Merismus (mer-is’-mus): The dividing of a whole into its parts.
Morning, noon, and night–three times to eat, three times to sleep, three times to work, three times to play–three times for everything. Time and what I do with it–two different things. One is set by WWV. The other is set by me.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Aposiopesis (a-pos-i-o-pee’-sis): Breaking off suddenly in the middle of speaking, usually to portray being overcome with emotion.
I was driving to the mall to get my hair cut and a little bunny ran right out in front . . . I . . . I tried to . . . but . . . but . . . it was awful. Poor little thing.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in aposiopesis
Tagged aposiopesis, elocutio, figures of speech, rhetoric, trope
Aetiologia (ae-ti-o-log’i-a): A figure of reasoning by which one attributes a cause for a statement or claim made, often as a simple relative clause of explanation.
I will not buy an i-Pad because it does not have a camera for video chat. I’m betting the next iteration will have a camera for video chat. Then, I’m in!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Optatio (op-ta’-ti-o): Expressing a wish, often ardently.
Earthquakes. Explosions. Floods. Fires. Disaster after disaster after disaster. I wish the world was a more tranquil place–more than anything I can imagine, hope for, or desire I wish these things had never happened and will never happen again. But they have. And they will. Instead of wishing for what’s impossible, we should do what is possible to prepare for the worst, and possibly, as we prepare for the worst, we may cultivate a quality of foresight that permeates all of our planning.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetorica” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Euche (yoo’-kay): A vow to keep a promise.
I am here to tell you that we are doing everything in our power to end this crisis, to restore what has been ruined, and eventually, to bring to justice those who are to blame. As certain as tomorrow’s sunrise, we will be here morning after morning, day after day, until we can look each other in the eye and say, “Our work is done. The future is bright.”
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Synathroesmus (sin-ath-res’-mus): 1. The conglomeration of many words and expressions either with similar meaning (= synonymia) or not (= congeries). 2. A gathering together of things scattered throughout a speech (= accumulatio [:Bringing together various points made throughout a speech and presenting them again in a forceful, climactic way. A blend of summary and climax.])
He was generous, kind, and open minded. He had a heart of gold. He followed the Golden Rule. He was a saint.
Or
He stole. He gave. He won. He lost. He begged. He prospered. He failed. He succeeded. He lived a chaotic life. All extremes. No middles.
Or
In sum, the regulators failed to regulate, the engineers made no meaningful provisions for catastrophic failure, tremendous corporate profits were made, and now it’s time for all of you to pay–to pay for the laws that were wantonly broken, to pay for the colossal lack of oversight in implementing technologies without prudent consideration of consequences and safeguards, and most importantly, to pay for the environmental devastation you caused, and the lives that you have upturned, ruptured, and taken.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Posted in synathroesmus
Tagged accumulatio, climax, congeries, figures of speech, rhetoric, synathroesmus, synonymia, trope
Astrothesia (as-tro-the’-si-a): A vivid description of stars. One type of enargia.
Every summer up in Maine, at least once, I stay up very late to stand out on the Point–waves crashing (sometimes not), warm wind blowing (sometimes not), stars starring the starry night. For 60 years, like some kind of bird hard-wired to go north, I go north. As a child I went with my parents and my sister, and later, as we grew, with our new brother and our new sister.
Again and again I have gone–through adolescence, into adulthood, after high school, after the war, after college, after all. The memories overlay every inch of Maine’s summer places.
And here I am again, a sort of old man, standing out on the Point with my wife and my daughter. It is dark. It is a deep dark dark night. I look up again into the night sky and the stars–the billion bright stars–draw me into their presence, and I feel like an angel.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in astrothesia
Tagged astrothesia, enargia, figures of speech, rhetoric, trope
Topographia (top-o-graf’-i-a): Description of a place. A kind of enargia [: {en-ar’-gi-a} generic name for a group of figures aiming at vivid, lively description].
