontaneous than "the moist, rich, and fertile soil - "
Generally, asyndeton offers the feeling of speed and concision to lists and phrases and clauses, but occasionally the effect cannot be so easily categorized. Consider the "flavor" of these examples:
* If, as is the case, we feel responsibility, are ashamed, are frightened, at transgressing the voice of conscience, this implies that there is One to whom we are responsible, before whom we are ashamed, whose claims upon us we fear. --John Henry Newman
* In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. --Richard de Bury
* We certainly have within us the image of some person, to whom our love and veneration look, in whose smile we find our happiness, for whom we yearn, towards whom we direct our pleadings, in whose anger we are troubled and waste away. --John Henry Newman
3. Polysyndeton is the use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton. The rhetorical effect of polysyndeton, however, often shares with that of asyndeton a feeling of multiplicity, energetic enumeration, and building up.
* They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked.
Use polysyndeton to show an attempt to encompass something complex:
* The water, like a witch's oils, / Burnt green, and blue, and white. --S. T. Coleridge
* [He] pursues his way, / And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. --John Milton
The multiple conjunctions of the polysyndetic structure call attention to themselves and therefore add the effect of persistence or intensity or emphasis to the other effect of multiplicity. The repeated use of "nor" or "or" emphasizes alternatives; repeated use of "but" or "yet" stresses qualifications. Consider the effectiveness of these:
* And to set forth the right standard, and to train according to it, and to help forward all students towards it according to their various capacities, this I conceive to be the business of a University. --John Henry Newman
* We have not power, nor influence, nor money, nor authority; but a willingness to persevere, and the hope that we shall conquer soon.
In a skilled hand, a shift from polysyndeton to asyndeton can be very impressive:
* Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. --Isaiah 24:1-2 (KJV)
4. Understatement deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. When the writer's audience can be expected to know the true nature of a fact which might be rather difficult to describe adequately in a brief space, the writer may choose to understate the fact as a means of employing the reader's own powers of description. For example, instead of endeavoring to describe in a few words the horrors and destruction of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, a writer might state:
* The 1906 San Francisco earthquake interrupted business somewhat in the downtown area.
The effect is not the same as a description of destruction, since understatement like this necessarily smacks of flippancy to some degree; but occasionally that is a desirable effect. Consider these usages:
* Henry and Catherine were married, the bells rang, and everybody smiled . . . . To begin perfect happiness at the respective ages of twenty-six and eighteen is to do pretty well . . . . --Jane Austen
* Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse. --Jonathan Swift
* You know I would be a little disappointed if you were to be hit by a drunk driver at two a.m., so I hope you will be home early.
In these cases the reader supplies his own knowledge of the facts and fills out a more vivid and personal description than the writer might have.
In a more important way, understatement should be used as a tool for modesty and tactfulness. Whenever you represent your own accomplishments, and often when you just describe your own position, an understatement of the facts will help you to avoid the charge of egotism on the one hand and of self-interested puffery on the other. We are always more pleased to discover a thing greater than promised rather than less than promised--or as Samuel Johnson put it, "It is more pleasing to see smoke brightening into flame, than flame sinking into smoke." And it goes without saying that a person modest of his own talents wins our admiration more easily than an egotist. Thus an expert geologist might say, "Yes, I know a little about rocks," rather than, "Yes, I'm an expert about rocks." (An even bigger expert might raise his eyebrows if he heard that.)
Understatement is especially useful in dealing with a hostile audience or in disagreeing with someone, because the statement, while carrying the same point, is much less offensive. Compare:
* The second law of thermodynamics pretty much works against the possibility of such an event.
* The second law of thermodynamics proves conclusively that that theory is utterly false and ridiculous.
Remember, the goal of writing is to persuade, not to offend; once you insult or put off your opponent, objector, or disbeliever, you will never persuade him of anything, no matter how "obviously wrong" he is or how clearly right you are. The degree and power of pride in the human heart must never be underestimated. Many people are unwilling to hear objections of any kind, and view disagreement as a sign of contempt for their intellect. The use of understatement allows you to show a kind of respect for your reader's understanding. You have to object to his belief, but you are sympathetic with his position and see how he might have come to believe it; therefore, you humbly offer to steer him right, or at least to offer what you think is a more accurate view. Even those who agree with you already will be more persuaded because the modest thinker is always preferable to the flaming bigot. Compare these statements and consider what effect each would have on you if you read them in a persuasive article:
* Anyone who says this water is safe to drink is either stupid or foolish. The stuff is poisoned with coliform bacteria. Don't those idiots know that?
* My opponents think this water is drinkable, but I'm not sure I would drink it. Perhaps they are not aware of the dangerous bacterial count . . . [and so on, explaining the basis for your opinion].
5. Litotes, a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement, or becomes an intensifying expression. Compare the difference between these statements:
* Heat waves are common in the summer.
* Heat waves are not rare in the summer.
Johnson uses litotes to make a modest assertion, saying "not improperly" rather than "correctly" or "best":
* This kind of writing may be termed not improperly the comedy of romance. . . .
Occasionally a litotic construction conveys an ironic sentiment by its understatement:
* We saw him throw the buckets of paint at his canvas in disgust, and the result did not perfectly represent his subject, Mrs. Jittery.
Usually, though, litotes intensifies the sentiment intended by the writer, and creates the effect of strong feelings moderately conveyed.
* Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good.
* If you can tell the fair one's mind, it will be no small proof of your art, for I dare say it is more than she herself can do. --Alexander Pope
* A figure lean or corpulent, tall or short, though deviating from beauty, may still have a certain union of the various parts, which may contribute to make them on the whole not unpleasing. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
* He who examines his own self will not long remain ignorant of his failings.
* Overall the flavors of the mushrooms, herbs, and spices combine to make the dish not at all disagreeable to the palate.
But note that, as George Orwell points out in "Politics and the English Language," the "not un-" construction (for example, "not unwilling") should not be used indiscriminately. Rather, find an opposite quality which as a word is something other than the quality itself with an "un" attached. For instance, instead of, "We were not unvictorious," you could write, "We were not defeated," or "We did not fail to win," or something similar.
6. Parallelism is recurrent syntactical similarity. Several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance. Parallelism also adds balance and rhythm and, most importantly, clarity to the sentence.
Any sentence elements can be paralleled, any number of times (though, of course, excess quickly becomes ridiculous). You might choose parallel subjects with parallel modifiers attached to them:
* Ferocious dragons breathing fire and wicked sorcerers casting their spells do their harm by night in the forest of Darkness.
Or parallel verbs and adverbs:
* I have always sought but seldom obtained a parking space near the door.
* Quickly and happily he walked around the corner to buy the book.
Or parallel verbs and direct objects:
* He liked to eat watermelon and to avoid grapefruit.
Or just the objects:
* This wealthy car collector owns three pastel Cadillacs, two gold Rolls Royces, and ten assorted Mercedes.
Or parallel prepositional phrases:
* He found it difficult to vote for an ideal truth but against his own self interest.
* The pilot walked down the aisle, through the door, and into the cockpit, singing "Up, Up, and Away."
Notice how paralleling rather long subordinate clauses helps you to hold the whole sentence clearly in your head:
* These critics--who point out the beauties of style and ideas, who discover the faults of false constructions, and who discuss the application of the rules--usually help a lot in engendering an understanding of the writer's essay.
* When, at the conclusion of a prolonged episode of agonizing thought, you decide to buy this car; when, after a hundred frantic sessions of begging stonefaced bankers for the money, you can obtain sufficient funds; and when, after two more years of impatience and frustration, you finally get a driver's license, then come see me and we will talk about a deal.
* After you corner the market in Brazilian coffee futures, but before you manipulate the price through the ceiling, sit down and have a cup of coffee with me (while I can still afford it).
It is also possible to parallel participial, infinitive, and gerund phrases:
* He left the engine on, idling erratically and heating rapidly.
* To think accurately and to write precisely are interrelated goals.
* She liked sneaking up to Ted and putting the ice cream down his back, because he was so cool about it.
In practice some combination of parts of speech or sentence elements is used to form a statement, depending as always on what you have to say. In addition, the parallelism, while it normally should be pretty close, does not have to be exact in its syntactical similarity. For example, you might write,
* He ran up to the bookshelves, grabbed a chair standing nearby, stepped painfully on his tiptoes, and pulled the fifty-pound volume on top of him, crushing his ribs and impressing him with the power of knowledge.
Here are some other examples of parallelism:
* I shall never envy the honors which wit and learning obtain in any other cause, if I can be numbered among the writers who have given ardor to virtue, and confidence to truth. --Samuel Johnson
* They had great skill in optics, and had instructed him to see faults in others, and beauties in himself, that could be discovered by nobody else. . . . --Alexander Pope
* For the end of a theoretical science is truth, but the end of a practical science is performance. --Aristotle
7. Chiasmus might be called "reverse parallelism," since the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order. Instead of an A,B structure (e.g., "learned unwillingly") paralleled by another A,B structure ("forgotten gladly"), the A,B will be followed by B,A ("gladly forgotten"). So instead of writing, "What is learned unwillingly is forgotten gladly," you could write, "What is learned unwillingly is gladly forgotten." Similarly, the parallel sentence, "What is now great was at first little," could be written chiastically as, "What is now great was little at first." Here are some examples:
* He labors without complaining and without bragging rests.
* Polished in courts and hardened in the field, Renowned for conquest, and in council skilled. --Joseph Addison
* For the Lord is a Great God . . . in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are his also. --Psalm 95:4
Chiasmus is easiest to write and yet can be made very beautiful and effective simply by moving subordinate clauses around:
* If you come to them, they are not asleep; if you ask and inquire of them, they do not withdraw themselves; they do not chide if you make mistakes; they do not laugh at you if you are ignorant. --Richard de Bury
Prepositional phrases or other modifiers can also be moved around to form chiastic structures. Sometimes the effect is rather emphatic:
* Tell me not of your many perfections; of your great modesty tell me not either.
* Just as the term "menial" does not apply to any honest labor, so no dishonest work can be called "prestigious."
At other times the effect is more subdued but still desirable. Compare the versions of these sentences, written first in chiastic and then in strictly parallel form. Which do you like better in each case?
* On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then it had a flat on the way home.
* On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then on the way home it had a flat.
* Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but they said nothing at all sitting in the dentist's office.
* Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but sitting in the dentist's office, they said nothing at all.
* The computer mainframe is now on sale; available also at a discount is the peripheral equipment.
* The computer mainframe is now on sale; the peripheral equipment is also available at a discount.
Chiasmus may be useful for those sentences in which you want balance, but which cannot be paralleled effectively, either because they are too short, or because the emphasis is placed on the wrong words. And sometimes a chiastic structure will just seem to "work" when a parallel one will not.
8. Zeugma includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech. Thus examples of zeugmatic usage would include one subject with two (or more) verbs, a verb with two (or more) direct objects, two (or more) subjects with one verb, and so forth. The main benefit of the linking is that it shows relationships between ideas and actions more clearly.
In one form (prozeugma), the yoking word precedes the words yoked. So, for example, you could have a verb stated in the first clause understood in the following clauses:
* Pride opresseth humility; hatred love; cruelty compassion. --Peacham
* Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.
* Alexander conquered the world; I, Minneapolis.
A more important version of this form (with its own name, diazeugma) is the single subject with multiple verbs:
* . . . It operated through the medium of unconscious self-deception and terminated in inveterate avarice. --Thomas Love Peacock
* Mr. Glowry held his memory in high honor, and made a punchbowl of his skull. --Ibid.
* This terrace . . . took in an oblique view of the open sea, and fronted a long track of level sea-coast . . . . --Ibid.
* Fluffy rolled on her back, raised her paws, and meowed to be petted.
Notice that two or three verb phrases are the usual proportion. But if you have a lot to say about the actions of the subject, or if you want to show a sort of multiplicity of behavior or doings, you can use several verbs:
* When at Nightmare Abbey, he would condole with Mr. Glowry, drink Madeira with Scythrop, crack jokes with Mr. Hilary, hand Mrs. Hilary to the piano, take charge of her fan and gloves, and turn over her music with surprising dexterity, quote Revelations with Mr. Toobad, and lament the good old times of feudal darkness with the Transcendental Mr. Flosky. --Thomas Love Peacock
Two or more subordinate relative pronoun clauses can be linked prozeugmatically, with the noun becoming the yoking word:
* His father, to comfort him, read him a Commentary on Ecclesiastes, which he had himself composed, and which demonstrated incontrovertibly that all is vanity. --Thomas Love Peacock
* O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! --Richard de Bury
You could have two or more direct objects:
* With one mighty swing he knocked the ball through the window and two spectators off their chairs.
* He grabbed his hat from the rack in the closet, his gloves from the table near the door, and his car keys from the punchbowl.
Or a preposition with two objects:
* Mr. Glowry was horror-struck by the sight of a round, ruddy face, and a pair of laughing eyes. --Thomas Love Peacock
Sometimes you might want to create a linkage in which the verb must be understood in a slightly different sense:
* He grabbed his hat from the rack by the stairs and a kiss from the lips of his wife.
* He smashed the clock into bits and his fist through the wall.
In hypozeugma the yoking word follows the words it yokes together. A common form is multiple subjects:
* Hours, days, weeks, months, and years do pass away. --Sherry
* The moat at its base, and the fens beyond comprised the whole of his prospect. --Peacock
* To generate that much electricity and to achieve that kind of durability would require a completely new generator design.
It is possible also to hold off a verb until the last clause:
* The little baby from his crib, the screaming lady off the roof, and the man from the flooded basement were all rescued.
Hypozeugma can be used with adjectives or adjective phrases, too. Here, Peacock uses two participial phrases, one past and one present:
* Disappointed both in love and in friendship, and looking upon human learning as vanity, he had come to a conclusion that there was but one good thing in the world, videlicet, a good dinner . . . .
The utility of the zeugmatic devices lies partly in their economy (for they save repetition of subjects or verbs or other words), and partly in the connections they create between thoughts. The more connections between ideas you can make in an essay, whether those connections are simple transitional devices or more elaborate rhetorical ones, the fewer your reader will have to guess at, and therefore the clearer your points will be.
9. Antithesis establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Human beings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas:
* To err is human; to forgive, divine. --Pope
* That short and easy trip made a lasting and profound change in Harold's outlook.
* That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. --Neil Armstrong
Antithesis can convey some sense of complexity in a person or idea by admitting opposite or nearly opposite truths:
* Though surprising, it is true; though frightening at first, it is really harmless.
* If we try, we might succeed; if we do not try, we cannot succeed.
* Success makes men proud; failure makes them wise.
Antithesis, because of its close juxtaposition and intentional
contrast of two terms or ideas, is also very useful for making relatively fine distinctions or for clarifying differences which might be otherwise overlooked by a careless thinker or casual reader:
* In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. --Samuel Johnson
* The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. --Matt. 23:2-3 (RSV)
* I agree that it is legal; but my question was, Is it moral?
* The advertisement indeed says that these shoes are the best, but it means that they are equal; for in advertising "best" is a parity claim and only "better" indicates superiority.
Note also that short phrases can be made antithetical:
* Every man who proposes to grow eminent by learning should carry in his mind, at once, the difficulty of excellence and the force of industry; and remember that fame is not conferred but as the recompense of labor, and that labor, vigorously continued, has not often failed of its reward. --Samuel Johnson
10. Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism:
* To think on death it is a misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity;/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss. --Peacham
* In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. --Richard de Bury
* Finally, we must consider what pleasantness of teaching there is in books, how easy, how secret! How safely we lay bare the poverty of human ignorance to books without feeling any shame! --Ibid.
* The wish of the genuine painter must be more extensive: instead of endeavoring to amuse mankind with the minute neatness of his imitations, he must endeavor to improve them by the grandeur of his ideas; instead of seeking praise, by deceiving the superficial sense of the spectator, he must strive for fame by captivating the imagination. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
* Slowly and grimly they advanced, not knowing what lay ahead, not knowing what they would find at the top of the hill, not knowing that they were so near to Disneyland.
* They are the entertainment of minds unfurnished with ideas, and therefore easily susceptible of impressions; not fixed by principles, and therefore easily following the current of fancy; not informed by experience, and consequently open to every false suggestion and partial account. --Samuel Johnson
Anaphora can be used with questions, negations, hypotheses, conclusions, and subordinating conjunctions, although care must be taken not to become affected or to sound rhetorical and bombastic. Consider these selections:
* Will he read the book? Will he learn what it has to teach him? Will he live according to what he has learned?
* Not time, not money, not laws, but willing diligence will get this done.
* If we can get the lantern lit, if we can find the main cave, and if we can see the stalagmites, I'll show you the one with the bat skeleton in it. be used for
Adverbs and prepositions can anaphora, too:
* They are masters who instruct us without rod or ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money. --Richard de Bury
* She stroked her kitty cat very softly, very slowly, very smoothly.
11. Epistrophe (also called antistrophe) forms the counterpart to anaphora, because the repetition of the same word or words comes at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences:
* Where affections bear rule, there reason is subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, for ever are subdued. --Wilson
* And all the night he did nothing but weep Philoclea, sigh Philoclea, and cry out Philoclea. --Philip Sidney
* You will find washing beakers helpful in passing this course, using the gas chromatograph desirable for passing this course, and studying hours on end essential to passing this course.
Epistrophe is an extremely emphatic device because of the emphasis placed on the last word in a phrase or sentence. If you have a concept you wish to stress heavily, then epistrophe might be a good construction to use. The danger as usual lies in this device's tendency to become too rhetorical. Consider whether these are successful and effective or hollow and bombastic:
* The cars do not sell because the engineering is inferior, the quality of materials is inferior, and the workmanship is inferior.
* The energies of mankind are often exerted in pursuit, consolidation, and enjoyment; which is to say, many men spend their lives pursuing power, consolidating power, and enjoying power.
12. Anadiplosis repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next. it can be generated in series for the sake of beauty or to give a sense of logical progression:
* Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,/ Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain . . . . --Philip Sidney
Most commonly, though, anadiplosis is used for emphasis of the repeated word or idea, since repetition has a reinforcing effect:
* They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. 2:13
* The question next arises, How much confidence can we put in the people, when the people have elected Joe Doax?
* This treatment plant has a record of uncommon reliability, a reliability envied by every other water treatment facility on the coast.
* In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. --John 1:1
Notice how the main point of the sentence becomes immediately clear by repeating the same word twice in close succession. There can be no doubt about the focus of your thought when you use anadiplosis.
13. Conduplicatio resembles anadiplosis in the repetition of a preceding word, but it repeats a key word (not just the last word) from a preceding phrase, clause, or sentence, at the beginning of the next.
* If this is the first time duty has moved him to act against his desires, he is a very weak man indeed. Duty should be cultivated and obeyed in spite of its frequent conflict with selfish wishes.
* The strength of the passions will never be accepted as an excuse for complying with them; the passions were designed for subjection, and if a man suffers them to get the upper hand, he then betrays the liberty of his own soul. --Alexander Pope
* She fed the goldfish every day with the new pellets brought from Japan. Gradually the goldfish began to turn a brighter orange than before.
Like anadiplosis, conduplicatio serves as an effective focusing device because with it you can pull out that important idea from the sentence before and put it clearly at the front of the new sentence, showing the reader just what he should be concentrating on. Since keeping the reader focused on your train of thought is critical to good writing, this device can be especially helpful as a transitional connector when the previous sentence has two or more possible main points, only one of which is to be continued in the discussion. Suppose, for example, you have this sentence:
* Submitting a constitutional amendment to a popular vote through a general referendum always runs the risk of a campaign and a vote based upon the selfishness rather than the sense of justice of the voter.
Now, the next sentence could begin with, "Previous campaigns . . ." or "The strength of the appeal to selfish interests . . . "or "Therefore constitutional amendments are best left . . ." all depending on which concept you wish to develop. If you began the next sentence with, "But there certainly can be no doubt that the general referendum will continue to be exploited by those whose issues are aided by the innate selfishness of human beings," the reader would have to go a considerable distance into the sentence before he would find out exactly which idea is being carried forward and developed.
14. Epanalepsis repeats the beginning word of a clause or sentence at the end. The beginning and the end are the two positions of strongest emphasis in a sentence, so by having the same word in both places, you call special attention to it:
* Water alone dug this giant canyon; yes, just plain water.
* To report that your committee is still investigating the matter is to tell me that you have nothing to report.
Many writers use epanalepsis in a kind of "yes, but" construction to cite common ground or admit a truth and then to show how that truth relates to a more important context:
* Our eyes saw it, but we could not believe our eyes.
* The theory sounds all wrong; but if the machine works, we cannot worry about theory.
* In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. --John 16:33 (NASB)
15. Hypophora consists of raising one or more questions and then proceeding to answer them, usually at some length. A common usage is to ask the question at the beginning of a paragraph and then use that paragraph to answer it:
* There is a striking and basic difference between a man's ability to imagine something and an animal's failure. . . . Where is it that the animal falls short? We get a clue to the answer, I think, when Hunter tells us . . . . --Jacob Bronowski
* What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?. . . What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God. --Rom. 4:1,3 (NIV)
This is an attractive rhetorical device, because asking an appropriate question appears quite natural and helps to maintain curiosity and interest. You can use hypophora to raise questions which you think the reader obviously has on his mind and would like to see formulated and answered:
* What behavior, then, is uniquely human? My theory is this . . . . --H. J. Campbell
* But what was the result of this move on the steel industry? The annual reports for that year clearly indicate. . . .
