cr own readers

286 FIG URES OF SPEECH.
P ersonification is th e converse of meta phor. The lat ter speaks of
human beings as animals, the fonn er speaks of animals as human beings.
'f he comp ari son is often implied in an epithet - as, gloomy winter; the
angry sea ; the thirsty ground.
4. Apostrophe is a form of p ers onifi cat ion . It ad dresses t he
absent a nd t he dead, a nd a lso animals and lifeless t h ings; as,-
"'Vith thee, sweet Hope, resides the heavenly light."- CAlIPBELL.
The poet or the orator I' turns aside " from his main theme to address
Borne absent hero or some virtue or principle.
A prolonged apostrophe is called Vision. In it th e writer describes an
imagi nary scene as if it were real.
5. Hyperbole is t h e figu re of exagg eration or overstatem ent:
it genera lly implies com parison; as,-
.. Th e horses passed like lightning" (simile).
.. The invaders shed r irers of Mood" (meta phor).
H yperbole means overshooting the mark .
mind's love of the wonderful.
The figure appea ls to th e
6. Euphemism is th e figur e of mi ti gation or un derstatem ent :
it softens the ex pression, a nd is thus t he conv erse of hyperbole;
as,- " H e has not kept .~ f rictly to the truth ;" for U he has told a li e."
Eu phemism means wall -speaking,
an inoffensive way.
n.-FIGURES OF CONTRAST.
T he figure is used to state a fact in
1. Antithesis is t he figur e of d ire ct contra st; as,­
" Speech is silvern, ~llt silence is golden."
H ere th ere are t wo contrasted similes, and the antit hesis lies not in
the meaning of th e words but in the grouping of th e two sta tements.
A ntithesis means a setting in opposition.
2. Epigram is th e figure 'of surpr ise: the contrast is bet ween
the a pparent mea ning and the r eal mean ing ; as,-
." Th e child is fat her of th e man."
Thi s statement seems to involve a contradiction, and even to be absurd ;
y et it is true, becau se H fath er " is used not in a literal but in a figurative
sense. Epigram meant first an inscripti on on a tomb ; secondly , a short
witty poem; lastly, any pointed and wittJl saying.