The Field
I have a seven-acre field that I’ve landscaped in what what I call the “controlled chaos” mode. It’s pretty much on its own with goldenrod, wild grasses, milkweed, nettles, giant thistles, daisies, phlox, alfalfa, foxglove, wild roses, field ferns, wild strawberries, and more. All I do is pull enough of the plants that tend toward making a mono-culture of it–mainly the goldenrod and milkweed–to enable the other plants to thrive. It is populated and visited by birds (goldfinches, field sparrows, crows, a pair of king birds, buzzing hummingbirds and more), butterflies (monarchs, admirals, yellow and black swallowtails, checkered butterflies, sulfur butterflies, and a number of different kinds of moths), dragonflies, spiders, ants, garter snakes, ladybugs, the occasional tick, and more. Turkeys wander across the field. Foxes hunt for mice. Deer come to graze in the early evening. Yesterday, as I was walking along the field’s edge, curled up sound asleep by a trail leading into the woods was a tiny little fawn.
The field hosts a vernal pond in March when the snow melts–a breeding place for black yellow-spotted salamanders.
At the field’s edge there are two bird boxes spaced about 100 meters apart. Currently, there’s a tree swallow family nesting in one box and a bluebird family nesting in the other. If things go like they usually do, after the bluebirds move out, a pair of house wrens will take up residence. I love to listen to the male when he shows up and perches on top of the box and starts to loudly sing for a mate.
I have mowed a trail that winds through the field. The grass grows shoulder high alongside it. One of our favorite family adventures is walking the trail at night in late spring when there are thousands of fireflies flashing all around us. We stop every few feet and stand there oohing–awestruck over and over again by hundreds and hundreds of tiny random bursts of light.
The field is a hobby, a place to wander and wonder together, and a natural home for insects, birds, plants, herptiles, reptiles, and mammals.
In sum, that’s the field.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Posted in topographia
Tagged enargia, figures of speech, glossary, rhetoric, topographia, trope
Erotema (e-ro-tem’-a): The rhetorical question. To affirm or deny a point strongly by asking it as a question. Generally, as Melanchthon has noted, the rhetorical question includes an emotional dimension, expressing wonder, indignation, sarcasm, etc.
Improve the safety standards for offshore drilling? Take the caps off of fines and damages in order to compensate for future catastrophes? Do these measures really get to the heart of the problem? Wouldn’t it be better to ban offshore drilling altogether as an incentive to develop cleaner energy sources? Why not turn the offshore oil rigs into wind farms?
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Epitrope (e-pi’-tro-pe): A figure in which one turns things over to one’s hearers, either pathetically, ironically, or in such a way as to suggest a proof of something without having to state it. Epitrope often takes the form of granting permission (hence its Latin name, permissio), submitting something for consideration, or simply referring to the abilities of the audience to supply the meaning that the speaker passes over (hence Puttenham’s term, figure of reference). Epitrope can be either biting in its irony, or flattering in its deference.
A specific form of epitrope is the (apparent) admission of what is wrong in order to carry our point.
Go ahead–give them permission to drill all the offshore oil wells they want to. Nobody will care. Nobody will protest. Nobody will try to have you thrown out of office. Go ahead!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Coenotes (cee’-no-tees): Repetition of two different phrases: one at the beginning and the other at the end of successive paragraphs. Note: Composed of anaphora and epistrophe, coenotes is simply a more specific kind of symploce (the repetition of phrases, not merely words).
When will we get a new cell phone? When it has all the features we actually need. And, it does not cost an arm and a leg.
When will we get a new cell phone? When there’s enough coverage to enable us to call from anywhere to anywhere. And, it does not cost an arm and a leg.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in coenotes
Tagged anaphora, coenotes, epistrophe, figures of speech, rhetoric, symploce, trope
Kategoria (ka-te-go’-ri-a): Opening the secret wickedness of one’s adversary before his [or her] face.
