Antiphrasis—A Greek and Latin term meaning “to express by the opposite,” this is a type of irony when a single word is used (ironically). Apophasis—A Greek term for “denial,” apophasis is emphasizing something by pretending to brush over it. This device is commonly introduced with something like “needless to say” or “it goes without saying that.” John Smith’s The Mysterie of Rhetorique Unvail’d (1657) defines apophasis as “a kind of irony, whereby we deny that we say or doe that which we especially say or doe.” For example, “Now just let me say this: That’s his business, and I’m not critical of him for doing that. You will have to pass judgment on that particular point,” from Richard Nixon’s “Checkers” speech. Clerihew—A type of comic verse containing two metrically awkward couplets, presenting some kind of ridiculously uninformative biographical information, usually rhyming the some famous name into the first couplet. For example, “Geoffrey Chaucer/Could hardly have been coarser,/But this never harmed the sales/Of his Canterbury Tales,” from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Chleuasmos—A sarcastic reply that leaves one’s opponent speechless. Hyperbole—Latin and Greek term for “exaggeration.” The use of deliberate exaggeration or overstatement in order to express strong feelings or to produce a powerful impact on the audience. Hypocrisis—The use of exaggerated speech or physical gestures to mock someone. For example, see much of the work of Stephen Colbert, who mocks Bill O’Reilly. Irony—A figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the antithesis of the literal meaning of the words used. For example, “Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honorable man,” from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Meiosis—From the Greek for “lessening,” meiosis is a term for understatement, typically for humorous, ironic or satiric effect. Reductio ad absurdum—A Latin phrase meaning, “to reduce to the absurd,” this can be an effective comedic technique, but when used in a serious context it is a fallacy (false dilemma). Devices of Omission
Ellipsis—Deliberate omission of a word or of words, which are readily implied by the context. For example, “And he to England shall along with you”—Hamlet, III. Hypallage—“Exchanging” transferred epithet; grammatical agreement of words that do not logically qualify. Hysteron Proteron—A Greek expression meaning “latter first.” It is used in rhetoric to describe a figure of speech in which words that should, in terms of their meaning, come later, come first. Or, it can be an inversion of the natural sequence of events. For example, “O, for a fresh of breath air” (James Joyce, Ulysses). Or, Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (1607), “fly and turn the rudder.” Parenthesis—Insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence. For example, “But wherein any man is bold—I am speaking foolishly—I also am bold…Are they ministers of Christ? I—to speak as a fool—am more—St. Paul, 2 Cor. II, 21 and 23. Prolepsis—The use of adjectives or nouns in an inverted order, often putting the result or relative clause before its antecedent, as used by Vergil in Aeneid. This device is often used to raise objections, or to respond to a possible or rebuttal. Synesis—The agreement of words according to logic, rather than grammatical agreement. For example, “For the of sin is death,” Romans 6. Devices of Visualization Ekphrasis—An extended or detailed description, commonly a description of a picture or image. Hyperbaton—The separation of words, which belong together for emphasis or to create a visual image. Famously used by Vergil in Aeneid. Visualization (or Picturesque Language or Ocular Demonstration)—Terms for language that produces a key image in the minds of the audience. The term “visualization” originates with a Hellenistic Jewish writer given the name Longinus (fl. 50 C.E.), but this may have been influenced by Rhetorica ad Herennium’s concept of “ocular demonstration.” The effect, according to Rhetorica ad Herennium, is “amplifying a matter” and “appeal[ing] to pity” (LV. Book IV).