CRASH COURSE ON LITERATURE (CCL): PART 2

CCL:  PT.  2

By: N. O. Ewelike  ACArb.

PART-TWO: FIGURES OF SPEECH

Figures of speech are forms of style of expression in which words are used to express more than they mean ordinarily; so as to make the idea very emphatic, graphic, relatable and effective.

For example:

“You are like the silky gazelle,

of the esteemed paradise,

blazing reliance on me,

in a blissful beam.”

The above lines suggest something more than ordinary. The listener gets enraptured in the comparison between the gazelle’s beauty and the woman’s beauty. The figure of speech known as ‘Simile’ is used in the above poem to show the vivid description of the beauty of a woman instead of just saying.

“My wife is beautiful”

KINDS OF FIGURES OF SPEECH

• Simile:

This is a direct comparison between two things of different nature or class but with a striking similarity in a particular aspect by the use of such words like “as” and “like”

The two things compared must be of different nature or class e.g.  “My shoes are black as charcoal”

A pair of shoes is different from charcoal in nature or class but share similarity in blackness.

• Metaphor:

In this we compare two things by stating one thing as another though not physically but in quality. E.g. “Sam is a lion in the field.”

Is Sam who is a human being also a lion? No. But we are comparing the athletic prowess of Sam in playing football or hockey tirelessly to a lion. However, it should be noted that the words “as” or “like” are not used in metaphoric expression.

• Personification:

This is the idea of representing an object or an idea with a person or an action only capable of being done by a human being. It thus, means the endowment of a non-living thing with human attributes. For example:

“the sun travelled gently from east to west”

We may curiously ask: can the sun travel from one place to another? This is an act capable of being performed by a person which we are claiming an object too has performed.

• Apostrophe:

Here, a person talks to another who is not physically present or even to an object which is incapable of listening. For example:

Talking to somebody dead as if he is present. It is usually recognized through the use of exclamation mark like “!”  Or the words like “ah”, “oh”, which then precedes the name of a person or thing.

• Paradox:

This is a statement of fact or truth which on the face of it may look contradictory, untrue or even absurd. It is usually used to attract attention and secure emphasis. It is a closer look or examination of the statement that shall then reveal its truism. For example:

“He, who must die, shall live” and “He, who must live shall die”. An unwary listener may doubt the sensibility of such statement but it can be seen that in the case of the first statement, for a person to die, actually he must have been alive, and in the case of the second statement, a person that shall live in the kingdom of God must first die on earth.

• Oxymoron:

This is a contradictory expression whereby two words of opposite meanings are places together. For example:

She kept on moaning in the “painful pleasure” of the act. Can pleasure also be painful? What is being said here is “an admixture of gentle pain creating sensational feelings of pleasure”

Another example is “She kept on living in the illuminating darkness of the nunnery”. Can darkness also be illuminating? Actually No. But the nunnery which is usually an enclosure may be regarded as a form of darkness in which the outside world cannot be seen but it lights the spiritual way to heaven.

• Antithesis:

This is the figure of speech whereby a word in a statement may be used to contrast the whole statement or a clause contrasting another or sentences in a statement contrasting each other. For example:

“Poverty is the fruit of all goodness, money is the root of all evils”. There are contradictory ideas which are placed together; one may ask: as good as money is, how can it be the root of all evils? Again, how can poverty, a state of squalor be the root of goodness?

Thus, antithesis expresses one idea which is usually balanced up by another equally opposite idea. Further examples are: “Foul is fair, fair is foul”, “to err is human; to forgive is divine”.

• Epigram:

Epigram is a short witty saying. It often embodies apparent contradiction and some bit of satire. It is used often to express ideas in a brief and memorable manner.

“More haste, less speed. Let’s go gently”.

• Synecdoche:

In this figure of speech, we try to represent a whole by using a part or at time a whole to represent a part. For example:

“By the last head-count, Nigeria was said to be eighty-eight million in population”. The statement above seems to suggest that merely heads of human beings in Nigeria were counted but what it actually means is that citizens of Nigeria were counted. ‘Head’ here represents human beings.

Another example is this: “all hands must be on deck to make sure we finish the job on time”. Is it merely hands that we are talking about that are needed on deck? Can the hands be severed away from their owners to work on deck? Definitely no. We use hands here to represent the human beings.

