Imagens da página
PDF
ePub

4. Idleness; mirth; folly; intemperance; pleasure; pain; disease; death; the grave; charity; hope; faith; joy.

Exercise 77.

Personify the following subjects in the second degree :

EXAMPLE.

He drew his sword.

The sword leapt from its scabbard.

1. He is asleep.

2. The fire has been extinguished.

3. The shadows caused by night pass away.

4. The air is so soft that we are induced to take a walk. 5. The sun cannot be seen through the clouds.

6. He who is pleased with natural scenery, can find instruction and entertainment in every object which he sees.

Exercise 78.

Personify the following subjects in the third degree:

EXAMPLE.

Contentment.

Contentment! thou parent of felicity! thou faithful companion of hope! if thou shouldst take up thine abode in my bosom, in vain may fortune wreck me on inhospitable shores.

[blocks in formation]

Apostrophe is that figure by which we turn from the subject, and address the absent or dead, as if they

were present or alive, and were listening to us; as in the following passage :—

'And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!'

Apostrophe, when addressed to inanimate objects, involves Personification; as,

'Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains,
Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here?'

The principal rule to be observed in the use of Apostrophe is, that it should not be loaded with studied ornament, nor extended too far.

Exercise 79.

Introduce Apostrophe into the following passages:—

EXAMPLE.

I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be his gibes now? his gambols? his songs? his flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table in a roar?

I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table in a roar?

1. I cannot but imagine the virtuous heroes, legislators, and patriots of every age and country, are bending from their elevated seats to witness this contest, as if they were incapable, till it be brought to a favourable issue, of enjoying their eternal repose. Let these illustrious immortals enjoy that repose! Their mantle fell when they ascended;

and thousands, inflamed with their spirit, and impatient to tread in their steps, are ready to swear by Him that sitteth upon the throne and liveth for ever and ever, that they will protect Freedom in her last asylum, and never desert that cause, which they sustained by their labours, and cemented with their blood.

2. Strike the harp in praise of Bragela, whom I left in the isle of mist, the spouse of my love. Doth she raise her fair face from the rock to find the sails of Cuthullin? The sea is rolling far distant, and its white foam will deceive her for my sails. My love will retire, for it is night, and the dark wind sighs in her hair. She will retire to the hall of my feasts, and think of the times that are past; for I will not return till the storm of war is gone.

3. Thus passes the world away. Throughout all ranks and conditions, 'one generation passeth, and another generation cometh;' and this great inn is by turns evacuated and replenished by troops of succeeding pilgrims. The world is vain and inconstant. Life is fleeting and transient. When will the sons of men learn to think of it as they ought? When will they learn humanity from the afflictions of their brethren; or moderation and wisdom, from the sense of their own fugitive state ?

6. METONYMY.

Metonymy is the figure which interchanges correlative terms: for example, it transposes―

I. The abstract and the concrete. It generally puts the concrete for the abstract; as, the crown, the sceptre, for royalty. It also puts the abstract for the concrete; as, Her Majesty for the Queen. It sometimes puts one concrete for another; as, the bottle for wine.

II. The author and his works; as Shakespeare, for his plays.

III. A part and the whole; as, sail for ships; hands for

workpeople.

Exercise 80.

Find a Metonymy for each of the following terms:—

[blocks in formation]

No useless coffin enclosed his breast.

No useless coffin enclosed his body: A prominent part put for the whole.

O grave, where is thy victory? The country was devastated by the sword. The power of the press is very great. In summer he occupies himself with the rod, in autumn with the gun. Constantine assumed the purple while in Britain. He is a great admirer of Wordsworth. Clive soon abandoned the pen for the sword. He has injured his health by his fondness for the weed. Every French soldier carries a baton in his knapsack. Three summers passed before we met again. In the allied fleet, there were thirtythree sail of the line. Paris declared for the red flag. He is studying for the bar. The old man takes his daily walk

in the sun. Silver and gold have I none. Pride and poverty are indifferent to death. The commercial crisis has shaken several of the greatest houses in Liverpool. One farmer has lost fifty head by the cattle disease.

7. HYPERBOLE.

Hyperbole, or Exaggeration, is that figure by which an object is magnified or diminished beyond its natural bounds; as, 'I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered;' 'He possessed a field of smaller extent than a Lacedæmonian letter.'

The following rules ought to be observed in the use of Hyperbole :

I. A Hyperbole should never be introduced in the description of anything ordinary and familiar. II. A Hyperbole cannot be introduced with propriety till the mind of the reader is duly prepared.

III. A Hyperbole should be comprehended in as few words as possible.

Exercise 82.

Represent the following subjects by Hyperbole :—

EXAMPLE.

An interesting and impressive speech.

His speech was so deeply interesting and impressive, that the very walls listened to his arguments, and were moved by his eloquence.

1. Thebrightness of a lighted room.

2. The splendour of a dress ornamented with jewels.

3. The number of persons in a crowd.

4. The quantity of rain which falls in a shower.

« AnteriorContinuar »