Hypophora can also be used to raise questions or to introduce material of importance, but which the reader might not have the knowledge or thought to ask for himself:
* How then, in the middle of the twentieth century, are we to define the obligation of the historian to his facts?..... The duty of the historian to respect his facts is not exhausted by . . . . --Edward Hallett Carr
* But it is certainly possible to ask, How hot is the oven at its hottest point, when the average temperature is 425 degrees? We learned that the peak temperatures approached . . . .
And hypophora can be used as a transitional or guiding device to change directions or enter a new area of discussion:
* But what are the implications of this theory? And how can it be applied to the present problem?
* How and why did caveat emptor develop? The question presents us with mysteries never fully answered. --Ivan L. Preston
Notice how a series of reasonable questions can keep a discussion lively and interesting:
* How do we know the FTC strategy is the best, particularly in view of the complaints consumerists have made against it? Isn't there some chance that greater penalties would amount to greater deterrents? Why not get the most consumer protection simultaneously with the most punishment to offenders by easing the requirements for guilt without easing the punishment? . . . It happens that that's been tried, and it didn't work very well. --Ivan L. Preston
In the above example, the writer went on for several paragraphs to discuss the case which "didn't work very well." It would also be possible for a writer to ask several questions and then answer them in an orderly way, though that has the danger of appearing too mechanical if not carefully done.
16. Rhetorical question (erotesis) differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer, because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no. It is used for effect, emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the facts at hand.
* But how can we expect to enjoy the scenery when the scenery consists entirely of garish billboards?
* . . . For if we lose the ability to perceive our faults, what is the good of living on? --Marcus Aurelius
* Is justice then to be considered merely a word? Or is it whatever results from the bartering between attorneys?
Often the rhetorical question and its implied answer will lead to further discussion:
* Is this the end to which we are reduced? Is the disaster film the highest form of art we can expect from our era? Perhaps we should examine the alternatives presented by independent film maker Joe Blow . . . .
* I agree the funding and support are still minimal, but shouldn't worthy projects be tried, even though they are not certain to succeed? So the plans in effect now should be expanded to include . . . . [Note: Here is an example where the answer "yes" is clearly desired rhetorically by the writer, though conceivably someone might say "no" to the question if asked straightforwardly.]
Several rhetorical questions together can form a nicely developed and directed paragraph by changing a series of logical statements into queries:
* We shrink from change; yet is there anything that can come into being without it? What does Nature hold dearer, or more proper to herself? Could you have a hot bath unless the firewood underwent some change? Could you be nourished if the food suffered no change? Do you not see, then, that change in yourself is of the same order, and no less necessary to Nature? --Marcus Aurelius
Sometimes the desired answer to the rhetorical question is made obvious by the discussion preceding it:
* The gods, though they live forever, feel no resentment at having to put up eternally with the generations of men and their misdeeds; nay more, they even show every possible care and concern for them. Are you, then, whose abiding is but for a moment, to lose patience--you who are yourself one of the culprits? --Marcus Aurelius
When you are thinking about a rhetorical question, be careful to avoid sinking to absurdity. You would not want to ask, for example, "But is it right to burn down the campus and sack the bookstore?" The use of this device allows your reader to think, query, and conclude along with you; but if your questions become ridiculous, your essay may become wastepaper.
17. Procatalepsis, by anticipating an objection and answering it, permits an argument to continue moving forward while taking into account points or reasons opposing either the train of thought or its final conclusions. Often the objections are standard ones:
* It is usually argued at this point that if the government gets out of the mail delivery business, small towns like Podunk will not have any mail service. The answer to this can be found in the history of the Pony Express . . . .
* To discuss trivialities in an exalted style is, as the saying is, like beautifying a pestle. Yet some people say we should discourse in the grand manner on trivialities and they think that this is a proof of outstanding oratorical talent. Now I admit that Polycrates [did this]. But he was doing this in jest, . - . and the dignified tone of the whole work was itself a game. Let us be playful..... [but] also observe what is fitting in each case . . . . --Demetrius
Sometimes the writer will invent probable or possible difficulties in order to strengthen his position by showing how they could be handled if they should arise, as well as to present an answer in case the reader or someone else might raise them in the course of subsequent consideration:
* But someone might say that this battle really had no effect on history. Such a statement could arise only from ignoring the effect the battle had on the career of General Bombast, who was later a principal figure at the Battle of the Bulge.
* I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom. This I freely own, and it was indeed the principal design in offering it to the world. --Jonathan Swift
Objections can be treated with varying degrees of seriousness and with differing relationships to the reader. The reader himself might be the objector:
* Yet this is the prime service a man would think, wherein this order should give proof of itself. If it were executed, you'll say. But certain, if execution be remiss or blindfold now, and in this particular, what will it be hereafter and in other books? --John Milton
Or the objector may be someone whose outlook, attitude, or belief differs substantially from both writer and reader-though you should be careful not to set up an artificial, straw-man objector:
* Men of cold fancies and philosophical dispositions object to this kind of poetry, [saying] that it has not probability enough to affect the imagination. But to this it may be answered that we are sure, in general, there are many intellectual beings in the world besides ourselves . . . who are subject to different laws and economies from those of mankind . . . . --Joseph Addison
* Occasionally a person of rash judgment will argue here that the high-speed motor is better than the low-speed one, because for the same output, high speed motors are lighter, smaller, and cheaper. But they are also noisier and less efficient, and have much greater wear and shorter life; so that overall they are not better.
By mentioning the obvious, and even the imaginatively discovered objections to your argument, you show that (1) you are aware of them and have considered them and (2) there is some kind of reasonable response to them, whether given in a sentence or in several paragraphs. An objection answered in advance is weakened should your opponent bring it up, while an objection ignored, if brought up, may show you to be either ignorant or dishonest. Indeed, it might be better to admit an objection you cannot answer than to suppress it and put yourself on the side of darkness and sophistry:
* Those favoring the other edition argue that the same words in this text cost more money. This I admit, and it does seem unfortunate to pay twice the price for essentially the same thing. Nevertheless, this text has larger type, is made better, and above all has more informative notes, so I think it is worth the difference.
Finally, note that procatalepsis can be combined with hypophora, so that the objection is presented in the form of a question:
* I now come to the precepts of Longinus, and pretend to show from them that the greatest sublimity is to be derived from religious ideas. But why then, says the reader, has not Longinus plainly told us so? He was not ignorant that he ought to make his subject as plain as he could. For he has told us. . . . --John Dennis
* But you might object that, if what I say is actually true, why would people buy products advertised illogically? The answer to that lies in human psychology . . . .
18. Metabasis consists of a brief statement of what has been said and what will follow. It might be called a linking, running, or transitional summary, whose function is to keep the discussion ordered and clear in its progress:
* Such, then, would be my diagnosis of the present condition of art. I must now, by special request, say what I think will happen to art in the future. --Kenneth Clark
* We have to this point been examining the proposal advanced by Smervits only in regard to its legal practicability; but next we need to consider the effect it would have in retarding research and development work in private laboratories.
* I have hitherto made mention of his noble enterprises in France, and now I will rehearse his worthy acts done near to Rome. --Peacham
The brief little summary of what has been said helps the reader immensely to understand, organize, and remember that portion of your essay.
Metabasis serves well as a transitional device, refocusing the discussion on a new but clearly derivative area:
* Now that I have made this catalogue of swindles and perversions, let me give another example of the kind of writing that they lead to. --George Orwell
It can also be used to clarify the movement of a discussion by quickly summing up large sections of preceding material:
* By the foregoing quotation I have shown that the language of prose may yet be well adapted to poetry; and I have previously asserted that a large portion of the language of every good poem can in no respect differ from that of good prose. I will go further. I do not doubt that it may be safely affirmed, that there neither is, nor can be, any essential difference between the language of prose and metrical composition. --William Wordsworth
* Having thus explained a few of the reasons why I have written in verse, and why I have chosen subjects from common life, and endeavored to bring my language near to the real language of men, . . . I request the reader's permission to add a few words with reference solely to these particular poems and to some defects which will probably be found in them. --Ibid.
* Now that we have discussed the different kinds of cactus plants available to the landscape architect, their physical requirements for sun, soil, irrigation, and drainage, and the typical design groupings selected for residential areas, we ought to examine the architectural contexts which can best use-enhance and be enhanced by--cactus planters and gardens.
* Thus we have surveyed the state of authors as they are influenced from without, either by the frowns or favor of the great, or by the applause or censure of the critics. It remains only to consider how the people, or world in general, stand affected towards our modern penmen, and what occasion these adventurers may have of complaint or boast from their encounter with the public. --Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury
One caution should be mentioned. Metabasis is very difficult to use effectively in short papers: since it is a summarizing device, it must have some discussion to sum up. In practice, this means something on the order of five pages or more. Thus, metabasis could be very handy in the middle of a ten or twenty page paper; in a three page paper, though, both its necessity and its utility would be questionable. But use your own judgment.
Words used to signal further discussion after the summary include these: now, next, additionally, further, besides, equally important, also interesting, also important, also necessary to mention, it remains. You can also use words of comparison and contrast, such as these: similarly, on the other hand, by contrast.
19. Distinctio is an explicit reference to a particular meaning or to the various meanings of a word, in order to remove or prevent ambiguity.
* To make methanol for twenty-five cents a gallon is impossible; by "impossible" I mean currently beyond our technological capabilities.
* The precipitate should be moved from the filter paper to the crucible quickly--that is, within three minutes.
* Mr. Haskins describes the process as a simple one. If by simple he means easy to explain on paper, he is correct. But if he means there are no complexities involved in getting it to work, he is quite mistaken.
* The modern automobile (and here I refer to the post-1975, desmogged American car) is more a product of bolt-on solutions than of revolutionary engineering.
Many of our words, like those of evaluation (better, failure high quality, efficient, unacceptable) and those referring to abstract concepts which are often debated (democracy, justice, equality, oppression) have different meanings to different people, and sometimes to the same person at different times. For example, the governments of both Communist China and the United States are described as "democracies," while it could be argued rather convincingly that neither really is, depending on the definition of democracy used. Semanticist S. I. Hayakawa even goes so far as to claim that "no word ever has exactly the same meaning twice," and while that for practical purposes seems to be a substantial exaggeration, we should keep in mind the great flexibility of meaning in a lot of our words. Whenever there might be some doubt about your meaning, it would be wise to clarify your statement or terms. And distinctio is one good way to do that.
Some helpful phrases for distinctio include these: blank here must be taken to mean, in this context [or case] blank means, by blank I mean, that is, which is to say. You can sometimes use a parenthetical explanation or a colon, too: Is this dangerous (will I be physically harmed by it)?
20. Amplification involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over. In other words, amplification allows you to call attention to, emphasize, and expand a word or idea to make sure the reader realizes its importance or centrality in the discussion.
* In my hunger after ten days of rigorous dieting I saw visions of ice cream--mountains of creamy, luscious ice cream, dripping with gooey syrup and calories.
* This orchard, this lovely, shady orchard, is the main reason I bought this property.
* . . . Even in Leonardo's time, there were certain obscure needs and patterns of the spirit, which could discover themselves only through less precise analogies--the analogies provided by stains on walls or the embers of a fire. --Kenneth Clark
* Pride--boundless pride--is the bane of civilization.
* He showed a rather simple taste, a taste for good art, good food, and good friends.
But amplification can overlap with or include a repetitive device like anaphora when the repeated word gains further definition or detail:
* The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,/ A refuge in times of trouble. --Psalm 9:9 (KJV)
Notice the much greater effectiveness this repetition-plus detail form can have over a "straight" syntax. Compare each of these pairs:
* The utmost that we can threaten to one another is death, a death which, indeed, we may precipitate, but cannot retard, and from which, therefore, it cannot become a wise man to buy a reprieve at the expense of virtue, since he knows not how small a portion of time he can purchase, but knows that, whether short or long, it will be made less valuable by the remembrance of the price at which it has been obtained. --adapted from S. Johnson
* The utmost that we can threaten to one another is that death which, indeed, we may precipitate . . . .
* In everything remember the passing of time, a time which cannot be called again.
* In everything remember the passing of a time which cannot be called again.
21. Scesis Onomaton emphasizes an idea by expressing it in a string of generally synonymous phrases or statements. While it should be used carefully, this deliberate and obvious restatement can be quite effective:
* We succeeded, we were victorious, we accomplished the feat!
* Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that deal corruptly. --Isaiah 1:4
* But there is one thing these glassy-eyed idealists forget: such a scheme would be extremely costly, horrendously expensive, and require a ton of money.
* Wendy lay there, motionless in a peaceful slumber, very still in the arms of sleep.
* May God arise, may his enemies be scattered, may his foes flee before him. --Psalm 68:1 (NIV)
Scesis onomaton does have a tendency to call attention to itself and to be repetitive, so it is not used in formal writing as frequently as some other devices. But if well done, it is both beautiful and emphatic.
22. Apophasis (also called praeteritio or occupatio) asserts or emphasizes something by pointedly seeming to pass over, ignore, or deny it. This device has both legitimate and illegitimate uses. Legitimately, a writer uses it to call attention to sensitive or inflammatory facts or statements while he remains apparently detached from them:
* We will not bring up the matter of the budget deficit here, or how programs like the one under consideration have nearly pushed us into bankruptcy, because other reasons clearly enough show . . . .
* Therefore, let no man talk to me of other expedients: of taxing our absentees . . . of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming of learning to love our country . . . .--Jonathan Swift
* If you were not my father, I would say you were perverse. --Antigone
* I will not even mention Houdini's many writings, both on magic and other subjects, nor the tricks he invented, nor his numerous impressive escapes, since I want to concentrate on . . . .
* She's bright, well-read, and personable--to say nothing of her modesty and generosity.
Does the first example above make you feel a little uneasy? That can be a clue to the legitimacy (or lack of it) of usage. If apophasis is employed to bring in irrelevant statements while it supplies a screen to hide behind, then it is not being used rightly:
* I pass over the fact that Jenkins beats his wife, is an alcoholic, and sells dope to kids, because we will not allow personal matters to enter into our political discussion.
* I do not mean to suggest that Mr. Gates is mainly responsible for the inefficiency and work blockage in this office, just because the paperwork goes through him. . . .
The "I do not mean to suggest [or imply]" construction has special problems of its own, because many writers use it quite straightforwardly to maintain clarity and to preclude jumping to conclusions by the reader. Others, however, "do not mean to imply" things that the reader would himself never dream are being implied. The suggestion is given, though, and takes hold in the brain--so that the implication is there, while being safely denied by the writer.
Apophasis is handy for reminding people of something in a polite way:
* Of course, I do not need to mention that you should bring a No. 2 pencil to the exam.
* Nothing need be said here about the non-energy uses of coal, such as the manufacture of plastics, drugs, and industrial chemicals . . . .
Some useful phrases for apophasis: nothing need be said about, I pass over, it need not be said (or mentioned), I will not mention (or dwell on or bring up), we will overlook ' I do not mean to suggest (or imply), you need not be reminded, it is unnecessary to bring up, we can forget about, no one would suggest.
23. Metanoia (correctio) qualifies a statement by recalling it (or part of it) and expressing it in a better, milder, or stronger way. A negative is often used to do the recalling:
* Fido was the friendliest of all St. Bernards, nay of all dogs.
* The chief thing to look for in impact sockets is hardness; no, not so much hardness as resistance to shock and shattering.
* And if I am still far from the goal, the fault is my own for not paying heed to the reminders--nay, the virtual directions--which I have had from above. --Marcus Aurelius
* Even a blind man can see, as the saying is, that poetic language gives a certain grandeur to prose, except that some writers imitate the poets quite openly, or rather they do not so much imitate them as transpose their words into their own work, as Herodotus does. --Demetrius
Metanoia can be used to coax the reader into expanding his belief or comprehension by moving from modest to bold:
* These new textbooks will genuinely improve the lives of our children, or rather the children of the whole district.
Or it can be used to tone down and qualify an excessive outburst (while, of course, retaining the outburst for good effect):
* While the crack widens and the cliff every minute comes closer to crashing down around our ears, the bureaucrats are just standing by twiddling their thumbs--or at least they have been singularly unresponsive to our appeals for action.
The most common word in the past for invoking metanoia was "nay," but this word is quickly falling out of the language and even now would probably sound a bit strange if you used it. So you should probably substitute "no" for it. Other words and phrases useful for this device include these: rather, at least, let us say, I should say, I mean, to be more exact, or better, or rather, or maybe. When you use one of the "or" phrases (or rather, or to be more exact), a comma is fine preceding the device; when you use just "no," I think a dash is most effective.
24.Aporia expresses doubt about an idea or conclusion. Among its several uses are the suggesting of alternatives without making a commitment to either or any:
* I am not sure whether to side with those who say that higher taxes reduce inflation or with those who say that higher taxes increase inflation.
* I have never been able to decide whether I really approve of dress codes, because extremism seems to reign both with them and without them.
Such a statement of uncertainty can tie off a piece of discussion you do not have time to pursue, or it could begin an examination of the issue, and lead you into a conclusion resolving your doubt.
Aporia can also dismiss assertions irrelevant to your discussion without either conceding or denying them:
* I do not know whether this legislation will work all the miracles promised by its backers, but it does seem clear that . . . .
* I am not sure about the other reasons offered in favor of the new freeway, but I do believe . . . .
* Yes, I know the assay report shows twenty pounds of gold per ton of ore, and I do not know what to say about that. What I do know is that the richest South African mines yield only about three ounces of gold per ton.
You can use aporia to cast doubt in a modest way, as a kind of understatement:
* I am not so sure I can accept Tom's reasons for wanting another new jet.
* I have not yet been fully convinced that dorm living surpasses living at home. For one thing, there is no refrigerator nearby . . . .
Ironic doubt--doubt about which of several closely judgable things exceeds the others, for example--can be another possibility:
* . . . Whether he took them from his fellows more impudently, gave them to a harlot more lasciviously, removed them from the Roman people more wickedly, or altered them more presumptuously, I cannot well declare. --Cicero
* And who was genuinely most content--whether old Mr. Jennings dozing in the sun, or Bill and Molly holding hands and toying under the palm tree, or old Mrs. Jennings watching them agape through the binoculars-I cannot really say.
And you can display ignorance about something while still showing your attitude toward it or toward something else:
* It is hard to know which ice cream is better, banana or coffee.
* I have often wondered whether they realize that those same clothes are available for half the price under a different label.
25. Simile is a comparison between two different things that resemble each other in at least one way. In formal prose the simile is a device both of art and explanation, comparing an unfamiliar thing to some familiar thing (an object, event, process, etc.) known to the reader.
When you compare a noun to a noun, the simile is usually introduced by like:
* I see men, but they look like trees, walking. --Mark 8:24
* After such long exposure to the direct sun, the leaves of the houseplant looked like pieces of overcooked bacon.
* The soul in the body is like a bird in a cage.
When a verb or phrase is compared to a verb or phrase, as is used:
* They remained constantly attentive to their goal, as a sunflower always turns and stays focused on the sun.
* Here is your pencil and paper. I want you to compete as the greatest hero would in the race of his life.
Often the simile--the object or circumstances of imaginative identity (called the vehicle, since it carries or conveys a meaning about the word or thing which is likened to it)-precedes the thing likened to it (the tenor). In such cases, so usually shows the comparison:
* The grass bends with every wind; so does Harvey.
* The seas are quiet when the winds give o're; / So calm are we when passions are no more. --Edmund Waller
But sometimes the so is understood rather than expressed:
* As wax melts before the fire,/ may the wicked perish before God. --Psalm 68:2b
Whenever it is not immediately clear to the reader, the point of similarity between the unlike objects must be specified to avoid confusion and vagueness. Rather than say, then, that "Money is like muck," and "Fortune is like glass," a writer will show clearly how these very different things are like each other:
* And money is like muck, not good except it be spread. --Francis Bacon
* Fortune is like glass--the brighter the glitter, the more easily broken. --Publilius Syrus
* Like a skunk, he suffered from bad publicity for one noticeable flaw, but bore no one any ill will.
* James now felt like an old adding machine: he had been punched and poked so much that he had finally worn out.
* This paper is just like an accountant's report: precise and accurate but absolutely useless.
Many times the point of similarity can be expressed in just a word or two:
* Yes, he is a cute puppy, but when he grows up he will be as big as a house.
* The pitching mound is humped too much like a camel's back.
And occasionally, the simile word can be used as an adjective:
* The argument of this book utilizes pretzel-like logic.
* This gear has a flower-like symmetry to it.
Similes can be negative, too, asserting that two things are unlike in one or more respects:
* My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun. . . . --Shakespeare
* John certainly does not attack the way a Sherman tank does; but if you encourage him, he is bold enough.
Other ways to create similes include the use of comparison:
* Norman was more anxious to leave the area than Herman Milquetoast after seeing ten abominable snowmen charging his way with hunger in their eyes.
* But this truth is more obvious than the sun--here it is; look at it; its brightness blinds you.
Or the use of another comparative word is possible:
* Microcomputer EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) resembles a chalk board in that it is used for consultation instead of figuring, and shows at each glance the same information unless erased and rewritten.
* His temper reminds me of a volcano; his heart, of a rock; his personality, of sandpaper.
