As the right frame of this web resource illustrates, the number of figures of speech can seem quite imposing. The figures first acquired their names from the Greeks and Romans who catalogued them. Although attempts have been made to anglicize or update the figures' names, this sometimes proves to confuse things, even though the Greek and Latin terms are odd to modern ears.
Pronunciation helps and etymologies have been provided to clarify the Greek terms, in particular.
And because there are so many synonyms or close synonyms among the figures, each entry contains equivalent and comparative terms from Greek, Latin, and English. viewing options . Situating the Figures within Rhetoric As rich and interesting as the figures are, they do not constitute the whole of rhetoric, as some have mistakenly surmised. In this resource, a serious attempt has been made to show the close relationship between figures of speech and topics of invention . For example, the most identifiable tropes include metaphor and simile . The point is, we should see the proximity of the figures and the topics of invention.