I had you followed last night. You weren’t at your office until 2:00 a.m. You were at Motel California with our next door neighbor. I can’t live with a cheating liar. I hired an attorney this morning. I’m moving out. I’m taking the cat with me. I’m divorcing you. Give my regards to Sleazo.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Epitasis (e-pit’-a-sis): The addition of a concluding sentence that merely emphasizes what has already been stated. A kind of amplification. [The opposite of anesis.]
I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve had some time to ourselves. Alone at last!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Appositio (ap-po-sit’-i-o): Addition of an adjacent, coordinate, explanatory or descriptive element.
Their marriage, a partnership that lasted 40 years, is suddenly coming to an end. They say they’ve grown apart.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Tricolon (tri-co-lon): Three parallel elements of the same length occurring together in a series.
You drill. You spill. You kill.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
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Cacozelia (ka-ko-zeel’-i-a): 1. A stylistic affectation of diction, such as throwing in foreign words to appear learned. 2. Bad taste in words or selection of metaphor, either to make the facts appear worse or to disgust the auditors.
The mise en scène of the parking lot is not exactly what I would call méthodique! We must utilize every erg at our disposal to hasten its rejuvenation with fresh white stripes.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Oxymoron (ox-y-mo’-ron): Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another. A compressed paradox.
His obnoxious beneficence is captured in his ‘charitable’ foundation’s motto: “We $ Losers”.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Apagoresis (a-pa-gor’-e-sis): A statement designed to inhibit someone from doing something. Often uses exaggeration [or hyperbole] to persuade. It may combine an exaggeration with a cause/effect or antecedent/consequence relationship. The consequences or effects of such a phrase are usually exaggerated to be more convincing.
If you burp like that again I’ll have you arrested!
Definitions courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Anthimeria (an-thi-mer’-i-a): Substitution of one part of speech for another (such as a noun used as a verb [or a verb used as a noun]).
Let’s tomato the Democrat candidate!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Posted in anthimeria
Tagged anthimeria, canon of style, elocutio, figures of speech, rhetoric, rhetorical canons
Polysyndeton (pol-y-syn’-de-ton): Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo or rhythm. (Asyndeton is the opposite of polysyndeton: an absence of conjunctions.)
Over one month ago the oil rig Deep Horizon exploded and 11 people were killed, and the oil still gushes from the blown out well–barrels and barrels and barrels and barrels of water-polluting, and wildlife-killing, and coastline-wrecking oil. And soon, the hurricanes will come, and nobody knows what the combination of 120+ mph winds, and surging sea water, and millions of gallons of oil will do to the Gulf of Mexico and its contiguous shorelines. One thing is for certain though: our nation’s dependence on fossil fuel (for profit and power) trumps all the imaginable catastrophic consequences of crude oil flowing up from beneath the sea through 5,000 feet of pipe.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in polysyndeton
Tagged asyndeton, canon of style, elocutio, figures of speech, polysyndeton, rhetoric
Adage (ad’-age): One of several terms describing short, pithy sayings, or traditional expressions of conventional wisdom. [Others include apothegm, gnome, maxim, paroemia, proverb, sententia, and anamnesis {a related figure}]
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Epitheton (e-pith’-e-ton): Attributing to a person or thing a quality or description-sometimes by the simple addition of a descriptive adjective; sometimes through a descriptive or metaphorical apposition. (Note: If the description is given in place of the name, instead of in addition to it, it becomes antonomasia or periphrasis.)
Ricky is a rogue bulldozer.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in epitheton
Tagged antonomasia, elocutio, epitheton, figures of speech, periphrasis, public speaking, rhetoric
Polyptoton (po-lyp-to’-ton): Repeating a word, but in a different form. Using a cognate of a given word in close proximity.
Promotions promote employee morale (as long as the people who’re promoted obviously deserve the recognition).
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in polyptoton
Tagged elocutio, figures of speech, polyptoton, public speaking, rhetoric
Aphorismus (a-phor-is’-mus): Calling into question the proper use of a word.
They call it an accident. We call it criminal negligence. We’re waiting for the indictments.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in aphorismus
Tagged aphorismus, elocutio, figures of speech, public speaking, rhetoric
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