* His speech was smoother than butter. . . .--Psalm 55:21
So a variety of ways exists for invoking the simile. Here are a few of the possibilities:
x is like y x is not like y x is the same as y
x is more than y x is less than y x does y; so does z
x is similar to y x resembles y x is as y as z
x is y like z x is more y than z x is less y than z
But a simile can sometimes be implied, or as it is often called, submerged. In such cases no comparative word is needed:
* The author of this poem is almost in the position of a man with boxes and boxes of tree ornaments, but with no tree to decorate. The poet has enough imagery handy to decorate anything he can think of, if only he can fix upon a "trim invention." The "sense" he does locate is obscured; the ivy hides the building completely.
* When I think of the English final exam, I think of dungeons and chains and racks and primal screams.
* Leslie has silky hair and the skin of an angel.
26. Analogy compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. While simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more extended.
* You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables. --Samuel Johnson
* He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks. --Samuel Johnson
* . . . For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it. --Aristotle
Notice in these examples that the analogy is used to establish the pattern of reasoning by using a familiar or less abstract argument which the reader can understand easily and probably agree with.
Some analogies simply offer an explanation for clarification rather than a substitute argument:
* Knowledge always desires increase: it is like fire, which must first be kindled by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself. --Samuel Johnson
* The beginning of all evil temptations is inconstancy of mind, and too little trust in God. For as a ship without a guide is driven hither and thither with every storm, so an unstable man, that anon leaveth his good purpose in God, is diversely tempted. The fire proveth gold, and temptation proveth the righteous man. --Thomas a Kempis
When the matter is complex and the analogy particularly useful for explaining it, the analogy can be extended into a rather long, multiple-point comparison:
* The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (And so forth, to the end of the chapter.] --l Cor. 12:12 (NIV)
The importance of simile and analogy for teaching and writing cannot be overemphasized. To impress this upon you better, I would like to step aside a moment and offer two persuasive quotations:
* The country parson is full of all knowledge. They say, it is an ill mason that refuseth any stone: and there is no knowledge, but, in a skilful hand, serves either positively as it is, or else to illustrate some other knowledge. He condescends even to the knowledge of tillage, and pastorage, and makes great use of them in teaching, because people by what they understand are best led to what they understand not. --George Herbert
* To illustrate one thing by its resemblance to another has been always the most popular and efficacious art of instruction. There is indeed no other method of teaching that of which anyone is ignorant but by means of something already known; and a mind so enlarged by contemplation and enquiry that it has always many objects within its view will seldom be long without some near and familiar image through which an easy transition may be made to truths more distant and obscure. --Samuel Johnson
27. Metaphor compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other. Unlike a simile or analogy, metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another. Very frequently a metaphor is invoked by the to be verb:
Affliction then is ours; / We are the trees whom shaking fastens more. --George Herbert
* Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life." --John 6:35 [And compare the use of metaphor in 6:32-63]
* Thus a mind that is free from passion is a very citadel; man has no stronger fortress in which to seek shelter and defy every assault. Failure to perceive this is ignorance; but to perceive it, and still not to seek its refuge, is misfortune indeed. --Marcus Aurelius
* The mind is but a barren soil; a soil which is soon exhausted and will produce no crop, or only one, unless it be continually fertilized and enriched with foreign matter. --Joshua Reynolds
Just as frequently, though, the comparison is clear enough that the a-is-b form is not necessary:
* The fountain of knowledge will dry up unless it is continuously replenished by streams of new learning.
* This first beam of hope that had ever darted into his mind rekindled youth in his cheeks and doubled the lustre of his eyes. --Samuel Johnson
* I wonder when motor mouth is going to run out of gas.
* When it comes to midterms, it's kill or be killed. Let's go in and slay this test.
* What sort of a monster then is man? What a novelty, what a portent, what a chaos, what a mass of contradictions, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, a ridiculous earthworm who is the repository of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error; the glory and the scum of the world. --Blaise Pascal
* The most learned philosopher knew little more. He had partially unveiled the face of Nature, but her immortal lineaments were still a wonder and a mystery. . . . I had gazed upon the fortifications and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repined. --Mary Shelley
* The furnace of affliction had softened his heart and purified his soul.
Compare the different degrees of direct identification between tenor and vehicle. There is fully expressed:
* Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. --Luke 11:34 (RSV)
Here, the comparison, "the eye is a lamp," is declared directly, and the point of similarity is spelled out.
There is semi-implied:
* And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course."' --Luke 13:32 (RSV)
Here, the comparison, "Herod is a fox," is not directly stated, but is understood as if it had been.
There is implied:
* . . . For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings I sing for joy. --Psalm 63:7 (RSV)
Here, the comparison, "God is a bird [or hen]" is only implied. Stating the metaphorical equation directly would have been rhetorically ineffective or worse because of the awkward thought it creates. The classical rhetorician Demetrius tells us that when there is a great difference between the subject and the comparison, the subject should always be compared to something greater than itself, or diminishment and rhetorical failure result. You might write, "The candle was a little sun in the dark room," but you wouldn't write, "The sun was a big candle that day in the desert." In Psalm 63, however, there is nothing greater than God to compare him to, and the psalmist wants to create a sense of tenderness and protection, drawing upon a familiar image. So, the comparison is saved by using an implied metaphor.
And there is very implied:
* For if men do these things when the tree is green what will happen when it is dry? --Luke 23:31 (NIV)
Here the comparison is something like "a prosperous time [or freedom from persecution] is a green [flourishing, healthy] tree." And the other half of the metaphor is that "a time of persecution or lack of prosperity is a dry [unhealthy, dead(?)] tree." So the rhetorical question is, "If men do these [bad] things during times of prosperity, what will they do when persecution or their own suffering arrives?"
Like simile and analogy, metaphor is a profoundly important and useful device. Aristotle says in his Rhetoric, "It is metaphor above all else that gives clearness, charm, and distinction to the style." And Joseph Addison says of it:
* By these allusions a truth in the understanding is as it were reflected by the imagination; we are able to see something like color and shape in a notion, and to discover a scheme of thoughts traced out upon matter. And here the mind receives a great deal of satisfaction, and has two of its faculties gratified at the same time, while the fancy is busy in copying after the understanding, and transcribing ideas out of the intellectual world into the material.
So a metaphor not only explains by making the abstract or unknown concrete and familiar, but it also enlivens by touching the reader's imagination. Further, it affirms one more interconnection in the unity of all things by showing a relationship between things seemingly alien to each other.
And the fact that two very unlike things can be equated or referred to in terms of one another comments upon them both. No metaphor is "just a metaphor." All have significant implications, and they must be chosen carefully, especially in regard to the connotations the vehicle (image) will transfer to the tenor. Consider, for example, the differences in meaning conveyed by these statements:
* That club is spreading like wildfire.
* That club is spreading like cancer.
* That club is really blossoming now.
* That club, in its amoebic motions, is engulfing the campus.
And do you see any reason that one of these metaphors was chosen over the others?
* The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. --Luke 10:2
* The pile of dirt is high, but we do not have many shovels.
* The diamonds cover the ground, but we need more people to pick them up.
So bold and striking is metaphor that it is sometimes taken literally rather than as a comparison. (Jesus' disciples sometimes failed here--see John 4:32ff and John 6:46-60; a few religious groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses interpret such passages as Psalm 75:8 and 118:15 literally and thus see God as anthropomorphic; and even today a lot of controversy surrounds the interpretation of Matthew 26:26.) Always be careful in your own writing, therefore, to avoid possible confusion between metaphor and reality. In practice this is usually not very difficult.
28. Catachresis is an extravagant, implied metaphor using words in an alien or unusual way. While difficult to invent, it can be wonderfully effective:
* I will speak daggers to her. --Hamlet [In a more futuristic metaphor, we might say, "I will laser-tongue her." Or as a more romantic student suggested, "I will speak flowers to her."]
One way to write catachresis is to substitute an associated idea for the intended one (as Hamlet did, using "daggers" instead of "angry words"):
* "It's a dentured lake," he said, pointing at the dam. "Break a tooth out of that grin and she will spit all the way to Duganville."
Sometimes you can substitute a noun for a verb or a verb for a noun, a noun for an adjective, and so on. The key is to be effective rather than abysmal. I am not sure which classification these examples fit into:
* The little old lady turtled along at ten miles per hour.
* She typed the paper machine-gunnedly, without pausing at all.
* They had expected that this news would paint an original grief, but the only result was silk-screamed platitudes.
* Give him a quart or two of self esteem and he will stop knocking himself. [This was intended to suggest motor oil; if it makes you think of cheap gin, the metaphor did not work.]
29. Synecdoche is a type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for the species, the species for the genus, the material for the thing made, or in short, any portion, section, or main quality for the whole or the thing itself (or vice versa).
* Farmer Jones has two hundred head of cattle and three hired hands.
Here we recognize that Jones also owns the bodies of the cattle, and that the hired hands have bodies attached. This is a simple part-for-whole synecdoche. Here are a few more:
* If I had some wheels, I'd put on my best threads and ask for Jane's hand in marriage.
* The army included two hundred horse and three hundred foot.
* It is sure hard to earn a dollar these days.
* Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. --Genesis 2:7
And notice the other kinds of substitutions that can be made:
* Get in here this instant or I'll spank your body. [Whole for part--i.e. "body" for "rear end"]
* Put Beethoven on the turntable and turn up the volume. [Composer substituted for record]
* A few hundred pounds of twenty dollar bills ought to solve that problem nicely. [Weight for amount]
* He drew his steel from his scabbard and welcomed all comers. [Material for thing made]
* Patty's hobby is exposing film; Harold's is burning up gasoline in his dune buggy. [Part for whole]
* Okay team. Get those blades back on the ice. [Part for whole]
Take care to make your synecdoche clear by choosing an important and obvious part to represent the whole. Compare:
* His pet purr was home alone and asleep.
* His pet paws [whiskers?] was home alone and asleep.
One of the easiest kinds of synecdoche to write is the substitution of genus for species. Here you choose the class to which the idea or thing to be expressed belongs, and use that rather than the idea or thing itself:
* There sits my animal [instead of "dog"] guarding the door to the henhouse.
* He hurled the barbed weapon [instead of "harpoon"] at the whale.
A possible problem can arise with the genus-for-species substitution because the movement is from more specific to more general; this can result in vagueness and loss of information. Note that in the example above some additional contextual information will be needed to clarify that "weapon" means "harpoon" in this case, rather than, say, "dagger" or something else. The same is true for the animal-for-dog substitution.
Perhaps a better substitution is the species for the genus--a single, specific, representative item symbolic of the whole. This form of synecdoche will usually be clearer and more effective than the other:
* A major lesson Americans need to learn is that life consists of more than cars and television sets. [Two specific items substituted for the concept of material wealth]
* Give us this day our daily bread. --Matt. 6:11
* If you still do not feel well, you'd better call up a sawbones and have him examine you.
* This program is for the little old lady in Cleveland who cannot afford to pay her heating bill.
30. Metonymy is another form of metaphor, very similar to synecdoche (and, in fact, some rhetoricians do not distinguish between the two), in which the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely associated with (but not an actual part of) the subject with which it is to be compared.
* The orders came directly from the White House.
In this example we know that the writer means the President issued the orders, because "White House" is quite closely associated with "President," even though it is not physically a part of him. Consider these substitutions, and notice that some are more obvious than others, but that in context all are clear:
* You can't fight city hall.
* This land belongs to the crown.
* In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread . . . . --Genesis 3:19
* Boy, I'm dying from the heat. Just look how the mercury is rising.
* His blood be on us and on our children. --Matt. 27:25
* The checkered flag waved and victory crossed the finish line.
* Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. --Psalm 100:1-2 (KJV)
The use of a particular metonymy makes a comment about the idea for which it has been substituted, and thereby helps to define that idea. Note how much more vivid "in the sweat of thy face" is in the third example above than "by labor" would have been. And in the fourth example, "mercury rising" has a more graphic, physical, and pictorial effect than would "temperature increasing." Attune yourself to such subtleties of language, and study the effects of connotation, suggestion, substitution, and metaphor.
31. Personification metaphorically represents an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes--attributes of form, character, feelings, behavior, and so on. Ideas and abstractions can also be personified.
* The ship began to creak and protest as it struggled against the rising sea.
* We bought this house instead of the one on Maple because this one is more friendly.
* This coffee is strong enough to get up and walk away.
* I can't get the fuel pump back on because this bolt is being uncooperative.
* Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. --Genesis 4:10b (NIV)
* That ignorance and perverseness should always obtain what they like was never considered as the end of government; of which it is the great and standing benefit that the wise see for the simple, and the regular act for the capricious. --Samuel Johnson
* Wisdom cries aloud in the streets; in the markets she raises her voice . . . .--Psalm 1:20 (RSV; and cf. 1:21-33)
While personification functions primarily as a device of art, it can often serve to make an abstraction clearer and more real to the reader by defining or explaining the concept in terms of everyday human action (as for example man's rejection of readily available wisdom is presented as a woman crying out to be heard but being ignored). Ideas can be brought to life through personification and objects can be given greater interest. But try always to be fresh: "winking stars" is worn out; "winking dewdrops" may be all right.
Personification of just the natural world has its own name, fictio. And when this natural-world personification is limited to emotion, John Ruskin called it the pathetic fallacy. Ruskin considered this latter to be a vice because it was so often overdone (and let this be a caution to you). We do not receive much pleasure from an overwrought vision like this:
* The angry clouds in the hateful sky cruelly spat down on the poor man who had forgotten his umbrella.
Nevertheless, humanizing a cold abstraction or even some natural phenomenon gives us a way to understand it, one more way to arrange the world in our own terms, so that we can further comprehend it. And even the so-called pathetic fallacy can sometimes be turned to advantage, when the writer sees his own feelings in the inanimate world around him:
* After two hours of political platitudes, everyone grew bored. The delegates were bored; the guests were bored; the speaker himself was bored. Even the chairs were bored.
32. Hyperbole, the counterpart of understatement, deliberately exaggerates conditions for emphasis or effect. In formal writing the hyperbole must be clearly intended as an exaggeration, and should be carefully restricted. That is, do not exaggerate everything, but treat hyperbole like an exclamation point, to be used only once a year. Then it will be quite effective as a table-thumping attention getter, introductory to your essay or some section thereof:
* There are a thousand reasons why more research is needed on solar energy.
Or it can make a single point very enthusiastically:
* I said "rare," not "raw." I've seen cows hurt worse than this get up and get well.
Or you can exaggerate one thing to show how really different it is from something supposedly similar to which it is being compared:
* This stuff is used motor oil compared to the coffee you make, my love.
* If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. --Luke 14:26 (NASB)
Hyperbole is the most overused and overdone rhetorical figure in the whole world (and that is no hyperbole); we are a society of excess and exaggeration. Nevertheless, hyperbole still has a rightful and useful place in art and letters; just handle it like dynamite, and do not blow up everything you can find.
33. Allusion is a short, informal reference to a famous person or event:
* You must borrow me Gargantua's mouth first. 'Tis a word too great for any mouth of this age's size. --Shakespeare
* If you take his parking place, you can expect World War II all over again.
* Plan ahead: it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. --Richard Cushing
* Our examination of the relation of the historian to the facts of history finds us, therefore, in an apparently precarious situation, navigating delicately between the Scylla of an untenable theory of history as an objective compilation of facts . . . and the Charybdis of an equally untenable theory of history as the subjective product of the mind of the historian . . . . --Edward Hallett Carr
Notice in these examples that the allusions are to very well known characters or events, not to obscure ones. (The best sources for allusions are literature, history, Greek myth, and the Bible.) Note also that the reference serves to explain or clarify or enhance whatever subject is under discussion, without sidetracking the reader.
Allusion can be wonderfully attractive in your writing because it can introduce variety and energy into an otherwise limited discussion (an exciting historical adventure rises suddenly in the middle of a discussion of chemicals or some abstract argument), and it can please the reader by reminding him of a pertinent story or figure with which he is familiar, thus helping (like analogy) to explain something difficult. The instantaneous pause and reflection on the analogy refreshes and strengthens the reader's mind.
34. Eponym substitutes for a particular attribute the name of a famous person recognized for that attribute. By their nature eponyms often border on the cliche, but many times they can be useful without seeming too obviously trite. Finding new or infrequently used ones is best, though hard, because the name-and-attribute relationship needs to be well established. Consider the effectiveness of these:
* Is he smart? Why, the man is an Einstein. Has he suffered? This poor Job can tell you himself.
* That little Caesar is fooling nobody. He knows he is no Patrick Henry.
* When it comes to watching girls, Fred is a regular Argus.
* You think your boyfriend is tight. I had a date with Scrooge himself last night.
* We all must realize that Uncle Sam is not supposed to be Santa Claus.
* An earthworm is the Hercules of the soil.
Some people or characters are famous for more than one attribute, so that when using them, you must somehow specify the meaning you intend:
* With a bow and arrow, Kathy is a real Diana. [Diana was goddess of the moon, of the hunt, and of chastity.]
* Those of us who cannot become a Ulysses and see the world must trust our knowledge to picture books and descriptions. [Ulysses was a hero in the Trojan War as well as a wanderer afterwards.]
In cases where the eponym might be less than clear or famous, you should add the quality to it:
* The wisdom of a Solomon was needed to figure out the actions of the appliance marketplace this quarter.
Eponym is one of those once-in-awhile devices which can give a nice touch in the right place.
35. Oxymoron is a paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun ("eloquent silence") or adverb-adjective ("inertly strong") relationship, and is used for effect, complexity, emphasis, or wit:
* I do here make humbly bold to present them with a short account of themselves and their art.....--Jonathan Swift
* The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, / With loads of learned lumber in his head . . . .--Alexander Pope
* He was now sufficiently composed to order a funeral of modest magnificence, suitable at once to the rank of a Nouradin's profession, and the reputation of his wealth. --Samuel Johnson
Oxymoron can be useful when things have gone contrary to expectation, belief, desire, or assertion, or when your position is opposite to another's which you are discussing. The figure then produces an ironic contrast which shows, in your view, how something has been misunderstood or mislabeled:
* Senator Rosebud calls this a useless plan; if so, it is the most helpful useless plan we have ever enacted.
* The cost-saving program became an expensive economy.
Other oxymorons, as more or less true paradoxes, show the complexity of a situation where two apparently opposite things are true simultaneously, either literally ("desirable calamity") or imaginatively ("love precipitates delay"). Some examples other writers have used are these: scandalously nice, sublimely bad, darkness visible, cheerful pessimist, sad joy, wise fool, tender cruelty, despairing hope, freezing fire. An oxymoron should preferably be yours uniquely; do not use another's, unless it is a relatively obvious formulation (like "expensive economy") which anyone might think of. Also, the device is most effective when the terms are not common opposites. So, instead of "a low high point," you might try "depressed apex" or something.
36. Epithet is an adjective or adjective phrase appropriately qualifying a subject (noun) by naming a key or important characteristic of the subject, as in "laughing happiness," "sneering contempt," "untroubled sleep," "peaceful dawn," and "lifegiving water." Sometimes a metaphorical epithet will be good to use, as in "lazy road," "tired landscape," "smirking billboards," "anxious apple." Aptness and brilliant effectiveness are the key considerations in choosing epithets. Be fresh, seek striking images, pay attention to connotative value.
A transferred epithet is an adjective modifying a noun which it does not normally modify, but which makes figurative sense:
* At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth of thieves and murderers . . . . --George Herbert
* Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold / A sheep hook . . . . --John Milton
* In an age of pressurized happiness, we sometimes grow insensitive to subtle joys.
The striking and unusual quality of the transferred epithet calls attention to it, and it can therefore be used to introduce emphatically an idea you plan to develop. The phrase will stay with the reader, so there is no need to repeat it, for that would make it too obviously rhetorical and even a little annoying. Thus, if you introduce the phrase, "diluted electricity," your subsequent development ought to return to more mundane synonyms, such as "low voltage," "brownouts," and so forth. It may be best to save your transferred epithet for a space near the conclusion of the discussion where it will be not only clearer (as a synonym for previously stated and clearly understandable terms) but more effective, as a kind of final, quintessential, and yet novel conceptualization of the issue. The reader will love it.
37. Hyperbaton includes several rhetorical devices involving departure from normal word order. One device, a form of inversion, might be called delayed epithet, since the adjective follows the noun. If you want to amplify the adjective, the inversion is very useful:
* From his seat on the bench he saw the girl content-content with the promise that she could ride on the train again next week.
But the delayed epithet can also be used by itself, though in only a relatively few cases:
* She had a personality indescribable.
* His was a countenance sad.
Some rhetoricians condemn delayed epithet altogether in formal writing because of its potential for abuse. Each case must be tested carefully, to make sure it does not sound too poetic:
* His was a countenance friendly.
* These are rumors strange.
And especially make sure the phrase is not affected, offensive, or even disgusting:
* Welcome to our home comfortable.
* That is a story amazing.
I cannot give you a rule (why does "countenance sad" seem okay when "countenance friendly" does not?) other than to consult your own taste or sense of what sounds all right and what does not.
A similar form of inversion we might call divided epithets. Here two adjectives are separated by the noun they modify, as in Milton's "with wandering steps and slow." Once again, be careful, but go ahead and try it. Some examples:
* It was a long operation but successful.
* Let's go on a cooler day and less busy.
* So many pages will require a longer staple, heavy-duty style.
Another form of hyperbaton involves the separation of words normally belonging together, done for effect or convenience:
* In this room there sit twenty (though I will not name them) distinguished people.
You can emphasize a verb by putting it at the end of the sentence:
* We will not, from this house, under any circumstances, be evicted.
* Sandy, after a long struggle, all the way across the lake, finally swam to shore.
