What is personification and examples of epithets. Presentation - personification - epithet - metaphor

In order to make a written text or speech bright, memorable and expressive, authors use certain artistic techniques, traditionally called tropes and figures of speech. These include: metaphor, epithet, personification, hyperbole, comparison, allegory, periphrasis and other figures of speech where words or expressions are used in a figurative sense to give greater expressiveness to what is being said.

What are epithets and metaphors

The most common ones in literary speech are epithets and metaphors.

The word "epithet" in Greek means "applied." That is, the name itself already contains an explanation of the essence - this is a definition that figuratively characterizes an object or phenomenon. The attribute that is expressed by the epithet is thus, as it were, attached to the described object; it complements it emotionally and even semantically.

In linguistics and lexicology, there is not yet a generally accepted theory that precisely explains what epithets and metaphors are. There are usually three types of epithets:

• general linguistic - those that have stable connections that are often used in literary speech (silver dew, bitter frost, etc.);
• folk poetic - used in folklore works (a beautiful maiden, sweet speech, good fellow, etc.);
• individual-author - created by the authors (case considerations (A.P. Chekhov), scratching gaze (M. Gorky)).

Metaphors, unlike epithets, are not only one word, but also an expression that is used in a figurative sense. Metaphors are selected based on the similarity or, conversely, contrast of any phenomena or objects.

How and when a metaphor is used

In more detail, what epithets and metaphors are, as well as what their difference is, can be understood if we understand that the main requirement for using the latter is their originality, unusualness, ability to evoke emotional associations and help imagine some event or phenomenon.

Here is an example of a metaphorical description of the night sky in the story “Three” by M. Gorky: “The Milky Way spread out across the sky like a silvery fabric from edge to edge - it was pleasant and sad to look at it through the branches of a tree.”

The use of stereotyped metaphors that have lost their originality and emotional richness due to frequent use can reduce the quality of the work or spoken speech.

Excessiveness and abundance of metaphors can be no less dangerous. In such cases, speech becomes overly flowery and florid, which can also impair its perception.

How to distinguish between metaphor and epithet

In works, it is sometimes quite difficult to discern which particular tropes the author uses. To do this, you need to once again understand in comparison what epithets and metaphors are.

Metaphor is a figurative device that is based on analogy, the transfer of meaning by likeness, resemblance: “The morning laughed through the windows. Her eyes are dark agates."

An epithet is one of the cases of metaphor, or, more simply, an artistic definition (“Warm milky twilight, icy cold stars”).

Based on what has been said, you can already understand what a metaphor, epithet, personification is and find them in the given example: “It was visible how long needles rushed from the cheerful blue sky, from a high smoky cloud, drops...” (I. Bunin, “Little novel").

It is clear that metaphors were used in it (drops rushed like long needles), epithets (from a smoky cloud) and personification (a cheerful blue sky).

Personification is a special metaphor-allegory

So what is a metaphor, epithet, personification? These, as you already understood, are a means of conveying the author’s attitude towards a phenomenon or object, a kind of unique colors that make it possible to make what is written or spoken bright and memorable.

And from this series we can distinguish personification - a special trope that has a long history, rooted in folk art. Personification is the same as allegory, the transfer of the properties of a living being to phenomena or objects.

One of the genres closest to folklore, the fable, is also built on the use of personification.

Unlike such tropes as metaphor, epithet, comparison, personification, this is also a very economical technique. When using it, there is no need to describe the object in detail; it is enough to compare it with something already familiar in order to evoke the necessary associations: “And how pitiful are the huts of the rural landless poor peasants, covered up to their bellies in the ground!” (I. S. Sokolov-Mikitov, “Childhood”).

What is comparison

It is impossible to imagine a work that is devoid of comparisons, comparisons of something with something, likening one phenomenon to another, which allows you to more accurately, more figuratively describe them and at the same time convey your attitude towards them.

