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RHETORICAL SKILLS 27-28jprinciple: a rule of conduct; a general truth [Aprinciple I never violate is to treat others withdignity.}than: a conjunction used to express a comparison(She is more frugal than I am.)then: at that time; therefore (He asked to marry herthen, before he had met her parents.)28 IMAGERY AND FIGURATIVELANGUAGEWriters in search of clear, vivid, and forceful prose oftenuse devices called figures of speech to gain a desiredeffect. Note the image conveyed by Philip Wylie'sdescription of a very thin woman as "a trellis for varicoseveins." Among the important figures of speech aresimile, metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, and personification.28A SimileA simile is a figure of speech that uses like or as to comparetwo dissimilar things.EXAMPLES:". . .mountains like thirsty giants"—NationalGeographic"a complexion like the belly of a fish"—CharlesDickensSome similes have been used so much that they are nolonger effective and are considered cliches.INEFFECTIVE SIMILES:old as the hillsdull as dishwaterAmerican as apple pieteeth like pearls28 B MetaphorA metaphor is a figure of speech that suggests a likenessbetween two ideas or objects. Ay or like is not used.EXAMPLES:This monstrous human error, the megalopolis . . ."She is the rose, the glory of the day."—EdmundSpenserAs with similes, some metaphors have become tritethrough overuse.INEFFECTIVE METAPHORS:the black sheep of the familya wolf in sheep's clothinga sea of troublesA mixed metaphor results when metaphors occurring inthe same sentence or paragraph create ludicrous images.If a woman is said to be a rose, and her arms petals, thenshe cannot be a jewel in the next sentence.EXAMPLES:The floodgates of atheism and permissiveness arestalking arm in arm throughout the land.(Floodgates cannot stalk.)The harvest sown by the crooked politicians camehome to roost. [Two mixed metaphors here: seeds,not a harvest, are sown, and chickens, not aharvest, come home to roost.)28C SynecdocheSynecdoche uses the part to represent the whole: ranchhands, for example, for a group of men performing laborwith their hands, or daily bread for food. Here are a fewmore synecdoches:The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword[fighting].Five hundred souls [people] were lost.28D MetonymyMetonymy substitutes something closely related for thething actually meant, for example: the White Housestands for the president, the Blue and the Gray, for theUnion and Confederate forces.28EEXAMPLES:"Scepter and crown [the king] must fumble down."The Dodgers need to add more bats [good hitters]to their team.I'm going to complain directly to City Hall.PersonificationPersonification is a form of metaphor in which an inanimateobject or abstract idea—for example, a car, or aquality like love—is treated as if it has human characteristics,feelings, or actions.EXAMPLES:"I have seen the ambitious ocean swell and rageand foam,"William ShakespeareJustice hung her head.We use personification often in daily conversation whenwe speak of the "bitter wind," "nasty weather," "gentlebreeze," "cruel sea," "unforgiving clock," or "bountifulMother Nature."Errors involving these figures of speech often consist ofmixed or confused examples, so be alert for any absurd,illogical, or meaningless expressions or comparisons.28F Terms used in the discussion or analysis ofpoetryAlexandrine, a verse line with six iambic feet (iambichexameter)45