9. Irony -- The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.
Job 12:2, "No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you." I really like Job's assessment of his friends' comments. Many of us might call this sarcasm rather than irony. Irony is is usually "more subtle" than sarcasm, and I'm not sure just where the line is. Job doesn't seem real subtle.
10. Litotes -- A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.
Act 19:23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
Saying there was "no small stir" means there was a big one. I really like the use of this kind of figure of speech.
11. Metaphor -- An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common.
Song of Solomon 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
12. Metonymy -- A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.
Proverbs 10:20, "The tongue of the righteous is choice silver." Here, the tongue, closely associated with speaking, represents words or speech.
The Top 20 Figures of Speech (9-12)
No comments:
Post a Comment