They masterfully mastered the art of using epithets, metaphors, comparisons: “On the blue velvet of the sky, dotted with bright stars, the black patterns of foliage looked like someone’s hands stretched out to the sky in an attempt to reach its heights” (M. Gorky, “Three”).

Difficult cases in defining comparison

Sometimes the expressive technique described above - comparison - can be quite difficult to distinguish from cases when words with the conjunctions “as”, “as if” and “as if” are simply used in a sentence, but for other purposes.

Let us repeat once again - epithets, metaphors, comparisons are paths that help to enrich and “color” what is said. This means that in the sentence “We saw him slowly walking towards the forest” there is no comparison, there is only a conjunction connecting the parts. In the sentence “We went out into the corridor, where it was dark and cold, like in a cellar” (I. Bunin) the comparison is obvious (cold, like in a cellar).

Ways to Express Comparison

And so that in the series of metaphor, epithet, comparison, personification we can finally understand each trope, let’s dwell a little longer on the comparison.

It is expressed in different ways:

• using phrases with the words “like”, “exactly”, “as if”, etc. (“Her hair curled like the tendrils of a pea”);
• or adverbs (“the tongue is sharper than a razor”);
• instrumental case of a noun (“love sang like a nightingale in the heart”);
• and also lexically (using the words “similar to”, “similar”, etc.).

What is hyperbole

It differs from the use of such tropes as metaphor, epithet, comparison, and hyperbole by its particular richness and exaggeration of the essence. Many authors willingly use this technique: “He had a completely impassive, kind of stony, rusty face.”

Hyperbolic techniques include fairy-tale giants, Thumbelina, and Thumb, who inhabit fairy tales. And in epics, hyperbole is an indispensable attribute: the strength of heroes is always exorbitant, and the enemy is fierce and countless.

Even in everyday speech one can detect hyperbole: “We haven’t seen each other for a thousand years!” or “A sea of ​​tears has been shed.”

Metaphor, epithet, comparison, hyperbole are often used in combination, giving rise to hyperbolic comparisons or personifications and metaphors (“the rain poured down like a solid wall”).

The ability to use tropes will make your speech figurative and vivid

At one time, V.G. Belinsky argued that speaking well and speaking correctly are not the same thing. After all, even impeccable speech, from a grammatical point of view, can be difficult to understand.

And from the above, you probably already understood what a metaphor, epithet, personification is, and that being able to use these techniques is extremely important. A thoughtful reading of the works of the classics will help you with this - since they can be considered the standard for using all the stylistic wealth of the Russian language.

Read Gogol’s lines: “Words... similar to flowers, just as affectionate, bright and juicy...”, in which the author was able to clearly convey his impression of the sound of the words in a small set. And remember that metaphor, hyperbole, epithet are the tools that will sharpen your speech, which means you need to learn to use them!

Speech is a powerful means of influencing the human psyche and at the same time a subtle tool for shaping worldview. Expressiveness of speech is achieved in many ways, including the active use of tropes - words and expressions used in an indirect, figurative meaning. Such transfer is always based on similarity, which can be expressed to a greater or lesser extent depending on the purpose of speech and its figurative structure.

Metaphor and comparison are considered the most common in living speech and artistic literary texts.

Definition

Metaphor- a word or expression endowed with an indirect meaning, which consists of comparing objects of speech based on the similarity of external features or internal content.

Personification– a trope, thanks to which the character traits and characteristics of a person’s behavior are transferred to inanimate objects or animals based on the similarity of manifestations in subjective perception: the wind howls(sound similarity) birch bows its head(similarity in type of movement).

Comparison

Metaphorical images are born as an indirect comparison, which implies, but does not name, the general characteristics or qualities of speech objects. Metaphor is always associative. Its content is polysemous and multifaceted. The perception and understanding of a metaphor depends on the ability to feel the difference between the direct meaning of the statement and the hidden subtext, which contains the meaningful value of the metaphorical image.