• Metonymy:

This literary device uses a name of an object commonly associated with a class or nature of persons to describe the person. This may be staff of office or an instrument commonly associated with a person. For example:

The Crown pursues nobody. “Crown” here stands for the king. Or when we say: “skirts and trousers along the road”. Skirts here represents the women while trousers represent the Men.

• Antonomasia:

Here we use a proper name in place of a general class or idea for which it is a representative. In other words, the one and the other share certain qualities making them comparable to each other. Thus, places or vents or persons are identified with famous or notorious names whose good or bad qualities have become symbols. For Example:

Wole Soyinka is often called William Shakespeare of our time. This is due to his literary prowess which is only comparable to that of Shakespeare of our time.

It should however be noted that that though antonomasia and metaphor are somewhat similar, they are quite different. While in metaphor, we say one thing is exactly another by mentioning the two in comparison, in antonomasia we just call one thing another’s name. For example, when we say ‘Cicero of Ibadan’ everybody knows the reference is to Chief Bola Ige. We cannot also refer to it as a metaphor because Cicero and Bola Ige belong to the same class of human beings.

• Symbolism:

This is the idea of using symbols to convey messages. When a symbol is used in literature, the purposes is to give it a meaning which goes beyond the physical representation merely. Thus, whenever we see drawings of the crescent and the moon strategically placed in its hollow centre, we know that the reference is to Islam while the sight of a cross quickly brings back to memory, the religion, Christianity.

• Alliteration:

This is the repetitive use of the same consonant at the beginning of two or more words on the same line. It places more emphasis on the sound rather than the letter itself, for in pronunciation, the initials may not sound same but once in writing they sound same and the effect achieved. For example:

“Bouncing baby boy”

The alliterative sound here is /b/. Another example is this: “When the cock crows the king knows”. The alliterative sound here is /k/, in ‘cock crows’ and ‘king’.

• Assonance:

This is like a direct opposite of alliteration. Instead of the consonant sounds as we have an alliteration, the object of concern here is the use of recurring initial vowel sounds which are quite close to one another. For example:

“The meaning of the lines above may seem obscure. But the usage we want them for here is to show the effective use of assonance. Can you note the use of the sound /i/in the first two words? What about?  /au/ in the last two words of the first line and the recurrent /a/ in the second line? This is a typical example of assonance”.

Hyperbole:

Here we use conscious exaggeration without the intent of literal persuasion. Hyperbole may be used to produce a heightened effect or to produce some comic effect. We may say: “The man is taller than Cocoa House in Ibadan.” Every listener will undoubtedly know that it is an exaggerated comparison; a comparison blown out of proportion. It is true the man we are talking about may be very tall but not even as tall as, let alone, taller than the 25 – storey building called “Cocoa House”.

Irony:

This term refers to the recognition of a reality different from its masking appearance. Here, double meaning is put forward for appreciation. It could be verbal, dramatic situational or historical irony. The first meaning in a verbal irony gives the literal idea while the second meaning suggests the exact opposite which then show s what the speaker really means. For example:

“King kongi is a generous man, he can even take from a street beggar”. This shows that the preceding praise is not actually genuine, though a listener may not quickly note the purpose, but on careful reflection, he laughs at the character being described, possibly, with the phrase “generous indeed”.

Note that Irony and Sarcasm share borderline somewhat, but they should not be confused. Irony is different from Sarcasm in that it is usually lighter, less harsh in its wording, though in effect it is probably more cutting because of its indirectness.

Sarcasm:

As was said above, this is seemingly an ‘ironical statement’. It’s a form of verbal irony in which, under the guise of praise, a caustic, bitter expression of strong and personal disapproval is given. It is usually personal, jeering, and intended to hurt. For Example:

“Yes, you are the voice of the people.

When you die, wisdom will die with you”.

This quotation from the book of Job seems somewhat praising towards the person addressed, but actually it is quite derisive.

Euphemism:

This is a deliberate act of expressing horror or unpleasantness in a mild way. It uses an indirect statement in substitution for a direct one in an effort to avoid bluntness. It lessens the harshness and shock it might give the ears and mind if spoken in its raw sense. For example:

“Olu has kicked the bucket.” In the literal sense, one may think Olu to be an enthusiastic young boy who kicks anything he sees in substitution for a ball. But really the message is that Olu is dead, which if it is said simply like that, may alarm the listener.