You might want to have a friend check your excursions into hyperbatonic syntax, and if he looks at you askance and says, "My, talk funny you do," you might want to do a little rewriting. But, again, do not mark this off your list just because you might not be always successful at it.
38. Parenthesis, a final form of hyperbaton, consists of a word, phrase, or whole sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another sentence:
* But the new calculations--and here we see the value of relying upon up-to-date information--showed that man-powered flight was possible with this design.
* Every time I try to think of a good rhetorical example, I rack my brains but--you guessed--nothing happens.
* As the earthy portion has its origin from earth, the watery from a different element, my breath from one source and my hot and fiery parts from another of their own elsewhere (for nothing comes from nothing, or can return to nothing), so too there must be an origin for the mind. --Marcus Aurelius
* But in whatever respect anyone else is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am just as bold myself. --2 Cor. 11:21b (NASB)
The violence involved in jumping into (or out of) the middle of your sentence to address the reader momentarily about something has a pronounced effect. Parenthesis can be circumscribed either by dashes--they are more dramatic and forceful--or by parentheses (to make your aside less stringent). This device creates the effect of extemporaneity and immediacy: you are relating some fact when suddenly something very important arises, or else you cannot resist an instant comment, so you just stop the sentence and the thought you are on right where they are and insert the fact or comment. The parenthetical form also serves to give some statements a context (stuffed right into the middle of another sentence at the most pertinent point) which they would not have if they had to be written as complete sentences following another sentence. Note that in the first example above the bit of moralizing placed into the sentence appears to be more natural and acceptable than if it were stated separately as a kind of moral conclusion, which was not the purpose or drift of the article.
39. Alliteration is the recurrence of initial consonant sounds. The repetition can be juxtaposed (and then it is usually limited to two words):
* Ah, what a delicious day!
* Yes, I have read that little bundle of pernicious prose, but I have no comment to make upon it.
* Done well, alliteration is a satisfying sensation.
This two-word alliteration calls attention to the phrase and fixes it in the reader's mind, and so is useful for emphasis as well as art. Often, though, several words not next to each other are alliterated in a sentence. Here the use is more artistic. And note in the second example how wonderfully alliteration combines with antithesis:
* I shall delight to hear the ocean roar, or see the stars twinkle, in the company of men to whom Nature does not spread her volumes or utter her voice in vain. --Samuel Johnson
* Do not let such evils overwhelm you as thousands have suffered, and thousands have surmounted; but turn your thoughts with vigor to some other plan of life, and keep always in your mind, that, with due submission to Providence, a man of genius has been seldom ruined but by himself. --Samuel Johnson
* I conceive therefore, as to the business of being profound, that it is with writers, as with wells; a person with good eyes may see to the bottom of the deepest, provided any water be there; and that often, when there is nothing in the world at the bottom, besides dryness and dirt, though it be but a yard and a half under ground, it shall pass, however, for wondrous deep, upon no wiser a reason than because it is wondrous dark. --Jonathan Swift
40. Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose pronunciation imitates the sound the word describes. "Buzz," for example, when spoken is intended to resemble the sound of a flying insect. Other examples include these: slam, pow, screech, whirr, crush, sizzle, crunch, wring, wrench, gouge, grind, mangle, bang, blam, pow, zap, fizz, urp, roar, growl, blip, click, whimper, and, of course, snap, crackle, and pop. Note that the connection between sound and pronunciation is sometimes rather a product of imagination ("slam" and "wring" are not very good imitations). And note also that written language retains an aural quality, so that even unspoken your writing has a sound to it. Compare these sentences, for instance:
* Someone yelled, "Look out!" and I heard the skidding of tires and the horrible noise of bending metal and breaking glass.
* Someone yelled "Look out!" and I heard a loud screech followed by a grinding, wrenching crash.
Onomatopoeia can produce a lively sentence, adding a kind of flavoring by its sound effects:
The flies buzzing and whizzing around their ears kept them from finishing the experiment at the swamp.
* No one talks in these factories. Everyone is too busy. The only sounds are the snip, snip of scissors and the hum of sewing machines.
* But I loved that old car. I never heard the incessant rattle on a rough road, or the squeakitysqueak whenever I hit a bump; and as for the squeal of the tires around every corner--well, that was macho.
* If you like the plop, plop, plop of a faucet at three in the morning, you will like this record.
41. Apostrophe interrupts the discussion or discourse and addresses directly a person or personified thing, either present or absent. Its most common purpose in prose is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back:
* O value of wisdom that fadeth not away with time, virtue ever flourishing, that cleanseth its possessor from all venom! O heavenly gift of the divine bounty, descending from the Father of lights, that thou mayest exalt the rational soul to the very heavens! Thou art the celestial nourishment of the intellect . . . . --Richard de Bury
* O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! -- Richard de Bury
* O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! --Luke 13:34 (NASB)
Apostrophe does not appear very often in argumentative writing because formal argument is by its nature fairly restrained and intellectual rather than emotional; but under the right circumstances an apostrophe could be useful:
* But all such reasons notwithstanding, dear reader, does not the cost in lives persuade you by itself that we must do something immediately about the situation?
42. Enthymeme is an informally-stated syllogism which omits either one of the premises or the conclusion. The omitted part must be clearly understood by the reader. The usual form of this logical shorthand omits the major premise:
* Since your application was submitted before April 10th, it will be considered. [Omitted premise: All applications submitted before April 10 will be considered.]
* He is an American citizen, so he is entitled to due process. [All American citizens are entitled to due process.]
An enthymeme can also be written by omitting the minor premise:
* Ed is allergic to foods containing monosodium glutamate, so he cannot eat Chinese food seasoned with it.
* A political system can be just only when those who make its laws keep well informed about the subject and effect of those laws. This is why our system is in danger of growing unjust.
It is also possible to omit the conclusion to form an enthymeme, when the two premises clearly point to it:
* If, as Anatole France said, "It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly," then I must propose that the Board of Supervisors in this case is demonstrating human nature perfectly well.
* The Fenton Lumber Company never undertakes a clearcut until at least eighty percent of the trees are mature, and the 4800-acre stand of pine above Mill Creek will not be that mature for another fifteen years.
Whenever a premise is omitted in an enthymeme (and understood by the reader), it is assumed to be either a truism or an acceptable and non-controversial generalization. But sometimes the omitted premise is one with which the reader would not agree, and the enthymeme then becomes a logical fallacy-an unacceptable enthymeme. What are the omitted premises here, and why are they unacceptable?
* You can tell this tape recorder is a bunch of junk: it's made in Japan.
* He says he believes that Jesus was a great moral teacher, so he must be a Christian.
* Those kids are from Southern California? Then they must be either crazy or perverted.
It goes without saying that you should be careful in your own writing not to use enthymemes dishonestly--that is, not to use clearly controversial assertions for the omitted premises.
Aside from its everyday use as a logical shorthand, enthymeme finds its greatest use in writing as an instrument for slightly understating yet clearly pointing out some assertion, often in the form of omitted conclusion. By making the reader work out the syllogism for himself, you impress the conclusion upon him, yet in a way gentler than if you spelled it out in so many words:
* It is essential to anchor the dam in genuine solid rock, rather than in sandstone, and the Trapper's Bluff area provides the only solid rock for seven miles on either side of the designated optimum site.
* Yes, it is a beautiful car, but it does not have an automatic hood-ornament washer, and I just will not have a car without one.
43. Climax (gradatio) consists of arranging words, clauses, or sentences in the order of increasing importance, weight, or emphasis. Parallelism usually forms a part of the arrangement, because it offers a sense of continuity, order, and movement-up the ladder of importance. But if you wish to vary the amount of discussion on each point, parallelism is not essential.
* The concerto was applauded at the house of Baron von Schnooty, it was praised highly at court, it was voted best concerto of the year by the Academy, it was considered by Mozart the highlight of his career, and it has become known today as the best concerto in the world.
* At 6:20 a.m. the ground began to heave. Windows rattled; then they broke. Objects started falling from shelves. Water heaters fell from their pedestals, tearing out plumbing. Outside, the road began to break up. Water mains and gas lines were wrenched apart, causing flooding and the danger of explosion. Office buildings began cracking; soon twenty, thirty, forty stories of concrete were diving at the helpless pedestrians panicking below.
* To have faults is not good, but faults are human. Worse is to have them and not see them. Yet beyond that is to have faults, to see them, and to do nothing about them. But even that seems mild compared to him who knows his faults, and who parades them about and encourages them as though they were virtues.
In addition to arranging sentences or groups of short ideas in climactic order, you generally should also arrange the large sections of ideas in your papers, the points in your arugments, and the examples for your generalizations climactically; although in these cases, the first item should not be the very least important (because its weakness might alienate the reader). Always begin with a point or proof substantial enough to generate interest, and then continue with ideas of increasing importance. That way your argument gets stronger as it moves along, and every point hits harder than the previous one.
44. Diacope: repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase as a method of emphasis:
* We will do it, I tell you; we will do it.
* We give thanks to Thee, 0 God, we give thanks . . . . --Psalm 75:1 (NASB)
45. Antimetabole: reversing the order of repeated words or phrases (a loosely chiastic structure, AB-BA) to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast:
* All work and no play is as harmful to mental health as all play and no work.
* Ask not what you can do for rhetoric, but what rhetoric can do for you.
46. Antiphrasis: one word irony, established by context:
* "Come here, Tiny," he said to the fat man.
* It was a cool 115 degrees in the shade.
47. Epizeuxis: repetition of one word (for emphasis):
* The best way to describe this portion of South America is lush, lush, lush.
* What do you see? Wires, wires, everywhere wires.
* Polonius: "What are you reading?" Hamlet: "Words, words, words."
48. Aposiopesis: stopping abruptly and leaving a statement unfinished:
* If they use that section of the desert for bombing practice, the rock hunters will--.
* I've got to make the team or I'll--.
49. Anacoluthon: finishing a sentence with a different grammatical structure from that with which it began:
* And then the deep rumble from the explosion began to shake the very bones of--no one had ever felt anything like it.
* Be careful with these two devices because improperly used they can--well, I have cautioned you enough.
50. Enumeratio: detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point more forcibly:
* I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips [etc.].
* When the new highway opened, more than just the motels and restaurants prospered. The stores noted a substantial increase in sales, more people began moving to town, a new dairy farm was started, the old Main Street Theater doubled its showings and put up a new building . . . .
51. Antanagoge: placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point:
* True, he always forgets my birthday, but he buys me presents all year round.
* The new anti-pollution equipment will increase the price of the product slightly, I am aware; but the effluent water from the plant will be actually cleaner than the water coming in.
52. Parataxis: writing successive independent clauses, with coordinating conjunctions, or no conjunctions:
* We walked to the top of the hill, and we sat down.
* In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. --Genesis 1:1-2 (KJV)
* The Starfish went into dry-dock, it got a barnacle treatment, it went back to work.
In this last example above, note that a string of very short sentences can be connected by commas when the elements are parallel. Longer sentences and unparallel sentence structures need at least semicolons to connect them.
53. Hypotaxis: using subordination to show the relationship between clauses or phrases (and hence the opposite of parataxis):
* They asked the question because they were curious.
* If a person observing an unusual or unfamiliar object concludes that it is probably a spaceship from another world, he can readily adduce that the object is reacting to his presence or actions when in reality there is absolutely no cause-effect relationship. --Philip Klass
* While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. --John 9:5
54. Sententia: quoting a maxim or wise saying to apply a general truth to the situation; concluding or summing foregoing material by offering a single, pithy statement of general wisdom:
* But, of course, to understand all is to forgive all.
* As the saying is, art is long and life is short.
* For as Pascal reminds us, "It is not good to have all your wants satisfied."
55. Exemplum: citing an example; using an illustrative story, either true or fictitious:
* Let me give you an example. In the early 1920's in Germany, the government let the printing presses turn out endless quantities of paper money, and soon, instead of 50-pfennige postage stamps, denominations up to 50 billion marks were being issued.
56. Pleonasm: using more words than required to express an idea; being redundant. Normally a vice, it is done on purpose on rare occasions for emphasis:
* We heard it with our own ears.
* And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone. --Matthew 17:8
57. Assonance: similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or proximate words containing different consonants:
* A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. --Matthew 5:14b (KJV)
* Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. --Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
58. Dirimens Copulatio: mentioning a balancing or opposing fact to prevent the argument from being one-sided or unqualified:
* This car is extremely sturdy and durable. It's low maintenance; things never go wrong with it. Of course, if you abuse it, it will break.
* . . . But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. --l Cor. 1:23-24 (NASB; cf. Rom. 13:4-5)
59. Symploce: combining anaphora and epistrophe, so that one word r phrase is repeated at the beginning and another word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences:
* To think clearly and rationally should be a major goal for man; but to think clearly and rationally is always the greatest difficulty faced by man.
60. Appositive: a noun or noun substitute placed next to (in apposition to) another noun to be described or defined by the appositive. The appositive can be placed before or after the noun:
* Henry Jameson, the boss of the operation, always wore a red baseball cap.
* A notorious annual feast, the picnic was well attended.
* That evening we were all at the concert, a really elaborate and exciting affair.
With very short appositives, the commas setting off the second noun from the first are often omitted:
* That afternoon Kathy Todd the pianist met the poet Thompson.
* Is your friend George going to run for office?
Self Test
Identify the rhetorical device or devices used in each of the following examples. Answers are at the end of the test.
1. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. --Philippians 4:8
2. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? --Job 2:10b
3. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise) that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. --Ephesians 6:2-3
4. Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made should say to its maker, "He did not make me"; or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? --Isaiah. 29:16
5. ". . . For in your days, 0 rebellious house, I shall speak the word and perform it," declares the Lord. --Ezek. 12:25
6. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. --Matt. 5:17b
7. . . . We have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances. --Daniel 9:5
8. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. --2 Corinthians 5:6-8
9. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. --I Chron. 28:9b
10. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. --l Corinthians 13:11
11. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? --l Corinthians 12:29
12. But whom you forgive anything, I forgive also . . . in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. --2 Corinthians 2:10-11
13. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?) and not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. --l Timothy 3:4-6
14. Moreover, we have not listened to Thy servants the prophets, who spoke in Thy name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. --Daniel 9:6
15. But if possibility of evil be to exclude good, no good ever can be done. --Samuel Johnson
16. It is in art as in morals: no character would inspire us with an enthusiastic admiration of his virtue, if that virtue consisted only in an absence of vice; something more is required; a man must do more than merely his duty to be a hero. --Joshua Reynolds
17. What, then, is the effect of imagery when it is used in oratory? Among other things, it can infuse much passion and energy into speeches, but when it is combined with the argumentative passages it not only persuades the hearer, but actually masters him. --Longinus
18. The true nature of man, his true good, true virtue, and true religion are things which cannot be known separately. --Pascal
19. Now, what advantage do we derive from hearing a man say that he has shaken off the yoke, that he does not believe that there is a God who watches over his actions, that he regards himself as sole judge of his conduct, and that he does not think of accounting for it to anyone but himself? Does he imagine that by saying this he is encouraging us to feel great confidence in him in the future and to expect comfort, advice, and help from him in the difficult situations of life? Do such men imagine that they have greatly rejoiced us by telling us that they think our soul is only a puff of wind or smoke, and still more by telling us so in an arrogant, self-satisfied tone? Is it a thing to be said cheerily? Is it not rather something to be admitted mournfully as though it were the saddest thing in the whole world? --Pascal
20. Greatness, in the works of architecture, may be considered as relating to the bulk and body of the structure. . . . Not to mention the Tower of Babel, of which an old author says there were the foundations to be seen in his time, which looked like a spacious mountain . . . . --Joseph Addison
21. . . . Let them recognize that there are only two kinds of person whom we can describe as reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they have found him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they have not found him. --Pascal
22. Other things may be seized by might, or purchased with money, but knowledge is to be gained only by study, and study to be prosecuted only in retirement. --Samuel Johnson
23. Man seeth the face, but God beholdeth the heart. --Thomas a Kempis
24. 0 soul of mine, will you never be good and sincere, all one, all open, visible to the beholder more clearly than even your encompassing body of flesh? Will you never taste the sweetness of a loving and affectionate heart? Will you never be filled full and unwanting; craving nothing, yearning for no creature or thing to minister to your pleasures, no prolongation of days to enjoy them, no place or country or pleasant clime or sweet human company? --Marcus Aurelius
25. Shame on the soul, to falter on the road of life while the body still perseveres. --Marcus Aurelius
Answers To Self Test
1. anaphora (and parallelism)
2. expletive (and antithesis)
3. parenthesis
4. rhetorical question (and analogy, with personification)
5. metonymy (and zeugma of S-V-V)
6. antithesis
7. scesis onomaton
8. parenthesis and antimetabole
9. antithesis and parallelism
10. epistrophe and anyndeton (and parallelism and zeugma of S-V-V)
11. rhetorical question and symploce
12. litotes
13. parenthesis and rhetorical question
14. appositive, enumeratio and anaphora
15. anadiplosis
16. analogy, anadiplosis, sententia
17. hypophora
18. anaphora
19. zeugma (verb + subordinate clauses), rhetorical question, and metaphor
20. alliteration, apophasis, and simile
21. parallelism and antithesis
22. anadiplosis
23. antithesis
24. apostrophe, simile, rhetorical question, metaphor, anaphora, polysyndeton (and enumeratio or scesis onomaton)
25. metaphor
Robert A. Harris
Version Date: October 11, 2008
This book contains definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices, all of which can still be useful today to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and enjoyment of your writing. Note: This book was written in 1980, with some changes since. The devices presented are not in alphabetical order. To go directly to the discussion of a particular device, click on the name below. If you know these already, go directly to the Self Test. To learn about my new book, Writing with Clarity and Style, see the Advertisement.
Alliteration Antithesis Climax Epizeuxis Metanoia Polysyndeton
Allusion Apophasis Conduplicatio Eponym Metaphor Procatalepsis
Amplification Aporia Diacope Exemplum Metonymy Rhetorical Question
Anacoluthon Aposiopesis Dirimens Copulatio Expletive Onomatopoeia Scesis Onomaton
Anadiplosis Apostrophe Distinctio Hyperbaton Oxymoron Sententia
Analogy Appositive Enthymeme Hyperbole Parallelism Simile
Anaphora Assonance Enumeratio Hypophora Parataxis Symploce
Antanagoge Asyndeton Epanalepsis Hypotaxis Parenthesis Synecdoche
Antimetabole Catachresis Epistrophe Litotes Personification Understatement
Antiphrasis Chiasmus Epithet Metabasis Pleonasm Zeugma
A Preface of Quotations
Whoever desires for his writings or himself, what none can reasonably condemn, the favor of mankind, must add grace to strength, and make his thoughts agreeable as well as useful. Many complain of neglect who never tried to attract regard. It cannot be expected that the patrons of science or virtue should be solicitous to discover excellencies which they who possess them shade and disguise. Few have abilities so much needed by the rest of the world as to be caressed on their own terms; and he that will not condescend to recommend himself by external embellishments must submit to the fate of just sentiments meanly expressed, and be ridiculed and forgotten before he is understood. --Samuel Johnson
Men must be taught as if you taught them not; And things unknown propos'd as things forgot. --Alexander Pope
Style in painting is the same as in writing, a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
Whereas, if after some preparatory grounds of speech by their certain forms got into memory, they were led to the praxis thereof in some chosen short book lessoned thoroughly to them, they might then forthwith proceed to learn the substance of good things, and arts in due order, which would bring the whole language quickly into their power. --John Milton
Introduction
Good writing depends upon more than making a collection of statements worthy of belief, because writing is intended to be read by others, with minds different from your own. Your reader does not make the same mental connections you make; he does not see the world exactly as you see it; he is already flooded daily with thousands of statements demanding assent, yet which he knows or believes to be false, confused, or deceptive. If your writing is to get through to him--or even to be read and considered at all--it must be interesting, clear, persuasive, and memorable, so that he will pay attention to, understand, believe, and remember the ideas it communicates. To fulfill these requirements successfully, your work must have an appropriate and clear thesis, sufficient arguments and reasons supporting the thesis, a logical and progressive arrangement, and, importantly, an effective style.
While style is probably best learned through wide reading, comprehensive analysis and thorough practice, much can be discovered about effective writing through the study of some of the common and traditional devices of style and arrangement. By learning, practicing, altering, and perfecting them, and by testing their effects and nuances for yourself, these devices will help you to express yourself better and also teach you to see the interrelatedness of form and meaning, and the psychology of syntax, metaphor, and diction both in your own writing and in the works of others.
The rhetorical devices presented here generally fall into three categories: those involving emphasis, association, clarification, and focus; those involving physical organization, transition, and disposition or arrangement; and those involving decoration and variety. Sometimes a given device or trope will fall mainly into a single category, as for example an expletive is used mostly for emphasis; but more often the effects of a particular device are multiple, and a single one may operate in all three categories. Parallelism, for instance, helps to order, clarify, emphasize, and beautify a thought. Occasionally a device has certain effects not readily identifiable or explainable, so I have not always been able to say why or when certain ones are good or should be used. My recommendation is to practice them all and develop that sense in yourself which will tell you when and how to use them.