Personification has a simpler structure and directly names characteristics or actions characteristic of a person, transferred to the world of inanimate objects or objects and phenomena of living nature.

In personification, the figurative meaning of the keyword is obvious: the road is dormant, that is, it is at rest, no one drives along it. The wind produces sounds similar to howling. The horizon is a conditional line that cannot be achieved at any speed.

Metaphorical meaning is much more complex. It unfolds into a multi-stage phrase: the expression “the bog was chilling” evokes associations with cold, autumn dampness, the threshold of winter, the discomfort of the November landscape and the fact that some truly bright period in life, filled with joy and vivid sensations, is ending. The external sign of a trembling swampy area is transferred to the sphere of psychological perception of unkind changes and gives birth to a picture in the imagination that is far from real, not at all connected with either the quagmire or the autumn cold.

Conclusions website

1. Metaphor is a trope in which the transfer of meaning does not contain a direct indication of the object of comparison. Personification refers to a specific human quality or action transferred to an inanimate object of speech.
2. Metaphor has a more complex structure compared to personification.
3. The personification is clear. The metaphor is polysemous and in many cases can be interpreted in accordance with subjective perception.

An epithet is an adjective that reveals the characteristics of an object, adds evaluation to it, and gives expressiveness and emotionality to the statement. Examples from the poem by A.S. Pushkin's "Premonition" - a meek, serene angel; hectic life; your tender gaze.

Personification is a way of giving human qualities to inanimate objects. An example from the same poem: “again the clouds gathered above me in silence”; "rock envious misfortune
threatens me again...” Most often, personification acts as an inanimate noun with a verb that carries characteristics of human actions.

Epithets

An epithet is a special figurative definition that gives an artistic description of an object or phenomenon. This means of verbal expressiveness is most often found in poetic lines to give them brightness and emotionality. Epithets are most often adjectives.

Epithets can be:

• commonly used;
• copyright.

You come across commonly used ones everywhere, they are familiar and understandable. But sometimes existing options for describing an object or phenomenon are simply not enough to express surging feelings and emotions, so authors come up with unique epithets.

Another classification of epithets:

• figurative;
• expressive.

Expressive epithets will contain a certain assessment of the author, and figurative ones will be based on a comparison or expression of the characteristics of an object (phenomenon).

An epithet is not a specific attribute.

For example, in the phrase “wet rain” the epithet is not used. It's raining and it's really wet. But combinations like “sad rain”, “endless rain” or “mushroom rain” include an epithet.

Examples of epithets:

• ruddy dawn;
• skillful fingers;
• singing wind.

Personification

To express their thoughts and feelings more colorfully, people came up with “personification” - transferring their emotions, sensations and capabilities to inanimate objects. For example, in the expression "it is raining" the inanimate rain was given the human ability to move.

We most often encountered personification in children's fairy tales, in which animals could speak, plants could sing, and objects independently decided where they needed to go.

In order to obtain personification, it is enough for us to endow some inanimate object with living properties. Let's say there is a pink pen on the table and we need to somehow give it living properties, we get: an embarrassed pen, a dancing pen, a creative pen.

Other examples of impersonation:

• I heard how loud the wind howls.
• The sun winked to me from behind the clouds.
• Branches, cut off by a bully, again came to life in a glass of water.
• The bells sang me your special melody.

Means of enhancing speech expressiveness. The concept of a path. Types of tropes: epithet, metaphor, comparison, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, litotes, irony, allegory, personification, periphrasis.

Trope is a rhetorical figure, word or expression used in a figurative meaning in order to enhance the imagery of language and the artistic expressiveness of speech. Tropes are widely used in literary works, oratory, and everyday speech.

The main types of tropes: Epithet, metaphor, comparison, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, litotes, irony, allegory, personification, periphrasis.

An epithet is a definition of a word that affects its expressiveness. It is expressed mainly by an adjective, but also by an adverb (“to love dearly”), a noun (“fun noise”), and a numeral (second life).