Climax:

This is the arrangement of ideas, or items in an ascending order. Here, one starts from the lowest to the highest. The effect is to arouse suspense in a listener or reader. For instance, if I say: “Adeoye lost his pen, his money, his two children and his beautiful wife, all in a single day.” You can see the hierarchical arrangement ascending from the lowest to the most important.

Another example is “I came, I saw, and I conquered.” The effect is to arouse suspense and intensify the curiosity of a reader in wanting to know where all is moving to.

Pun:

This simply means “playing upon words”. It may be used in a way that is repetitive of a particular word while its meaning may not be really apparent. For Example:

“Power and power shall power nobody, but the powerful powers of Elegbara”.

• From Murder On the Throne

By D. S. K.

The statement above means that nobody shall be as powerful as Elegbara which though can be simply stated  without the word ‘Power’ used repetitively, but when said in this form, it brings out notable ability to use words in a playful manner to achieve effect.

Anti-Climax:

This is the opposite of climax. It progresses from the highest to the lowest. It’s the arrangement of ideas, items or events in a descending order. If I say: “Olatunde lost his wife, his child, shoes, and Bic pen in an accident.” You can see that it starts from the highest i.e. the most serious to the lowest i.e. the most trivial.

Pathetic Fallacy:

In this figure of speech, we credit nature with human qualities. Here, it could be commiseration with human beings in a state of grief or nature celebrating with human beings in a state of happiness. For example:

“The internment of Awolowo was mystery

The rainbow gloomily sliced through the sky

The friendly sun refused to shine on earth

It was like the world is coming to an end”.

The above short poem is an example of pathetic fallacy. It attributes to nature the qualities of sorrow.

Innuendo:

This is another ironical figure of speech. It is an insinuation or indirect suggestion, often with harmful or sinister connotation. It’s a clever way of passing unpleasant comments or implied message. For example:

For example:

“Babatunde is a very honest man, especially with matters unconnected with money”. The speaker Babatunde is a very honest man, with matters a clause that if it’s a matter concerning money, then he could not be trusted”. Then where is Babatunde’s honesty?

Prolepsis:

This is an anachronistic statement in which an event that had not taken place is treated as having taken place. It is a sort of anticipation in which events anticipated are taken as if they have already passed. For instance, when a student anticipating his WASCE results says to his mates:

“This is Mr. B. A. Jaguar, the man with ‘A1’ in English Language and seven other distinctions”.

Litotes or Meiosis:

This is a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative or it’s opposite. Here, a positive statement is put in a negative way. In most situations, we find words like ‘no’, or ‘not’ being employed in making litotic statement. For instance, “I am a citizen of no mean city.” Here the speaker intends saying he is a citizen of a great city but without using such a direct expression.

Onomatopoeia:

When a word is used to suggest its meaning, it is referred to as an onomatopoeia. Thus, onomatopoeia in literature means a word, which through is sound, it is meaning can be directly inferred. At times, we refer to this literary term as echoic verse. For example:

“I bobbed up belly-wise”. The word ‘bobbed’ suggests a sudden awakening or rising and it directly communicates its meaning through the sound. Another example: “Boom boom, so went the gunshots”, “The pitter-patter of the rain.”  

Chiasmus:

This figure of speech achieves a contrast by reversal of clauses. This is a reversal of words by corresponding phrases occurring in a sentence. For example: “Do not think of what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”; “do not fear to negotiate and do not negotiate out of fear” – by J. F. Kennedy.

Hendiadys:

Here we present a figure of whereby a single idea is represented by two words joined by a conjunction. Usually, it is a single thing that is done by we say it in such a way as if two or more things are done. For example:

Instead of simply saying “Olu took his leave”, we may rather say “Olu took his hat and his leave”. This makes it look like as if were two things that were taken.

Bathos:

This literary figure seeks to present a declining impression from something impressive to a ridiculous one. “It is better to live in hell than to die in heaven”.

Repetition:

This is rhetorical device reiterating a word or phrase to secure emphasis. For example:

1. “Twinkle, Twinkle litte star”
2. “Rain, Rain, Rain go away”

• Out, out, brief candle”

Rhetoric question:

This is a question asked for literary effect in one’s writing or speech. It doesn’t required an answer. For example:

1. Who prefers to live in war than to live in peace?
2. Why am I here?