Lots of practice and experimentation are necessary before you will feel really comfortable with these devices, but too much practice in a single paper will most assuredly be disastrous. A journal or notebook is the best place to experiment; when a device becomes second nature to you, and when it no longer appears false or affected--when indeed it becomes genuinely built in to your writing rather than added on--then it may make its formal appearance in a paper. Remember that rhetorical devices are aids to writing and not ends of writing; you have no obligation to toss one into every paragraph. Further, if used carelessly or excessively or too frequently, almost any one of these devices will probably seem affected, dull, awkward, or mechanical. But with a little care and skill, developed by practice, anyone can master them, and their use will add not just beauty and emphasis and effectiveness to your writing, but a kind of freedom of thought and expression you never imagined possible.
Practice these; try them out. Do not worry if they sometimes ring false at first. Play with them--learn to manipulate and control your words and ideas--and eventually you will master the art of aggressive instruction: keeping the reader focused with anaphora, emphasizing a point with an expletive, explaining to him with a metaphor or simile, organizing your work in his mind with metabasis, answering his queries with hypophora or procatalepsis, balancing possibilities with antithesis. You will also have gone a long way toward fulfilling the four requirements mentioned at the beginning: the devices of decoration and variety will help make your reader pay attention, the devices of organization and clarification will help him understand your points, the devices of association and some like procatalepsis will help him believe you, and the devices of emphasis, association, beauty, and organization will help him remember.
Rhetorical Devices
1. Expletive is a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the expletive. (We emphasize the words on each side of a pause or interruption in order to maintain continuity of the thought.) Compare:
* But the lake was not drained before April.
* But the lake was not, in fact, drained before April.
Expletives are most frequently placed near the beginning of a sentence, where important material has been placed:
* All truth is not, indeed, of equal importance; but if little violations are allowed, every violation will in time be thought little. --Samuel Johnson
But sometimes they are placed at the very beginning of a sentence, thereby serving as signals that the whole sentence is especially important. In such cases the sentence should be kept as short as possible:
* In short, the cobbler had neglected his soul.
* Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. --John 4:14 (NIV)
Or the author may show that he does not intend to underemphasize an objection or argument he rejects:
* To be sure, no one desires to live in a foul and disgusting environment. But neither do we want to desert our cities.
In a few instances, especially with short sentences, the expletive can be placed last:
* It was a hot day indeed.
* Harold won, of course.
A common practice is setting off the expletive by commas, which increases the emphasis on the surrounding words, though in many cases the commas are necessary for clarity as well and cannot be omitted. Note how the expletive itself is also emphasized:
* He without doubt can be trusted with a cookie.
* He, without doubt, can be trusted with a cookie.
An expletive can emphasize a phrase:
* The Bradys, clearly a happy family, live in an old house with squeaky floors.
Transitional phrases, accostives, some adverbs, and other interrupters can be used for emphasizing portions of sentences, and therefore function as kinds of quasi-expletives in those circumstances.
* We find a few people, however, unwilling to come.
* "Your last remark," he said, "is impertinent."
* There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. --Samuel Johnson
Some useful expletives include the following: in fact, of course, indeed, I think, without doubt, to be sure, naturally, it seems, after all, for all that, in brief, on the whole, in short, to tell the truth, in any event, clearly, I suppose, I hope, at least, assuredly, certainly, remarkably, importantly, definitely. In formal writing, avoid these and similar expletives: you know, you see, huh, get this. And it goes without saying that you should avoid the unprintable ones.
2. Asyndeton consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list of items, asyndeton gives the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account:
* On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.
The lack of the "and" conjunction gives the impression that the list is perhaps not complete. Compare:
* She likes pickles, olives, raisins, dates, pretzels.
* She likes pickles, olives, raisins, dates, and pretzels.
Sometimes an asyndetic list is useful for the strong and direct climactic effect it has, much more emphatic than if a final conjunction were used. Compare:
* They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, understanding.
* They spent the day wondering, searching, thinking, and understanding.
In certain cases, the omission of a conjunction between short phrases gives the impression of synonymity to the phrases, or makes the latter phrase appear to be an afterthought or even a substitute for the former. Compare:
* He was a winner, a hero.
* He was a winner and a hero.
Notice also the degree of spontaneity granted in some cases by asyndetic usage. "The moist, rich, fertile soil," appears more natural and spontaneous than "the moist, rich, and fertile soil - "
Generally, asyndeton offers the feeling of speed and concision to lists and phrases and clauses, but occasionally the effect cannot be so easily categorized. Consider the "flavor" of these examples:
* If, as is the case, we feel responsibility, are ashamed, are frightened, at transgressing the voice of conscience, this implies that there is One to whom we are responsible, before whom we are ashamed, whose claims upon us we fear. --John Henry Newman
* In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. --Richard de Bury
* We certainly have within us the image of some person, to whom our love and veneration look, in whose smile we find our happiness, for whom we yearn, towards whom we direct our pleadings, in whose anger we are troubled and waste away. --John Henry Newman
3. Polysyndeton is the use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton. The rhetorical effect of polysyndeton, however, often shares with that of asyndeton a feeling of multiplicity, energetic enumeration, and building up.
* They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked.
Use polysyndeton to show an attempt to encompass something complex:
* The water, like a witch's oils, / Burnt green, and blue, and white. --S. T. Coleridge
* [He] pursues his way, / And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. --John Milton
The multiple conjunctions of the polysyndetic structure call attention to themselves and therefore add the effect of persistence or intensity or emphasis to the other effect of multiplicity. The repeated use of "nor" or "or" emphasizes alternatives; repeated use of "but" or "yet" stresses qualifications. Consider the effectiveness of these:
* And to set forth the right standard, and to train according to it, and to help forward all students towards it according to their various capacities, this I conceive to be the business of a University. --John Henry Newman
* We have not power, nor influence, nor money, nor authority; but a willingness to persevere, and the hope that we shall conquer soon.
In a skilled hand, a shift from polysyndeton to asyndeton can be very impressive:
* Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. --Isaiah 24:1-2 (KJV)
4. Understatement deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. When the writer's audience can be expected to know the true nature of a fact which might be rather difficult to describe adequately in a brief space, the writer may choose to understate the fact as a means of employing the reader's own powers of description. For example, instead of endeavoring to describe in a few words the horrors and destruction of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, a writer might state:
* The 1906 San Francisco earthquake interrupted business somewhat in the downtown area.
The effect is not the same as a description of destruction, since understatement like this necessarily smacks of flippancy to some degree; but occasionally that is a desirable effect. Consider these usages:
* Henry and Catherine were married, the bells rang, and everybody smiled . . . . To begin perfect happiness at the respective ages of twenty-six and eighteen is to do pretty well . . . . --Jane Austen
* Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse. --Jonathan Swift
* You know I would be a little disappointed if you were to be hit by a drunk driver at two a.m., so I hope you will be home early.
In these cases the reader supplies his own knowledge of the facts and fills out a more vivid and personal description than the writer might have.
In a more important way, understatement should be used as a tool for modesty and tactfulness. Whenever you represent your own accomplishments, and often when you just describe your own position, an understatement of the facts will help you to avoid the charge of egotism on the one hand and of self-interested puffery on the other. We are always more pleased to discover a thing greater than promised rather than less than promised--or as Samuel Johnson put it, "It is more pleasing to see smoke brightening into flame, than flame sinking into smoke." And it goes without saying that a person modest of his own talents wins our admiration more easily than an egotist. Thus an expert geologist might say, "Yes, I know a little about rocks," rather than, "Yes, I'm an expert about rocks." (An even bigger expert might raise his eyebrows if he heard that.)
Understatement is especially useful in dealing with a hostile audience or in disagreeing with someone, because the statement, while carrying the same point, is much less offensive. Compare:
* The second law of thermodynamics pretty much works against the possibility of such an event.
* The second law of thermodynamics proves conclusively that that theory is utterly false and ridiculous.
Remember, the goal of writing is to persuade, not to offend; once you insult or put off your opponent, objector, or disbeliever, you will never persuade him of anything, no matter how "obviously wrong" he is or how clearly right you are. The degree and power of pride in the human heart must never be underestimated. Many people are unwilling to hear objections of any kind, and view disagreement as a sign of contempt for their intellect. The use of understatement allows you to show a kind of respect for your reader's understanding. You have to object to his belief, but you are sympathetic with his position and see how he might have come to believe it; therefore, you humbly offer to steer him right, or at least to offer what you think is a more accurate view. Even those who agree with you already will be more persuaded because the modest thinker is always preferable to the flaming bigot. Compare these statements and consider what effect each would have on you if you read them in a persuasive article:
* Anyone who says this water is safe to drink is either stupid or foolish. The stuff is poisoned with coliform bacteria. Don't those idiots know that?
* My opponents think this water is drinkable, but I'm not sure I would drink it. Perhaps they are not aware of the dangerous bacterial count . . . [and so on, explaining the basis for your opinion].
5. Litotes, a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement, or becomes an intensifying expression. Compare the difference between these statements:
* Heat waves are common in the summer.
* Heat waves are not rare in the summer.
Johnson uses litotes to make a modest assertion, saying "not improperly" rather than "correctly" or "best":
* This kind of writing may be termed not improperly the comedy of romance. . . .
Occasionally a litotic construction conveys an ironic sentiment by its understatement:
* We saw him throw the buckets of paint at his canvas in disgust, and the result did not perfectly represent his subject, Mrs. Jittery.
Usually, though, litotes intensifies the sentiment intended by the writer, and creates the effect of strong feelings moderately conveyed.
* Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good.
* If you can tell the fair one's mind, it will be no small proof of your art, for I dare say it is more than she herself can do. --Alexander Pope
* A figure lean or corpulent, tall or short, though deviating from beauty, may still have a certain union of the various parts, which may contribute to make them on the whole not unpleasing. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
* He who examines his own self will not long remain ignorant of his failings.
* Overall the flavors of the mushrooms, herbs, and spices combine to make the dish not at all disagreeable to the palate.
But note that, as George Orwell points out in "Politics and the English Language," the "not un-" construction (for example, "not unwilling") should not be used indiscriminately. Rather, find an opposite quality which as a word is something other than the quality itself with an "un" attached. For instance, instead of, "We were not unvictorious," you could write, "We were not defeated," or "We did not fail to win," or something similar.
6. Parallelism is recurrent syntactical similarity. Several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance. Parallelism also adds balance and rhythm and, most importantly, clarity to the sentence.
Any sentence elements can be paralleled, any number of times (though, of course, excess quickly becomes ridiculous). You might choose parallel subjects with parallel modifiers attached to them:
* Ferocious dragons breathing fire and wicked sorcerers casting their spells do their harm by night in the forest of Darkness.
Or parallel verbs and adverbs:
* I have always sought but seldom obtained a parking space near the door.
* Quickly and happily he walked around the corner to buy the book.
Or parallel verbs and direct objects:
* He liked to eat watermelon and to avoid grapefruit.
Or just the objects:
* This wealthy car collector owns three pastel Cadillacs, two gold Rolls Royces, and ten assorted Mercedes.
Or parallel prepositional phrases:
* He found it difficult to vote for an ideal truth but against his own self interest.
* The pilot walked down the aisle, through the door, and into the cockpit, singing "Up, Up, and Away."
Notice how paralleling rather long subordinate clauses helps you to hold the whole sentence clearly in your head:
* These critics--who point out the beauties of style and ideas, who discover the faults of false constructions, and who discuss the application of the rules--usually help a lot in engendering an understanding of the writer's essay.
* When, at the conclusion of a prolonged episode of agonizing thought, you decide to buy this car; when, after a hundred frantic sessions of begging stonefaced bankers for the money, you can obtain sufficient funds; and when, after two more years of impatience and frustration, you finally get a driver's license, then come see me and we will talk about a deal.
* After you corner the market in Brazilian coffee futures, but before you manipulate the price through the ceiling, sit down and have a cup of coffee with me (while I can still afford it).
It is also possible to parallel participial, infinitive, and gerund phrases:
* He left the engine on, idling erratically and heating rapidly.
* To think accurately and to write precisely are interrelated goals.
* She liked sneaking up to Ted and putting the ice cream down his back, because he was so cool about it.
In practice some combination of parts of speech or sentence elements is used to form a statement, depending as always on what you have to say. In addition, the parallelism, while it normally should be pretty close, does not have to be exact in its syntactical similarity. For example, you might write,
* He ran up to the bookshelves, grabbed a chair standing nearby, stepped painfully on his tiptoes, and pulled the fifty-pound volume on top of him, crushing his ribs and impressing him with the power of knowledge.
Here are some other examples of parallelism:
* I shall never envy the honors which wit and learning obtain in any other cause, if I can be numbered among the writers who have given ardor to virtue, and confidence to truth. --Samuel Johnson
* They had great skill in optics, and had instructed him to see faults in others, and beauties in himself, that could be discovered by nobody else. . . . --Alexander Pope
* For the end of a theoretical science is truth, but the end of a practical science is performance. --Aristotle
7. Chiasmus might be called "reverse parallelism," since the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order. Instead of an A,B structure (e.g., "learned unwillingly") paralleled by another A,B structure ("forgotten gladly"), the A,B will be followed by B,A ("gladly forgotten"). So instead of writing, "What is learned unwillingly is forgotten gladly," you could write, "What is learned unwillingly is gladly forgotten." Similarly, the parallel sentence, "What is now great was at first little," could be written chiastically as, "What is now great was little at first." Here are some examples:
* He labors without complaining and without bragging rests.
* Polished in courts and hardened in the field, Renowned for conquest, and in council skilled. --Joseph Addison
* For the Lord is a Great God . . . in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are his also. --Psalm 95:4
Chiasmus is easiest to write and yet can be made very beautiful and effective simply by moving subordinate clauses around:
* If you come to them, they are not asleep; if you ask and inquire of them, they do not withdraw themselves; they do not chide if you make mistakes; they do not laugh at you if you are ignorant. --Richard de Bury
Prepositional phrases or other modifiers can also be moved around to form chiastic structures. Sometimes the effect is rather emphatic:
* Tell me not of your many perfections; of your great modesty tell me not either.
* Just as the term "menial" does not apply to any honest labor, so no dishonest work can be called "prestigious."
At other times the effect is more subdued but still desirable. Compare the versions of these sentences, written first in chiastic and then in strictly parallel form. Which do you like better in each case?
* On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then it had a flat on the way home.
* On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then on the way home it had a flat.
* Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but they said nothing at all sitting in the dentist's office.
* Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but sitting in the dentist's office, they said nothing at all.
* The computer mainframe is now on sale; available also at a discount is the peripheral equipment.
* The computer mainframe is now on sale; the peripheral equipment is also available at a discount.
Chiasmus may be useful for those sentences in which you want balance, but which cannot be paralleled effectively, either because they are too short, or because the emphasis is placed on the wrong words. And sometimes a chiastic structure will just seem to "work" when a parallel one will not.
8. Zeugma includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech. Thus examples of zeugmatic usage would include one subject with two (or more) verbs, a verb with two (or more) direct objects, two (or more) subjects with one verb, and so forth. The main benefit of the linking is that it shows relationships between ideas and actions more clearly.
In one form (prozeugma), the yoking word precedes the words yoked. So, for example, you could have a verb stated in the first clause understood in the following clauses:
* Pride opresseth humility; hatred love; cruelty compassion. --Peacham
* Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.
* Alexander conquered the world; I, Minneapolis.
A more important version of this form (with its own name, diazeugma) is the single subject with multiple verbs:
* . . . It operated through the medium of unconscious self-deception and terminated in inveterate avarice. --Thomas Love Peacock
* Mr. Glowry held his memory in high honor, and made a punchbowl of his skull. --Ibid.
* This terrace . . . took in an oblique view of the open sea, and fronted a long track of level sea-coast . . . . --Ibid.
* Fluffy rolled on her back, raised her paws, and meowed to be petted.
Notice that two or three verb phrases are the usual proportion. But if you have a lot to say about the actions of the subject, or if you want to show a sort of multiplicity of behavior or doings, you can use several verbs:
* When at Nightmare Abbey, he would condole with Mr. Glowry, drink Madeira with Scythrop, crack jokes with Mr. Hilary, hand Mrs. Hilary to the piano, take charge of her fan and gloves, and turn over her music with surprising dexterity, quote Revelations with Mr. Toobad, and lament the good old times of feudal darkness with the Transcendental Mr. Flosky. --Thomas Love Peacock
Two or more subordinate relative pronoun clauses can be linked prozeugmatically, with the noun becoming the yoking word:
* His father, to comfort him, read him a Commentary on Ecclesiastes, which he had himself composed, and which demonstrated incontrovertibly that all is vanity. --Thomas Love Peacock
* O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! --Richard de Bury
You could have two or more direct objects:
* With one mighty swing he knocked the ball through the window and two spectators off their chairs.
* He grabbed his hat from the rack in the closet, his gloves from the table near the door, and his car keys from the punchbowl.
Or a preposition with two objects:
* Mr. Glowry was horror-struck by the sight of a round, ruddy face, and a pair of laughing eyes. --Thomas Love Peacock
Sometimes you might want to create a linkage in which the verb must be understood in a slightly different sense:
* He grabbed his hat from the rack by the stairs and a kiss from the lips of his wife.
* He smashed the clock into bits and his fist through the wall.
In hypozeugma the yoking word follows the words it yokes together. A common form is multiple subjects:
* Hours, days, weeks, months, and years do pass away. --Sherry
* The moat at its base, and the fens beyond comprised the whole of his prospect. --Peacock
* To generate that much electricity and to achieve that kind of durability would require a completely new generator design.
It is possible also to hold off a verb until the last clause:
* The little baby from his crib, the screaming lady off the roof, and the man from the flooded basement were all rescued.
Hypozeugma can be used with adjectives or adjective phrases, too. Here, Peacock uses two participial phrases, one past and one present:
* Disappointed both in love and in friendship, and looking upon human learning as vanity, he had come to a conclusion that there was but one good thing in the world, videlicet, a good dinner . . . .
The utility of the zeugmatic devices lies partly in their economy (for they save repetition of subjects or verbs or other words), and partly in the connections they create between thoughts. The more connections between ideas you can make in an essay, whether those connections are simple transitional devices or more elaborate rhetorical ones, the fewer your reader will have to guess at, and therefore the clearer your points will be.
9. Antithesis establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Human beings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas:
* To err is human; to forgive, divine. --Pope
* That short and easy trip made a lasting and profound change in Harold's outlook.
* That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. --Neil Armstrong
Antithesis can convey some sense of complexity in a person or idea by admitting opposite or nearly opposite truths:
* Though surprising, it is true; though frightening at first, it is really harmless.
* If we try, we might succeed; if we do not try, we cannot succeed.
* Success makes men proud; failure makes them wise.
Antithesis, because of its close juxtaposition and intentional
contrast of two terms or ideas, is also very useful for making relatively fine distinctions or for clarifying differences which might be otherwise overlooked by a careless thinker or casual reader:
* In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. --Samuel Johnson
* The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. --Matt. 23:2-3 (RSV)
* I agree that it is legal; but my question was, Is it moral?
* The advertisement indeed says that these shoes are the best, but it means that they are equal; for in advertising "best" is a parity claim and only "better" indicates superiority.
Note also that short phrases can be made antithetical:
* Every man who proposes to grow eminent by learning should carry in his mind, at once, the difficulty of excellence and the force of industry; and remember that fame is not conferred but as the recompense of labor, and that labor, vigorously continued, has not often failed of its reward. --Samuel Johnson
10. Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism:
* To think on death it is a misery,/ To think on life it is a vanity;/ To think on the world verily it is,/ To think that here man hath no perfect bliss. --Peacham
* In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. --Richard de Bury
* Finally, we must consider what pleasantness of teaching there is in books, how easy, how secret! How safely we lay bare the poverty of human ignorance to books without feeling any shame! --Ibid.
* The wish of the genuine painter must be more extensive: instead of endeavoring to amuse mankind with the minute neatness of his imitations, he must endeavor to improve them by the grandeur of his ideas; instead of seeking praise, by deceiving the superficial sense of the spectator, he must strive for fame by captivating the imagination. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
* Slowly and grimly they advanced, not knowing what lay ahead, not knowing what they would find at the top of the hill, not knowing that they were so near to Disneyland.
* They are the entertainment of minds unfurnished with ideas, and therefore easily susceptible of impressions; not fixed by principles, and therefore easily following the current of fancy; not informed by experience, and consequently open to every false suggestion and partial account. --Samuel Johnson
Anaphora can be used with questions, negations, hypotheses, conclusions, and subordinating conjunctions, although care must be taken not to become affected or to sound rhetorical and bombastic. Consider these selections:
* Will he read the book? Will he learn what it has to teach him? Will he live according to what he has learned?
* Not time, not money, not laws, but willing diligence will get this done.
* If we can get the lantern lit, if we can find the main cave, and if we can see the stalagmites, I'll show you the one with the bat skeleton in it. be used for
Adverbs and prepositions can anaphora, too:
* They are masters who instruct us without rod or ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money. --Richard de Bury
* She stroked her kitty cat very softly, very slowly, very smoothly.
11. Epistrophe (also called antistrophe) forms the counterpart to anaphora, because the repetition of the same word or words comes at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences:
* Where affections bear rule, there reason is subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, for ever are subdued. --Wilson
* And all the night he did nothing but weep Philoclea, sigh Philoclea, and cry out Philoclea. --Philip Sidney
* You will find washing beakers helpful in passing this course, using the gas chromatograph desirable for passing this course, and studying hours on end essential to passing this course.
