Figures of Speech, Catherine Fromilhague

Students interested in "elocution" must be able to recognize figures of speech by identifying the principles upon which they are based. This book reviews the most common categories of figures (figures of diction, figures of construction, tropes, figures of thought) and offers clarifications aimed at precisely defining their main characteristics. Highlighting a logical continuum that connects these categories helps to demonstrate the unity of the entire subject under study. The detailed analysis of examples – literary or taken from the press – supports the practice of commentary and suggests avenues for a more general reflection than authorial stylistics, genres, or aesthetic categories.