Epistrophe is an extremely emphatic device because of the emphasis placed on the last word in a phrase or sentence. If you have a concept you wish to stress heavily, then epistrophe might be a good construction to use. The danger as usual lies in this device's tendency to become too rhetorical. Consider whether these are successful and effective or hollow and bombastic:
* The cars do not sell because the engineering is inferior, the quality of materials is inferior, and the workmanship is inferior.
* The energies of mankind are often exerted in pursuit, consolidation, and enjoyment; which is to say, many men spend their lives pursuing power, consolidating power, and enjoying power.
12. Anadiplosis repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next. it can be generated in series for the sake of beauty or to give a sense of logical progression:
* Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know,/ Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain . . . . --Philip Sidney
Most commonly, though, anadiplosis is used for emphasis of the repeated word or idea, since repetition has a reinforcing effect:
* They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. 2:13
* The question next arises, How much confidence can we put in the people, when the people have elected Joe Doax?
* This treatment plant has a record of uncommon reliability, a reliability envied by every other water treatment facility on the coast.
* In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. --John 1:1
Notice how the main point of the sentence becomes immediately clear by repeating the same word twice in close succession. There can be no doubt about the focus of your thought when you use anadiplosis.
13. Conduplicatio resembles anadiplosis in the repetition of a preceding word, but it repeats a key word (not just the last word) from a preceding phrase, clause, or sentence, at the beginning of the next.
* If this is the first time duty has moved him to act against his desires, he is a very weak man indeed. Duty should be cultivated and obeyed in spite of its frequent conflict with selfish wishes.
* The strength of the passions will never be accepted as an excuse for complying with them; the passions were designed for subjection, and if a man suffers them to get the upper hand, he then betrays the liberty of his own soul. --Alexander Pope
* She fed the goldfish every day with the new pellets brought from Japan. Gradually the goldfish began to turn a brighter orange than before.
Like anadiplosis, conduplicatio serves as an effective focusing device because with it you can pull out that important idea from the sentence before and put it clearly at the front of the new sentence, showing the reader just what he should be concentrating on. Since keeping the reader focused on your train of thought is critical to good writing, this device can be especially helpful as a transitional connector when the previous sentence has two or more possible main points, only one of which is to be continued in the discussion. Suppose, for example, you have this sentence:
* Submitting a constitutional amendment to a popular vote through a general referendum always runs the risk of a campaign and a vote based upon the selfishness rather than the sense of justice of the voter.
Now, the next sentence could begin with, "Previous campaigns . . ." or "The strength of the appeal to selfish interests . . . "or "Therefore constitutional amendments are best left . . ." all depending on which concept you wish to develop. If you began the next sentence with, "But there certainly can be no doubt that the general referendum will continue to be exploited by those whose issues are aided by the innate selfishness of human beings," the reader would have to go a considerable distance into the sentence before he would find out exactly which idea is being carried forward and developed.
14. Epanalepsis repeats the beginning word of a clause or sentence at the end. The beginning and the end are the two positions of strongest emphasis in a sentence, so by having the same word in both places, you call special attention to it:
* Water alone dug this giant canyon; yes, just plain water.
* To report that your committee is still investigating the matter is to tell me that you have nothing to report.
Many writers use epanalepsis in a kind of "yes, but" construction to cite common ground or admit a truth and then to show how that truth relates to a more important context:
* Our eyes saw it, but we could not believe our eyes.
* The theory sounds all wrong; but if the machine works, we cannot worry about theory.
* In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. --John 16:33 (NASB)
15. Hypophora consists of raising one or more questions and then proceeding to answer them, usually at some length. A common usage is to ask the question at the beginning of a paragraph and then use that paragraph to answer it:
* There is a striking and basic difference between a man's ability to imagine something and an animal's failure. . . . Where is it that the animal falls short? We get a clue to the answer, I think, when Hunter tells us . . . . --Jacob Bronowski
* What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?. . . What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God. --Rom. 4:1,3 (NIV)
This is an attractive rhetorical device, because asking an appropriate question appears quite natural and helps to maintain curiosity and interest. You can use hypophora to raise questions which you think the reader obviously has on his mind and would like to see formulated and answered:
* What behavior, then, is uniquely human? My theory is this . . . . --H. J. Campbell
* But what was the result of this move on the steel industry? The annual reports for that year clearly indicate. . . .
Hypophora can also be used to raise questions or to introduce material of importance, but which the reader might not have the knowledge or thought to ask for himself:
* How then, in the middle of the twentieth century, are we to define the obligation of the historian to his facts?..... The duty of the historian to respect his facts is not exhausted by . . . . --Edward Hallett Carr
* But it is certainly possible to ask, How hot is the oven at its hottest point, when the average temperature is 425 degrees? We learned that the peak temperatures approached . . . .
And hypophora can be used as a transitional or guiding device to change directions or enter a new area of discussion:
* But what are the implications of this theory? And how can it be applied to the present problem?
* How and why did caveat emptor develop? The question presents us with mysteries never fully answered. --Ivan L. Preston
Notice how a series of reasonable questions can keep a discussion lively and interesting:
* How do we know the FTC strategy is the best, particularly in view of the complaints consumerists have made against it? Isn't there some chance that greater penalties would amount to greater deterrents? Why not get the most consumer protection simultaneously with the most punishment to offenders by easing the requirements for guilt without easing the punishment? . . . It happens that that's been tried, and it didn't work very well. --Ivan L. Preston
In the above example, the writer went on for several paragraphs to discuss the case which "didn't work very well." It would also be possible for a writer to ask several questions and then answer them in an orderly way, though that has the danger of appearing too mechanical if not carefully done.
16. Rhetorical question (erotesis) differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer, because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no. It is used for effect, emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the facts at hand.
* But how can we expect to enjoy the scenery when the scenery consists entirely of garish billboards?
* . . . For if we lose the ability to perceive our faults, what is the good of living on? --Marcus Aurelius
* Is justice then to be considered merely a word? Or is it whatever results from the bartering between attorneys?
Often the rhetorical question and its implied answer will lead to further discussion:
* Is this the end to which we are reduced? Is the disaster film the highest form of art we can expect from our era? Perhaps we should examine the alternatives presented by independent film maker Joe Blow . . . .
* I agree the funding and support are still minimal, but shouldn't worthy projects be tried, even though they are not certain to succeed? So the plans in effect now should be expanded to include . . . . [Note: Here is an example where the answer "yes" is clearly desired rhetorically by the writer, though conceivably someone might say "no" to the question if asked straightforwardly.]
Several rhetorical questions together can form a nicely developed and directed paragraph by changing a series of logical statements into queries:
* We shrink from change; yet is there anything that can come into being without it? What does Nature hold dearer, or more proper to herself? Could you have a hot bath unless the firewood underwent some change? Could you be nourished if the food suffered no change? Do you not see, then, that change in yourself is of the same order, and no less necessary to Nature? --Marcus Aurelius
Sometimes the desired answer to the rhetorical question is made obvious by the discussion preceding it:
* The gods, though they live forever, feel no resentment at having to put up eternally with the generations of men and their misdeeds; nay more, they even show every possible care and concern for them. Are you, then, whose abiding is but for a moment, to lose patience--you who are yourself one of the culprits? --Marcus Aurelius
When you are thinking about a rhetorical question, be careful to avoid sinking to absurdity. You would not want to ask, for example, "But is it right to burn down the campus and sack the bookstore?" The use of this device allows your reader to think, query, and conclude along with you; but if your questions become ridiculous, your essay may become wastepaper.
17. Procatalepsis, by anticipating an objection and answering it, permits an argument to continue moving forward while taking into account points or reasons opposing either the train of thought or its final conclusions. Often the objections are standard ones:
* It is usually argued at this point that if the government gets out of the mail delivery business, small towns like Podunk will not have any mail service. The answer to this can be found in the history of the Pony Express . . . .
* To discuss trivialities in an exalted style is, as the saying is, like beautifying a pestle. Yet some people say we should discourse in the grand manner on trivialities and they think that this is a proof of outstanding oratorical talent. Now I admit that Polycrates [did this]. But he was doing this in jest, . - . and the dignified tone of the whole work was itself a game. Let us be playful..... [but] also observe what is fitting in each case . . . . --Demetrius
Sometimes the writer will invent probable or possible difficulties in order to strengthen his position by showing how they could be handled if they should arise, as well as to present an answer in case the reader or someone else might raise them in the course of subsequent consideration:
* But someone might say that this battle really had no effect on history. Such a statement could arise only from ignoring the effect the battle had on the career of General Bombast, who was later a principal figure at the Battle of the Bulge.
* I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom. This I freely own, and it was indeed the principal design in offering it to the world. --Jonathan Swift
Objections can be treated with varying degrees of seriousness and with differing relationships to the reader. The reader himself might be the objector:
* Yet this is the prime service a man would think, wherein this order should give proof of itself. If it were executed, you'll say. But certain, if execution be remiss or blindfold now, and in this particular, what will it be hereafter and in other books? --John Milton
Or the objector may be someone whose outlook, attitude, or belief differs substantially from both writer and reader-though you should be careful not to set up an artificial, straw-man objector:
* Men of cold fancies and philosophical dispositions object to this kind of poetry, [saying] that it has not probability enough to affect the imagination. But to this it may be answered that we are sure, in general, there are many intellectual beings in the world besides ourselves . . . who are subject to different laws and economies from those of mankind . . . . --Joseph Addison
* Occasionally a person of rash judgment will argue here that the high-speed motor is better than the low-speed one, because for the same output, high speed motors are lighter, smaller, and cheaper. But they are also noisier and less efficient, and have much greater wear and shorter life; so that overall they are not better.
By mentioning the obvious, and even the imaginatively discovered objections to your argument, you show that (1) you are aware of them and have considered them and (2) there is some kind of reasonable response to them, whether given in a sentence or in several paragraphs. An objection answered in advance is weakened should your opponent bring it up, while an objection ignored, if brought up, may show you to be either ignorant or dishonest. Indeed, it might be better to admit an objection you cannot answer than to suppress it and put yourself on the side of darkness and sophistry:
* Those favoring the other edition argue that the same words in this text cost more money. This I admit, and it does seem unfortunate to pay twice the price for essentially the same thing. Nevertheless, this text has larger type, is made better, and above all has more informative notes, so I think it is worth the difference.
Finally, note that procatalepsis can be combined with hypophora, so that the objection is presented in the form of a question:
* I now come to the precepts of Longinus, and pretend to show from them that the greatest sublimity is to be derived from religious ideas. But why then, says the reader, has not Longinus plainly told us so? He was not ignorant that he ought to make his subject as plain as he could. For he has told us. . . . --John Dennis
* But you might object that, if what I say is actually true, why would people buy products advertised illogically? The answer to that lies in human psychology . . . .
18. Metabasis consists of a brief statement of what has been said and what will follow. It might be called a linking, running, or transitional summary, whose function is to keep the discussion ordered and clear in its progress:
* Such, then, would be my diagnosis of the present condition of art. I must now, by special request, say what I think will happen to art in the future. --Kenneth Clark
* We have to this point been examining the proposal advanced by Smervits only in regard to its legal practicability; but next we need to consider the effect it would have in retarding research and development work in private laboratories.
* I have hitherto made mention of his noble enterprises in France, and now I will rehearse his worthy acts done near to Rome. --Peacham
The brief little summary of what has been said helps the reader immensely to understand, organize, and remember that portion of your essay.
Metabasis serves well as a transitional device, refocusing the discussion on a new but clearly derivative area:
* Now that I have made this catalogue of swindles and perversions, let me give another example of the kind of writing that they lead to. --George Orwell
It can also be used to clarify the movement of a discussion by quickly summing up large sections of preceding material:
* By the foregoing quotation I have shown that the language of prose may yet be well adapted to poetry; and I have previously asserted that a large portion of the language of every good poem can in no respect differ from that of good prose. I will go further. I do not doubt that it may be safely affirmed, that there neither is, nor can be, any essential difference between the language of prose and metrical composition. --William Wordsworth
* Having thus explained a few of the reasons why I have written in verse, and why I have chosen subjects from common life, and endeavored to bring my language near to the real language of men, . . . I request the reader's permission to add a few words with reference solely to these particular poems and to some defects which will probably be found in them. --Ibid.
* Now that we have discussed the different kinds of cactus plants available to the landscape architect, their physical requirements for sun, soil, irrigation, and drainage, and the typical design groupings selected for residential areas, we ought to examine the architectural contexts which can best use-enhance and be enhanced by--cactus planters and gardens.
* Thus we have surveyed the state of authors as they are influenced from without, either by the frowns or favor of the great, or by the applause or censure of the critics. It remains only to consider how the people, or world in general, stand affected towards our modern penmen, and what occasion these adventurers may have of complaint or boast from their encounter with the public. --Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury
One caution should be mentioned. Metabasis is very difficult to use effectively in short papers: since it is a summarizing device, it must have some discussion to sum up. In practice, this means something on the order of five pages or more. Thus, metabasis could be very handy in the middle of a ten or twenty page paper; in a three page paper, though, both its necessity and its utility would be questionable. But use your own judgment.
Words used to signal further discussion after the summary include these: now, next, additionally, further, besides, equally important, also interesting, also important, also necessary to mention, it remains. You can also use words of comparison and contrast, such as these: similarly, on the other hand, by contrast.
19. Distinctio is an explicit reference to a particular meaning or to the various meanings of a word, in order to remove or prevent ambiguity.
* To make methanol for twenty-five cents a gallon is impossible; by "impossible" I mean currently beyond our technological capabilities.
* The precipitate should be moved from the filter paper to the crucible quickly--that is, within three minutes.
* Mr. Haskins describes the process as a simple one. If by simple he means easy to explain on paper, he is correct. But if he means there are no complexities involved in getting it to work, he is quite mistaken.
* The modern automobile (and here I refer to the post-1975, desmogged American car) is more a product of bolt-on solutions than of revolutionary engineering.
Many of our words, like those of evaluation (better, failure high quality, efficient, unacceptable) and those referring to abstract concepts which are often debated (democracy, justice, equality, oppression) have different meanings to different people, and sometimes to the same person at different times. For example, the governments of both Communist China and the United States are described as "democracies," while it could be argued rather convincingly that neither really is, depending on the definition of democracy used. Semanticist S. I. Hayakawa even goes so far as to claim that "no word ever has exactly the same meaning twice," and while that for practical purposes seems to be a substantial exaggeration, we should keep in mind the great flexibility of meaning in a lot of our words. Whenever there might be some doubt about your meaning, it would be wise to clarify your statement or terms. And distinctio is one good way to do that.
Some helpful phrases for distinctio include these: blank here must be taken to mean, in this context [or case] blank means, by blank I mean, that is, which is to say. You can sometimes use a parenthetical explanation or a colon, too: Is this dangerous (will I be physically harmed by it)?
20. Amplification involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over. In other words, amplification allows you to call attention to, emphasize, and expand a word or idea to make sure the reader realizes its importance or centrality in the discussion.
* In my hunger after ten days of rigorous dieting I saw visions of ice cream--mountains of creamy, luscious ice cream, dripping with gooey syrup and calories.
* This orchard, this lovely, shady orchard, is the main reason I bought this property.
* . . . Even in Leonardo's time, there were certain obscure needs and patterns of the spirit, which could discover themselves only through less precise analogies--the analogies provided by stains on walls or the embers of a fire. --Kenneth Clark
* Pride--boundless pride--is the bane of civilization.
* He showed a rather simple taste, a taste for good art, good food, and good friends.
But amplification can overlap with or include a repetitive device like anaphora when the repeated word gains further definition or detail:
* The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,/ A refuge in times of trouble. --Psalm 9:9 (KJV)
Notice the much greater effectiveness this repetition-plus detail form can have over a "straight" syntax. Compare each of these pairs:
* The utmost that we can threaten to one another is death, a death which, indeed, we may precipitate, but cannot retard, and from which, therefore, it cannot become a wise man to buy a reprieve at the expense of virtue, since he knows not how small a portion of time he can purchase, but knows that, whether short or long, it will be made less valuable by the remembrance of the price at which it has been obtained. --adapted from S. Johnson
* The utmost that we can threaten to one another is that death which, indeed, we may precipitate . . . .
* In everything remember the passing of time, a time which cannot be called again.
* In everything remember the passing of a time which cannot be called again.
21. Scesis Onomaton emphasizes an idea by expressing it in a string of generally synonymous phrases or statements. While it should be used carefully, this deliberate and obvious restatement can be quite effective:
* We succeeded, we were victorious, we accomplished the feat!
* Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that deal corruptly. --Isaiah 1:4
* But there is one thing these glassy-eyed idealists forget: such a scheme would be extremely costly, horrendously expensive, and require a ton of money.
* Wendy lay there, motionless in a peaceful slumber, very still in the arms of sleep.
* May God arise, may his enemies be scattered, may his foes flee before him. --Psalm 68:1 (NIV)
Scesis onomaton does have a tendency to call attention to itself and to be repetitive, so it is not used in formal writing as frequently as some other devices. But if well done, it is both beautiful and emphatic.
22. Apophasis (also called praeteritio or occupatio) asserts or emphasizes something by pointedly seeming to pass over, ignore, or deny it. This device has both legitimate and illegitimate uses. Legitimately, a writer uses it to call attention to sensitive or inflammatory facts or statements while he remains apparently detached from them:
* We will not bring up the matter of the budget deficit here, or how programs like the one under consideration have nearly pushed us into bankruptcy, because other reasons clearly enough show . . . .
* Therefore, let no man talk to me of other expedients: of taxing our absentees . . . of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming of learning to love our country . . . .--Jonathan Swift
* If you were not my father, I would say you were perverse. --Antigone
* I will not even mention Houdini's many writings, both on magic and other subjects, nor the tricks he invented, nor his numerous impressive escapes, since I want to concentrate on . . . .
* She's bright, well-read, and personable--to say nothing of her modesty and generosity.
Does the first example above make you feel a little uneasy? That can be a clue to the legitimacy (or lack of it) of usage. If apophasis is employed to bring in irrelevant statements while it supplies a screen to hide behind, then it is not being used rightly:
* I pass over the fact that Jenkins beats his wife, is an alcoholic, and sells dope to kids, because we will not allow personal matters to enter into our political discussion.
* I do not mean to suggest that Mr. Gates is mainly responsible for the inefficiency and work blockage in this office, just because the paperwork goes through him. . . .
The "I do not mean to suggest [or imply]" construction has special problems of its own, because many writers use it quite straightforwardly to maintain clarity and to preclude jumping to conclusions by the reader. Others, however, "do not mean to imply" things that the reader would himself never dream are being implied. The suggestion is given, though, and takes hold in the brain--so that the implication is there, while being safely denied by the writer.
Apophasis is handy for reminding people of something in a polite way:
* Of course, I do not need to mention that you should bring a No. 2 pencil to the exam.
* Nothing need be said here about the non-energy uses of coal, such as the manufacture of plastics, drugs, and industrial chemicals . . . .
Some useful phrases for apophasis: nothing need be said about, I pass over, it need not be said (or mentioned), I will not mention (or dwell on or bring up), we will overlook ' I do not mean to suggest (or imply), you need not be reminded, it is unnecessary to bring up, we can forget about, no one would suggest.
23. Metanoia (correctio) qualifies a statement by recalling it (or part of it) and expressing it in a better, milder, or stronger way. A negative is often used to do the recalling:
* Fido was the friendliest of all St. Bernards, nay of all dogs.
* The chief thing to look for in impact sockets is hardness; no, not so much hardness as resistance to shock and shattering.
* And if I am still far from the goal, the fault is my own for not paying heed to the reminders--nay, the virtual directions--which I have had from above. --Marcus Aurelius
* Even a blind man can see, as the saying is, that poetic language gives a certain grandeur to prose, except that some writers imitate the poets quite openly, or rather they do not so much imitate them as transpose their words into their own work, as Herodotus does. --Demetrius
Metanoia can be used to coax the reader into expanding his belief or comprehension by moving from modest to bold:
* These new textbooks will genuinely improve the lives of our children, or rather the children of the whole district.
Or it can be used to tone down and qualify an excessive outburst (while, of course, retaining the outburst for good effect):
* While the crack widens and the cliff every minute comes closer to crashing down around our ears, the bureaucrats are just standing by twiddling their thumbs--or at least they have been singularly unresponsive to our appeals for action.
The most common word in the past for invoking metanoia was "nay," but this word is quickly falling out of the language and even now would probably sound a bit strange if you used it. So you should probably substitute "no" for it. Other words and phrases useful for this device include these: rather, at least, let us say, I should say, I mean, to be more exact, or better, or rather, or maybe. When you use one of the "or" phrases (or rather, or to be more exact), a comma is fine preceding the device; when you use just "no," I think a dash is most effective.
24.Aporia expresses doubt about an idea or conclusion. Among its several uses are the suggesting of alternatives without making a commitment to either or any:
* I am not sure whether to side with those who say that higher taxes reduce inflation or with those who say that higher taxes increase inflation.
* I have never been able to decide whether I really approve of dress codes, because extremism seems to reign both with them and without them.
Such a statement of uncertainty can tie off a piece of discussion you do not have time to pursue, or it could begin an examination of the issue, and lead you into a conclusion resolving your doubt.
Aporia can also dismiss assertions irrelevant to your discussion without either conceding or denying them:
* I do not know whether this legislation will work all the miracles promised by its backers, but it does seem clear that . . . .
* I am not sure about the other reasons offered in favor of the new freeway, but I do believe . . . .
* Yes, I know the assay report shows twenty pounds of gold per ton of ore, and I do not know what to say about that. What I do know is that the richest South African mines yield only about three ounces of gold per ton.
You can use aporia to cast doubt in a modest way, as a kind of understatement:
* I am not so sure I can accept Tom's reasons for wanting another new jet.
* I have not yet been fully convinced that dorm living surpasses living at home. For one thing, there is no refrigerator nearby . . . .
Ironic doubt--doubt about which of several closely judgable things exceeds the others, for example--can be another possibility:
* . . . Whether he took them from his fellows more impudently, gave them to a harlot more lasciviously, removed them from the Roman people more wickedly, or altered them more presumptuously, I cannot well declare. --Cicero
* And who was genuinely most content--whether old Mr. Jennings dozing in the sun, or Bill and Molly holding hands and toying under the palm tree, or old Mrs. Jennings watching them agape through the binoculars-I cannot really say.
And you can display ignorance about something while still showing your attitude toward it or toward something else:
* It is hard to know which ice cream is better, banana or coffee.
* I have often wondered whether they realize that those same clothes are available for half the price under a different label.
25. Simile is a comparison between two different things that resemble each other in at least one way. In formal prose the simile is a device both of art and explanation, comparing an unfamiliar thing to some familiar thing (an object, event, process, etc.) known to the reader.
When you compare a noun to a noun, the simile is usually introduced by like:
* I see men, but they look like trees, walking. --Mark 8:24
* After such long exposure to the direct sun, the leaves of the houseplant looked like pieces of overcooked bacon.
* The soul in the body is like a bird in a cage.
When a verb or phrase is compared to a verb or phrase, as is used:
* They remained constantly attentive to their goal, as a sunflower always turns and stays focused on the sun.
* Here is your pencil and paper. I want you to compete as the greatest hero would in the race of his life.
Often the simile--the object or circumstances of imaginative identity (called the vehicle, since it carries or conveys a meaning about the word or thing which is likened to it)-precedes the thing likened to it (the tenor). In such cases, so usually shows the comparison:
* The grass bends with every wind; so does Harvey.
* The seas are quiet when the winds give o're; / So calm are we when passions are no more. --Edmund Waller
But sometimes the so is understood rather than expressed:
* As wax melts before the fire,/ may the wicked perish before God. --Psalm 68:2b
Whenever it is not immediately clear to the reader, the point of similarity between the unlike objects must be specified to avoid confusion and vagueness. Rather than say, then, that "Money is like muck," and "Fortune is like glass," a writer will show clearly how these very different things are like each other:
* And money is like muck, not good except it be spread. --Francis Bacon
* Fortune is like glass--the brighter the glitter, the more easily broken. --Publilius Syrus
* Like a skunk, he suffered from bad publicity for one noticeable flaw, but bore no one any ill will.
* James now felt like an old adding machine: he had been punched and poked so much that he had finally worn out.
* This paper is just like an accountant's report: precise and accurate but absolutely useless.
Many times the point of similarity can be expressed in just a word or two:
* Yes, he is a cute puppy, but when he grows up he will be as big as a house.
* The pitching mound is humped too much like a camel's back.
And occasionally, the simile word can be used as an adjective:
* The argument of this book utilizes pretzel-like logic.
* This gear has a flower-like symmetry to it.
Similes can be negative, too, asserting that two things are unlike in one or more respects:
* My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun. . . . --Shakespeare
* John certainly does not attack the way a Sherman tank does; but if you encourage him, he is bold enough.
Other ways to create similes include the use of comparison:
* Norman was more anxious to leave the area than Herman Milquetoast after seeing ten abominable snowmen charging his way with hunger in their eyes.
* But this truth is more obvious than the sun--here it is; look at it; its brightness blinds you.
Or the use of another comparative word is possible:
* Microcomputer EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) resembles a chalk board in that it is used for consultation instead of figuring, and shows at each glance the same information unless erased and rewritten.
* His temper reminds me of a volcano; his heart, of a rock; his personality, of sandpaper.
* His speech was smoother than butter. . . .--Psalm 55:21
So a variety of ways exists for invoking the simile. Here are a few of the possibilities:
x is like y x is not like y x is the same as y
x is more than y x is less than y x does y; so does z
x is similar to y x resembles y x is as y as z
x is y like z x is more y than z x is less y than z
But a simile can sometimes be implied, or as it is often called, submerged. In such cases no comparative word is needed:
* The author of this poem is almost in the position of a man with boxes and boxes of tree ornaments, but with no tree to decorate. The poet has enough imagery handy to decorate anything he can think of, if only he can fix upon a "trim invention." The "sense" he does locate is obscured; the ivy hides the building completely.
* When I think of the English final exam, I think of dungeons and chains and racks and primal screams.
* Leslie has silky hair and the skin of an angel.
26. Analogy compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. While simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more extended.
* You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables. --Samuel Johnson
* He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks. --Samuel Johnson
* . . . For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it. --Aristotle
Notice in these examples that the analogy is used to establish the pattern of reasoning by using a familiar or less abstract argument which the reader can understand easily and probably agree with.
Some analogies simply offer an explanation for clarification rather than a substitute argument:
* Knowledge always desires increase: it is like fire, which must first be kindled by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself. --Samuel Johnson
* The beginning of all evil temptations is inconstancy of mind, and too little trust in God. For as a ship without a guide is driven hither and thither with every storm, so an unstable man, that anon leaveth his good purpose in God, is diversely tempted. The fire proveth gold, and temptation proveth the righteous man. --Thomas a Kempis
When the matter is complex and the analogy particularly useful for explaining it, the analogy can be extended into a rather long, multiple-point comparison:
* The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (And so forth, to the end of the chapter.] --l Cor. 12:12 (NIV)
The importance of simile and analogy for teaching and writing cannot be overemphasized. To impress this upon you better, I would like to step aside a moment and offer two persuasive quotations:
* The country parson is full of all knowledge. They say, it is an ill mason that refuseth any stone: and there is no knowledge, but, in a skilful hand, serves either positively as it is, or else to illustrate some other knowledge. He condescends even to the knowledge of tillage, and pastorage, and makes great use of them in teaching, because people by what they understand are best led to what they understand not. --George Herbert
* To illustrate one thing by its resemblance to another has been always the most popular and efficacious art of instruction. There is indeed no other method of teaching that of which anyone is ignorant but by means of something already known; and a mind so enlarged by contemplation and enquiry that it has always many objects within its view will seldom be long without some near and familiar image through which an easy transition may be made to truths more distant and obscure. --Samuel Johnson
27. Metaphor compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other. Unlike a simile or analogy, metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another. Very frequently a metaphor is invoked by the to be verb:
Affliction then is ours; / We are the trees whom shaking fastens more. --George Herbert
* Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life." --John 6:35 [And compare the use of metaphor in 6:32-63]
* Thus a mind that is free from passion is a very citadel; man has no stronger fortress in which to seek shelter and defy every assault. Failure to perceive this is ignorance; but to perceive it, and still not to seek its refuge, is misfortune indeed. --Marcus Aurelius
* The mind is but a barren soil; a soil which is soon exhausted and will produce no crop, or only one, unless it be continually fertilized and enriched with foreign matter. --Joshua Reynolds
Just as frequently, though, the comparison is clear enough that the a-is-b form is not necessary:
* The fountain of knowledge will dry up unless it is continuously replenished by streams of new learning.
* This first beam of hope that had ever darted into his mind rekindled youth in his cheeks and doubled the lustre of his eyes. --Samuel Johnson
* I wonder when motor mouth is going to run out of gas.
* When it comes to midterms, it's kill or be killed. Let's go in and slay this test.
* What sort of a monster then is man? What a novelty, what a portent, what a chaos, what a mass of contradictions, what a prodigy! Judge of all things, a ridiculous earthworm who is the repository of truth, a sink of uncertainty and error; the glory and the scum of the world. --Blaise Pascal
* The most learned philosopher knew little more. He had partially unveiled the face of Nature, but her immortal lineaments were still a wonder and a mystery. . . . I had gazed upon the fortifications and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repined. --Mary Shelley
* The furnace of affliction had softened his heart and purified his soul.
Compare the different degrees of direct identification between tenor and vehicle. There is fully expressed:
* Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. --Luke 11:34 (RSV)
Here, the comparison, "the eye is a lamp," is declared directly, and the point of similarity is spelled out.
There is semi-implied:
* And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course."' --Luke 13:32 (RSV)
Here, the comparison, "Herod is a fox," is not directly stated, but is understood as if it had been.
There is implied:
* . . . For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow of thy wings I sing for joy. --Psalm 63:7 (RSV)
Here, the comparison, "God is a bird [or hen]" is only implied. Stating the metaphorical equation directly would have been rhetorically ineffective or worse because of the awkward thought it creates. The classical rhetorician Demetrius tells us that when there is a great difference between the subject and the comparison, the subject should always be compared to something greater than itself, or diminishment and rhetorical failure result. You might write, "The candle was a little sun in the dark room," but you wouldn't write, "The sun was a big candle that day in the desert." In Psalm 63, however, there is nothing greater than God to compare him to, and the psalmist wants to create a sense of tenderness and protection, drawing upon a familiar image. So, the comparison is saved by using an implied metaphor.
And there is very implied:
* For if men do these things when the tree is green what will happen when it is dry? --Luke 23:31 (NIV)
Here the comparison is something like "a prosperous time [or freedom from persecution] is a green [flourishing, healthy] tree." And the other half of the metaphor is that "a time of persecution or lack of prosperity is a dry [unhealthy, dead(?)] tree." So the rhetorical question is, "If men do these [bad] things during times of prosperity, what will they do when persecution or their own suffering arrives?"
Like simile and analogy, metaphor is a profoundly important and useful device. Aristotle says in his Rhetoric, "It is metaphor above all else that gives clearness, charm, and distinction to the style." And Joseph Addison says of it:
* By these allusions a truth in the understanding is as it were reflected by the imagination; we are able to see something like color and shape in a notion, and to discover a scheme of thoughts traced out upon matter. And here the mind receives a great deal of satisfaction, and has two of its faculties gratified at the same time, while the fancy is busy in copying after the understanding, and transcribing ideas out of the intellectual world into the material.
So a metaphor not only explains by making the abstract or unknown concrete and familiar, but it also enlivens by touching the reader's imagination. Further, it affirms one more interconnection in the unity of all things by showing a relationship between things seemingly alien to each other.
And the fact that two very unlike things can be equated or referred to in terms of one another comments upon them both. No metaphor is "just a metaphor." All have significant implications, and they must be chosen carefully, especially in regard to the connotations the vehicle (image) will transfer to the tenor. Consider, for example, the differences in meaning conveyed by these statements:
* That club is spreading like wildfire.
* That club is spreading like cancer.
* That club is really blossoming now.
* That club, in its amoebic motions, is engulfing the campus.
And do you see any reason that one of these metaphors was chosen over the others?
* The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. --Luke 10:2
* The pile of dirt is high, but we do not have many shovels.
* The diamonds cover the ground, but we need more people to pick them up.
So bold and striking is metaphor that it is sometimes taken literally rather than as a comparison. (Jesus' disciples sometimes failed here--see John 4:32ff and John 6:46-60; a few religious groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses interpret such passages as Psalm 75:8 and 118:15 literally and thus see God as anthropomorphic; and even today a lot of controversy surrounds the interpretation of Matthew 26:26.) Always be careful in your own writing, therefore, to avoid possible confusion between metaphor and reality. In practice this is usually not very difficult.
28. Catachresis is an extravagant, implied metaphor using words in an alien or unusual way. While difficult to invent, it can be wonderfully effective:
* I will speak daggers to her. --Hamlet [In a more futuristic metaphor, we might say, "I will laser-tongue her." Or as a more romantic student suggested, "I will speak flowers to her."]
One way to write catachresis is to substitute an associated idea for the intended one (as Hamlet did, using "daggers" instead of "angry words"):
* "It's a dentured lake," he said, pointing at the dam. "Break a tooth out of that grin and she will spit all the way to Duganville."
Sometimes you can substitute a noun for a verb or a verb for a noun, a noun for an adjective, and so on. The key is to be effective rather than abysmal. I am not sure which classification these examples fit into:
* The little old lady turtled along at ten miles per hour.
* She typed the paper machine-gunnedly, without pausing at all.
* They had expected that this news would paint an original grief, but the only result was silk-screamed platitudes.
* Give him a quart or two of self esteem and he will stop knocking himself. [This was intended to suggest motor oil; if it makes you think of cheap gin, the metaphor did not work.]
29. Synecdoche is a type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for the species, the species for the genus, the material for the thing made, or in short, any portion, section, or main quality for the whole or the thing itself (or vice versa).
* Farmer Jones has two hundred head of cattle and three hired hands.
Here we recognize that Jones also owns the bodies of the cattle, and that the hired hands have bodies attached. This is a simple part-for-whole synecdoche. Here are a few more:
* If I had some wheels, I'd put on my best threads and ask for Jane's hand in marriage.
* The army included two hundred horse and three hundred foot.
* It is sure hard to earn a dollar these days.
* Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. --Genesis 2:7
And notice the other kinds of substitutions that can be made:
* Get in here this instant or I'll spank your body. [Whole for part--i.e. "body" for "rear end"]
* Put Beethoven on the turntable and turn up the volume. [Composer substituted for record]
* A few hundred pounds of twenty dollar bills ought to solve that problem nicely. [Weight for amount]
* He drew his steel from his scabbard and welcomed all comers. [Material for thing made]
* Patty's hobby is exposing film; Harold's is burning up gasoline in his dune buggy. [Part for whole]
* Okay team. Get those blades back on the ice. [Part for whole]
Take care to make your synecdoche clear by choosing an important and obvious part to represent the whole. Compare:
* His pet purr was home alone and asleep.
* His pet paws [whiskers?] was home alone and asleep.
One of the easiest kinds of synecdoche to write is the substitution of genus for species. Here you choose the class to which the idea or thing to be expressed belongs, and use that rather than the idea or thing itself:
* There sits my animal [instead of "dog"] guarding the door to the henhouse.
* He hurled the barbed weapon [instead of "harpoon"] at the whale.
A possible problem can arise with the genus-for-species substitution because the movement is from more specific to more general; this can result in vagueness and loss of information. Note that in the example above some additional contextual information will be needed to clarify that "weapon" means "harpoon" in this case, rather than, say, "dagger" or something else. The same is true for the animal-for-dog substitution.
Perhaps a better substitution is the species for the genus--a single, specific, representative item symbolic of the whole. This form of synecdoche will usually be clearer and more effective than the other:
* A major lesson Americans need to learn is that life consists of more than cars and television sets. [Two specific items substituted for the concept of material wealth]
* Give us this day our daily bread. --Matt. 6:11
* If you still do not feel well, you'd better call up a sawbones and have him examine you.
* This program is for the little old lady in Cleveland who cannot afford to pay her heating bill.
30. Metonymy is another form of metaphor, very similar to synecdoche (and, in fact, some rhetoricians do not distinguish between the two), in which the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely associated with (but not an actual part of) the subject with which it is to be compared.
* The orders came directly from the White House.
In this example we know that the writer means the President issued the orders, because "White House" is quite closely associated with "President," even though it is not physically a part of him. Consider these substitutions, and notice that some are more obvious than others, but that in context all are clear:
* You can't fight city hall.
* This land belongs to the crown.
* In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread . . . . --Genesis 3:19
* Boy, I'm dying from the heat. Just look how the mercury is rising.
* His blood be on us and on our children. --Matt. 27:25
* The checkered flag waved and victory crossed the finish line.
* Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. --Psalm 100:1-2 (KJV)
The use of a particular metonymy makes a comment about the idea for which it has been substituted, and thereby helps to define that idea. Note how much more vivid "in the sweat of thy face" is in the third example above than "by labor" would have been. And in the fourth example, "mercury rising" has a more graphic, physical, and pictorial effect than would "temperature increasing." Attune yourself to such subtleties of language, and study the effects of connotation, suggestion, substitution, and metaphor.
31. Personification metaphorically represents an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes--attributes of form, character, feelings, behavior, and so on. Ideas and abstractions can also be personified.
* The ship began to creak and protest as it struggled against the rising sea.
* We bought this house instead of the one on Maple because this one is more friendly.
* This coffee is strong enough to get up and walk away.
* I can't get the fuel pump back on because this bolt is being uncooperative.
* Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. --Genesis 4:10b (NIV)
* That ignorance and perverseness should always obtain what they like was never considered as the end of government; of which it is the great and standing benefit that the wise see for the simple, and the regular act for the capricious. --Samuel Johnson
* Wisdom cries aloud in the streets; in the markets she raises her voice . . . .--Psalm 1:20 (RSV; and cf. 1:21-33)
While personification functions primarily as a device of art, it can often serve to make an abstraction clearer and more real to the reader by defining or explaining the concept in terms of everyday human action (as for example man's rejection of readily available wisdom is presented as a woman crying out to be heard but being ignored). Ideas can be brought to life through personification and objects can be given greater interest. But try always to be fresh: "winking stars" is worn out; "winking dewdrops" may be all right.
Personification of just the natural world has its own name, fictio. And when this natural-world personification is limited to emotion, John Ruskin called it the pathetic fallacy. Ruskin considered this latter to be a vice because it was so often overdone (and let this be a caution to you). We do not receive much pleasure from an overwrought vision like this:
* The angry clouds in the hateful sky cruelly spat down on the poor man who had forgotten his umbrella.
Nevertheless, humanizing a cold abstraction or even some natural phenomenon gives us a way to understand it, one more way to arrange the world in our own terms, so that we can further comprehend it. And even the so-called pathetic fallacy can sometimes be turned to advantage, when the writer sees his own feelings in the inanimate world around him:
* After two hours of political platitudes, everyone grew bored. The delegates were bored; the guests were bored; the speaker himself was bored. Even the chairs were bored.
32. Hyperbole, the counterpart of understatement, deliberately exaggerates conditions for emphasis or effect. In formal writing the hyperbole must be clearly intended as an exaggeration, and should be carefully restricted. That is, do not exaggerate everything, but treat hyperbole like an exclamation point, to be used only once a year. Then it will be quite effective as a table-thumping attention getter, introductory to your essay or some section thereof:
* There are a thousand reasons why more research is needed on solar energy.
Or it can make a single point very enthusiastically:
* I said "rare," not "raw." I've seen cows hurt worse than this get up and get well.
Or you can exaggerate one thing to show how really different it is from something supposedly similar to which it is being compared:
* This stuff is used motor oil compared to the coffee you make, my love.
* If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. --Luke 14:26 (NASB)
Hyperbole is the most overused and overdone rhetorical figure in the whole world (and that is no hyperbole); we are a society of excess and exaggeration. Nevertheless, hyperbole still has a rightful and useful place in art and letters; just handle it like dynamite, and do not blow up everything you can find.
33. Allusion is a short, informal reference to a famous person or event:
* You must borrow me Gargantua's mouth first. 'Tis a word too great for any mouth of this age's size. --Shakespeare
* If you take his parking place, you can expect World War II all over again.
* Plan ahead: it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. --Richard Cushing
* Our examination of the relation of the historian to the facts of history finds us, therefore, in an apparently precarious situation, navigating delicately between the Scylla of an untenable theory of history as an objective compilation of facts . . . and the Charybdis of an equally untenable theory of history as the subjective product of the mind of the historian . . . . --Edward Hallett Carr
Notice in these examples that the allusions are to very well known characters or events, not to obscure ones. (The best sources for allusions are literature, history, Greek myth, and the Bible.) Note also that the reference serves to explain or clarify or enhance whatever subject is under discussion, without sidetracking the reader.
Allusion can be wonderfully attractive in your writing because it can introduce variety and energy into an otherwise limited discussion (an exciting historical adventure rises suddenly in the middle of a discussion of chemicals or some abstract argument), and it can please the reader by reminding him of a pertinent story or figure with which he is familiar, thus helping (like analogy) to explain something difficult. The instantaneous pause and reflection on the analogy refreshes and strengthens the reader's mind.
34. Eponym substitutes for a particular attribute the name of a famous person recognized for that attribute. By their nature eponyms often border on the cliche, but many times they can be useful without seeming too obviously trite. Finding new or infrequently used ones is best, though hard, because the name-and-attribute relationship needs to be well established. Consider the effectiveness of these:
* Is he smart? Why, the man is an Einstein. Has he suffered? This poor Job can tell you himself.
* That little Caesar is fooling nobody. He knows he is no Patrick Henry.
* When it comes to watching girls, Fred is a regular Argus.
* You think your boyfriend is tight. I had a date with Scrooge himself last night.
* We all must realize that Uncle Sam is not supposed to be Santa Claus.
* An earthworm is the Hercules of the soil.
Some people or characters are famous for more than one attribute, so that when using them, you must somehow specify the meaning you intend:
* With a bow and arrow, Kathy is a real Diana. [Diana was goddess of the moon, of the hunt, and of chastity.]
* Those of us who cannot become a Ulysses and see the world must trust our knowledge to picture books and descriptions. [Ulysses was a hero in the Trojan War as well as a wanderer afterwards.]
In cases where the eponym might be less than clear or famous, you should add the quality to it:
* The wisdom of a Solomon was needed to figure out the actions of the appliance marketplace this quarter.
Eponym is one of those once-in-awhile devices which can give a nice touch in the right place.
35. Oxymoron is a paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun ("eloquent silence") or adverb-adjective ("inertly strong") relationship, and is used for effect, complexity, emphasis, or wit:
* I do here make humbly bold to present them with a short account of themselves and their art.....--Jonathan Swift
* The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, / With loads of learned lumber in his head . . . .--Alexander Pope
* He was now sufficiently composed to order a funeral of modest magnificence, suitable at once to the rank of a Nouradin's profession, and the reputation of his wealth. --Samuel Johnson
Oxymoron can be useful when things have gone contrary to expectation, belief, desire, or assertion, or when your position is opposite to another's which you are discussing. The figure then produces an ironic contrast which shows, in your view, how something has been misunderstood or mislabeled:
* Senator Rosebud calls this a useless plan; if so, it is the most helpful useless plan we have ever enacted.
* The cost-saving program became an expensive economy.
Other oxymorons, as more or less true paradoxes, show the complexity of a situation where two apparently opposite things are true simultaneously, either literally ("desirable calamity") or imaginatively ("love precipitates delay"). Some examples other writers have used are these: scandalously nice, sublimely bad, darkness visible, cheerful pessimist, sad joy, wise fool, tender cruelty, despairing hope, freezing fire. An oxymoron should preferably be yours uniquely; do not use another's, unless it is a relatively obvious formulation (like "expensive economy") which anyone might think of. Also, the device is most effective when the terms are not common opposites. So, instead of "a low high point," you might try "depressed apex" or something.
36. Epithet is an adjective or adjective phrase appropriately qualifying a subject (noun) by naming a key or important characteristic of the subject, as in "laughing happiness," "sneering contempt," "untroubled sleep," "peaceful dawn," and "lifegiving water." Sometimes a metaphorical epithet will be good to use, as in "lazy road," "tired landscape," "smirking billboards," "anxious apple." Aptness and brilliant effectiveness are the key considerations in choosing epithets. Be fresh, seek striking images, pay attention to connotative value.
A transferred epithet is an adjective modifying a noun which it does not normally modify, but which makes figurative sense:
* At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth of thieves and murderers . . . . --George Herbert
* Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold / A sheep hook . . . . --John Milton
* In an age of pressurized happiness, we sometimes grow insensitive to subtle joys.
The striking and unusual quality of the transferred epithet calls attention to it, and it can therefore be used to introduce emphatically an idea you plan to develop. The phrase will stay with the reader, so there is no need to repeat it, for that would make it too obviously rhetorical and even a little annoying. Thus, if you introduce the phrase, "diluted electricity," your subsequent development ought to return to more mundane synonyms, such as "low voltage," "brownouts," and so forth. It may be best to save your transferred epithet for a space near the conclusion of the discussion where it will be not only clearer (as a synonym for previously stated and clearly understandable terms) but more effective, as a kind of final, quintessential, and yet novel conceptualization of the issue. The reader will love it.
37. Hyperbaton includes several rhetorical devices involving departure from normal word order. One device, a form of inversion, might be called delayed epithet, since the adjective follows the noun. If you want to amplify the adjective, the inversion is very useful:
* From his seat on the bench he saw the girl content-content with the promise that she could ride on the train again next week.
But the delayed epithet can also be used by itself, though in only a relatively few cases:
* She had a personality indescribable.
* His was a countenance sad.
Some rhetoricians condemn delayed epithet altogether in formal writing because of its potential for abuse. Each case must be tested carefully, to make sure it does not sound too poetic:
* His was a countenance friendly.
* These are rumors strange.
And especially make sure the phrase is not affected, offensive, or even disgusting:
* Welcome to our home comfortable.
* That is a story amazing.
I cannot give you a rule (why does "countenance sad" seem okay when "countenance friendly" does not?) other than to consult your own taste or sense of what sounds all right and what does not.
A similar form of inversion we might call divided epithets. Here two adjectives are separated by the noun they modify, as in Milton's "with wandering steps and slow." Once again, be careful, but go ahead and try it. Some examples:
* It was a long operation but successful.
* Let's go on a cooler day and less busy.
* So many pages will require a longer staple, heavy-duty style.
Another form of hyperbaton involves the separation of words normally belonging together, done for effect or convenience:
* In this room there sit twenty (though I will not name them) distinguished people.
You can emphasize a verb by putting it at the end of the sentence:
* We will not, from this house, under any circumstances, be evicted.
* Sandy, after a long struggle, all the way across the lake, finally swam to shore.
You might want to have a friend check your excursions into hyperbatonic syntax, and if he looks at you askance and says, "My, talk funny you do," you might want to do a little rewriting. But, again, do not mark this off your list just because you might not be always successful at it.
38. Parenthesis, a final form of hyperbaton, consists of a word, phrase, or whole sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another sentence:
* But the new calculations--and here we see the value of relying upon up-to-date information--showed that man-powered flight was possible with this design.
* Every time I try to think of a good rhetorical example, I rack my brains but--you guessed--nothing happens.
* As the earthy portion has its origin from earth, the watery from a different element, my breath from one source and my hot and fiery parts from another of their own elsewhere (for nothing comes from nothing, or can return to nothing), so too there must be an origin for the mind. --Marcus Aurelius
* But in whatever respect anyone else is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am just as bold myself. --2 Cor. 11:21b (NASB)
The violence involved in jumping into (or out of) the middle of your sentence to address the reader momentarily about something has a pronounced effect. Parenthesis can be circumscribed either by dashes--they are more dramatic and forceful--or by parentheses (to make your aside less stringent). This device creates the effect of extemporaneity and immediacy: you are relating some fact when suddenly something very important arises, or else you cannot resist an instant comment, so you just stop the sentence and the thought you are on right where they are and insert the fact or comment. The parenthetical form also serves to give some statements a context (stuffed right into the middle of another sentence at the most pertinent point) which they would not have if they had to be written as complete sentences following another sentence. Note that in the first example above the bit of moralizing placed into the sentence appears to be more natural and acceptable than if it were stated separately as a kind of moral conclusion, which was not the purpose or drift of the article.
39. Alliteration is the recurrence of initial consonant sounds. The repetition can be juxtaposed (and then it is usually limited to two words):
* Ah, what a delicious day!
* Yes, I have read that little bundle of pernicious prose, but I have no comment to make upon it.
* Done well, alliteration is a satisfying sensation.
This two-word alliteration calls attention to the phrase and fixes it in the reader's mind, and so is useful for emphasis as well as art. Often, though, several words not next to each other are alliterated in a sentence. Here the use is more artistic. And note in the second example how wonderfully alliteration combines with antithesis:
* I shall delight to hear the ocean roar, or see the stars twinkle, in the company of men to whom Nature does not spread her volumes or utter her voice in vain. --Samuel Johnson
* Do not let such evils overwhelm you as thousands have suffered, and thousands have surmounted; but turn your thoughts with vigor to some other plan of life, and keep always in your mind, that, with due submission to Providence, a man of genius has been seldom ruined but by himself. --Samuel Johnson
* I conceive therefore, as to the business of being profound, that it is with writers, as with wells; a person with good eyes may see to the bottom of the deepest, provided any water be there; and that often, when there is nothing in the world at the bottom, besides dryness and dirt, though it be but a yard and a half under ground, it shall pass, however, for wondrous deep, upon no wiser a reason than because it is wondrous dark. --Jonathan Swift
40. Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose pronunciation imitates the sound the word describes. "Buzz," for example, when spoken is intended to resemble the sound of a flying insect. Other examples include these: slam, pow, screech, whirr, crush, sizzle, crunch, wring, wrench, gouge, grind, mangle, bang, blam, pow, zap, fizz, urp, roar, growl, blip, click, whimper, and, of course, snap, crackle, and pop. Note that the connection between sound and pronunciation is sometimes rather a product of imagination ("slam" and "wring" are not very good imitations). And note also that written language retains an aural quality, so that even unspoken your writing has a sound to it. Compare these sentences, for instance:
* Someone yelled, "Look out!" and I heard the skidding of tires and the horrible noise of bending metal and breaking glass.
* Someone yelled "Look out!" and I heard a loud screech followed by a grinding, wrenching crash.
Onomatopoeia can produce a lively sentence, adding a kind of flavoring by its sound effects:
The flies buzzing and whizzing around their ears kept them from finishing the experiment at the swamp.
* No one talks in these factories. Everyone is too busy. The only sounds are the snip, snip of scissors and the hum of sewing machines.
* But I loved that old car. I never heard the incessant rattle on a rough road, or the squeakitysqueak whenever I hit a bump; and as for the squeal of the tires around every corner--well, that was macho.
* If you like the plop, plop, plop of a faucet at three in the morning, you will like this record.
41. Apostrophe interrupts the discussion or discourse and addresses directly a person or personified thing, either present or absent. Its most common purpose in prose is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back:
* O value of wisdom that fadeth not away with time, virtue ever flourishing, that cleanseth its possessor from all venom! O heavenly gift of the divine bounty, descending from the Father of lights, that thou mayest exalt the rational soul to the very heavens! Thou art the celestial nourishment of the intellect . . . . --Richard de Bury
* O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! -- Richard de Bury
* O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! --Luke 13:34 (NASB)
Apostrophe does not appear very often in argumentative writing because formal argument is by its nature fairly restrained and intellectual rather than emotional; but under the right circumstances an apostrophe could be useful:
* But all such reasons notwithstanding, dear reader, does not the cost in lives persuade you by itself that we must do something immediately about the situation?
42. Enthymeme is an informally-stated syllogism which omits either one of the premises or the conclusion. The omitted part must be clearly understood by the reader. The usual form of this logical shorthand omits the major premise:
* Since your application was submitted before April 10th, it will be considered. [Omitted premise: All applications submitted before April 10 will be considered.]
* He is an American citizen, so he is entitled to due process. [All American citizens are entitled to due process.]
An enthymeme can also be written by omitting the minor premise:
* Ed is allergic to foods containing monosodium glutamate, so he cannot eat Chinese food seasoned with it.
* A political system can be just only when those who make its laws keep well informed about the subject and effect of those laws. This is why our system is in danger of growing unjust.
It is also possible to omit the conclusion to form an enthymeme, when the two premises clearly point to it:
* If, as Anatole France said, "It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly," then I must propose that the Board of Supervisors in this case is demonstrating human nature perfectly well.
* The Fenton Lumber Company never undertakes a clearcut until at least eighty percent of the trees are mature, and the 4800-acre stand of pine above Mill Creek will not be that mature for another fifteen years.
Whenever a premise is omitted in an enthymeme (and understood by the reader), it is assumed to be either a truism or an acceptable and non-controversial generalization. But sometimes the omitted premise is one with which the reader would not agree, and the enthymeme then becomes a logical fallacy-an unacceptable enthymeme. What are the omitted premises here, and why are they unacceptable?
* You can tell this tape recorder is a bunch of junk: it's made in Japan.
* He says he believes that Jesus was a great moral teacher, so he must be a Christian.
* Those kids are from Southern California? Then they must be either crazy or perverted.
It goes without saying that you should be careful in your own writing not to use enthymemes dishonestly--that is, not to use clearly controversial assertions for the omitted premises.
Aside from its everyday use as a logical shorthand, enthymeme finds its greatest use in writing as an instrument for slightly understating yet clearly pointing out some assertion, often in the form of omitted conclusion. By making the reader work out the syllogism for himself, you impress the conclusion upon him, yet in a way gentler than if you spelled it out in so many words:
* It is essential to anchor the dam in genuine solid rock, rather than in sandstone, and the Trapper's Bluff area provides the only solid rock for seven miles on either side of the designated optimum site.
* Yes, it is a beautiful car, but it does not have an automatic hood-ornament washer, and I just will not have a car without one.
43. Climax (gradatio) consists of arranging words, clauses, or sentences in the order of increasing importance, weight, or emphasis. Parallelism usually forms a part of the arrangement, because it offers a sense of continuity, order, and movement-up the ladder of importance. But if you wish to vary the amount of discussion on each point, parallelism is not essential.
* The concerto was applauded at the house of Baron von Schnooty, it was praised highly at court, it was voted best concerto of the year by the Academy, it was considered by Mozart the highlight of his career, and it has become known today as the best concerto in the world.
* At 6:20 a.m. the ground began to heave. Windows rattled; then they broke. Objects started falling from shelves. Water heaters fell from their pedestals, tearing out plumbing. Outside, the road began to break up. Water mains and gas lines were wrenched apart, causing flooding and the danger of explosion. Office buildings began cracking; soon twenty, thirty, forty stories of concrete were diving at the helpless pedestrians panicking below.
* To have faults is not good, but faults are human. Worse is to have them and not see them. Yet beyond that is to have faults, to see them, and to do nothing about them. But even that seems mild compared to him who knows his faults, and who parades them about and encourages them as though they were virtues.
In addition to arranging sentences or groups of short ideas in climactic order, you generally should also arrange the large sections of ideas in your papers, the points in your arugments, and the examples for your generalizations climactically; although in these cases, the first item should not be the very least important (because its weakness might alienate the reader). Always begin with a point or proof substantial enough to generate interest, and then continue with ideas of increasing importance. That way your argument gets stronger as it moves along, and every point hits harder than the previous one.
44. Diacope: repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase as a method of emphasis:
* We will do it, I tell you; we will do it.
* We give thanks to Thee, 0 God, we give thanks . . . . --Psalm 75:1 (NASB)
45. Antimetabole: reversing the order of repeated words or phrases (a loosely chiastic structure, AB-BA) to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast:
* All work and no play is as harmful to mental health as all play and no work.
* Ask not what you can do for rhetoric, but what rhetoric can do for you.
46. Antiphrasis: one word irony, established by context:
* "Come here, Tiny," he said to the fat man.
* It was a cool 115 degrees in the shade.
47. Epizeuxis: repetition of one word (for emphasis):
* The best way to describe this portion of South America is lush, lush, lush.
* What do you see? Wires, wires, everywhere wires.
* Polonius: "What are you reading?" Hamlet: "Words, words, words."
48. Aposiopesis: stopping abruptly and leaving a statement unfinished:
* If they use that section of the desert for bombing practice, the rock hunters will--.
* I've got to make the team or I'll--.
49. Anacoluthon: finishing a sentence with a different grammatical structure from that with which it began:
* And then the deep rumble from the explosion began to shake the very bones of--no one had ever felt anything like it.
* Be careful with these two devices because improperly used they can--well, I have cautioned you enough.
50. Enumeratio: detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point more forcibly:
* I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips [etc.].
* When the new highway opened, more than just the motels and restaurants prospered. The stores noted a substantial increase in sales, more people began moving to town, a new dairy farm was started, the old Main Street Theater doubled its showings and put up a new building . . . .
51. Antanagoge: placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point:
* True, he always forgets my birthday, but he buys me presents all year round.
* The new anti-pollution equipment will increase the price of the product slightly, I am aware; but the effluent water from the plant will be actually cleaner than the water coming in.
52. Parataxis: writing successive independent clauses, with coordinating conjunctions, or no conjunctions:
* We walked to the top of the hill, and we sat down.
* In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. --Genesis 1:1-2 (KJV)
* The Starfish went into dry-dock, it got a barnacle treatment, it went back to work.
In this last example above, note that a string of very short sentences can be connected by commas when the elements are parallel. Longer sentences and unparallel sentence structures need at least semicolons to connect them.
53. Hypotaxis: using subordination to show the relationship between clauses or phrases (and hence the opposite of parataxis):
* They asked the question because they were curious.
* If a person observing an unusual or unfamiliar object concludes that it is probably a spaceship from another world, he can readily adduce that the object is reacting to his presence or actions when in reality there is absolutely no cause-effect relationship. --Philip Klass
* While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. --John 9:5
54. Sententia: quoting a maxim or wise saying to apply a general truth to the situation; concluding or summing foregoing material by offering a single, pithy statement of general wisdom:
* But, of course, to understand all is to forgive all.
* As the saying is, art is long and life is short.
* For as Pascal reminds us, "It is not good to have all your wants satisfied."
55. Exemplum: citing an example; using an illustrative story, either true or fictitious:
* Let me give you an example. In the early 1920's in Germany, the government let the printing presses turn out endless quantities of paper money, and soon, instead of 50-pfennige postage stamps, denominations up to 50 billion marks were being issued.
56. Pleonasm: using more words than required to express an idea; being redundant. Normally a vice, it is done on purpose on rare occasions for emphasis:
* We heard it with our own ears.
* And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone. --Matthew 17:8
57. Assonance: similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or proximate words containing different consonants:
* A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. --Matthew 5:14b (KJV)
* Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. --Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
58. Dirimens Copulatio: mentioning a balancing or opposing fact to prevent the argument from being one-sided or unqualified:
* This car is extremely sturdy and durable. It's low maintenance; things never go wrong with it. Of course, if you abuse it, it will break.
* . . . But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. --l Cor. 1:23-24 (NASB; cf. Rom. 13:4-5)
59. Symploce: combining anaphora and epistrophe, so that one word r phrase is repeated at the beginning and another word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences:
* To think clearly and rationally should be a major goal for man; but to think clearly and rationally is always the greatest difficulty faced by man.
60. Appositive: a noun or noun substitute placed next to (in apposition to) another noun to be described or defined by the appositive. The appositive can be placed before or after the noun:
* Henry Jameson, the boss of the operation, always wore a red baseball cap.
* A notorious annual feast, the picnic was well attended.
* That evening we were all at the concert, a really elaborate and exciting affair.
With very short appositives, the commas setting off the second noun from the first are often omitted:
* That afternoon Kathy Todd the pianist met the poet Thompson.
* Is your friend George going to run for office?
Self Test
Identify the rhetorical device or devices used in each of the following examples. Answers are at the end of the test.
1. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. --Philippians 4:8
2. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? --Job 2:10b
3. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise) that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. --Ephesians 6:2-3
4. Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made should say to its maker, "He did not make me"; or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? --Isaiah. 29:16
5. ". . . For in your days, 0 rebellious house, I shall speak the word and perform it," declares the Lord. --Ezek. 12:25
6. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. --Matt. 5:17b
7. . . . We have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances. --Daniel 9:5
8. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. --2 Corinthians 5:6-8
9. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. --I Chron. 28:9b
10. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. --l Corinthians 13:11
11. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? --l Corinthians 12:29
12. But whom you forgive anything, I forgive also . . . in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. --2 Corinthians 2:10-11
13. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?) and not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. --l Timothy 3:4-6
14. Moreover, we have not listened to Thy servants the prophets, who spoke in Thy name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. --Daniel 9:6
15. But if possibility of evil be to exclude good, no good ever can be done. --Samuel Johnson
16. It is in art as in morals: no character would inspire us with an enthusiastic admiration of his virtue, if that virtue consisted only in an absence of vice; something more is required; a man must do more than merely his duty to be a hero. --Joshua Reynolds
17. What, then, is the effect of imagery when it is used in oratory? Among other things, it can infuse much passion and energy into speeches, but when it is combined with the argumentative passages it not only persuades the hearer, but actually masters him. --Longinus
18. The true nature of man, his true good, true virtue, and true religion are things which cannot be known separately. --Pascal
19. Now, what advantage do we derive from hearing a man say that he has shaken off the yoke, that he does not believe that there is a God who watches over his actions, that he regards himself as sole judge of his conduct, and that he does not think of accounting for it to anyone but himself? Does he imagine that by saying this he is encouraging us to feel great confidence in him in the future and to expect comfort, advice, and help from him in the difficult situations of life? Do such men imagine that they have greatly rejoiced us by telling us that they think our soul is only a puff of wind or smoke, and still more by telling us so in an arrogant, self-satisfied tone? Is it a thing to be said cheerily? Is it not rather something to be admitted mournfully as though it were the saddest thing in the whole world? --Pascal
20. Greatness, in the works of architecture, may be considered as relating to the bulk and body of the structure. . . . Not to mention the Tower of Babel, of which an old author says there were the foundations to be seen in his time, which looked like a spacious mountain . . . . --Joseph Addison
21. . . . Let them recognize that there are only two kinds of person whom we can describe as reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they have found him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they have not found him. --Pascal
22. Other things may be seized by might, or purchased with money, but knowledge is to be gained only by study, and study to be prosecuted only in retirement. --Samuel Johnson
23. Man seeth the face, but God beholdeth the heart. --Thomas a Kempis
24. 0 soul of mine, will you never be good and sincere, all one, all open, visible to the beholder more clearly than even your encompassing body of flesh? Will you never taste the sweetness of a loving and affectionate heart? Will you never be filled full and unwanting; craving nothing, yearning for no creature or thing to minister to your pleasures, no prolongation of days to enjoy them, no place or country or pleasant clime or sweet human company? --Marcus Aurelius
25. Shame on the soul, to falter on the road of life while the body still perseveres. --Marcus Aurelius
Answers To Self Test
1. anaphora (and parallelism)
2. expletive (and antithesis)
3. parenthesis
4. rhetorical question (and analogy, with personification)
5. metonymy (and zeugma of S-V-V)
6. antithesis
7. scesis onomaton
8. parenthesis and antimetabole
9. antithesis and parallelism
10. epistrophe and anyndeton (and parallelism and zeugma of S-V-V)
11. rhetorical question and symploce
12. litotes
13. parenthesis and rhetorical question
14. appositive, enumeratio and anaphora
15. anadiplosis
16. analogy, anadiplosis, sententia
17. hypophora
18. anaphora
19. zeugma (verb + subordinate clauses), rhetorical question, and metaphor
20. alliteration, apophasis, and simile
21. parallelism and antithesis
22. anadiplosis
23. antithesis
24. apostrophe, simile, rhetorical question, metaphor, anaphora, polysyndeton (and enumeratio or scesis onomaton)
25. metaphor
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