An epithet is a word or an entire expression, which, due to its structure and special function in the text, acquires some new meaning or semantic connotation, helps the word (expression) gain color and richness. Used in both poetry and prose.

Epithets can be expressed by different parts of speech (Mother Volga, wind-tramp, bright eyes, damp earth). Epithets are a very common concept in literature; without them it is impossible to imagine a single work of art.

Below us with a cast-iron roar
Bridges instantly rattle. (A. A. Fet)

Metaphor (“transfer”, “figurative meaning”) is a trope, a word or expression used in a figurative meaning, which is based on an unnamed comparison of an object with some other on the basis of their common characteristic. A figure of speech consisting of the use of words and expressions in a figurative sense based on some kind of analogy, similarity, comparison.

There are 4 “elements” in a metaphor:

An object within a specific category,

The process by which this object performs a function,

Applications of this process to real situations, or intersections with them.

In lexicology, a semantic connection between the meanings of one polysemantic word, based on the presence of similarities (structural, external, functional).

Metaphor often becomes an aesthetic end in itself and displaces the original original meaning of the word.

In the modern theory of metaphor, it is customary to distinguish between diaphora (a sharp, contrasting metaphor) and epiphora (a familiar, erased metaphor).

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is consistently implemented throughout a large fragment of a message or the entire message as a whole. Model: “The book hunger does not go away: products from the book market increasingly turn out to be stale - they have to be thrown away without even trying.”

A realized metaphor involves operating with a metaphorical expression without taking into account its figurative nature, that is, as if the metaphor had a direct meaning. The result of the implementation of a metaphor is often comic. Model: “I lost my temper and got on the bus.”

Vanya is a real loach; This is not a cat, but a bandit (M.A. Bulgakov);

I do not regret, do not call, do not cry,
Everything will pass like smoke from white apple trees.
Withered in gold,
I won't be young anymore. (S. A. Yesenin)

Comparison

Comparison is a trope in which one object or phenomenon is compared to another according to some characteristic common to them. The purpose of comparison is to identify new, important, advantageous properties for the subject of the statement in the object of comparison.

In comparison, the following are distinguished: the object being compared (object of comparison), the object with which the comparison is taking place (means of comparison), and their common feature (base of comparison, comparative feature). One of the distinctive features of comparison is the mention of both objects being compared, while the common feature is not always mentioned. Comparison should be distinguished from metaphor.

Comparisons are characteristic of folklore.

Types of comparisons

There are different types of comparisons:

Comparisons in the form of a comparative phrase formed with the help of conjunctions as if, as if, exactly: “The man is stupid as a pig, but cunning as the devil.” Non-union comparisons - in the form of a sentence with a compound nominal predicate: “My home is my fortress.” Comparisons formed using a noun in the instrumental case: “he walks like a gogol.” Negative comparisons: “An attempt is not torture.”

The faded joy of the crazy years is heavy on me, like a vague hangover (A.S. Pushkin);

Below him is a stream of lighter azure (M.Yu. Lermontov);

Metonymy

Metonymy (“renaming”, “name”) is a type of trope, a phrase in which one word is replaced by another, denoting an object (phenomenon) that is in one way or another (spatial, temporal, etc.) connection with the object that is designated replaced word. The replacement word is used in a figurative sense.

Metonymy should be distinguished from metaphor, with which it is often confused: metonymy is based on the replacement of words “by contiguity” (part instead of the whole or vice versa, a representative of a class instead of the whole class or vice versa, container instead of content or vice versa) and metaphor - “by similarity”. A special case of metonymy is synecdoche.

Example: “All flags will visit us,” where “flags” mean “countries” (a part replaces the whole). The meaning of metonymy is that it identifies a property in a phenomenon that, by its nature, can replace the others. Thus, metonymy essentially differs from metaphor, on the one hand, by a greater real interconnection of the replacing members, and on the other, by greater restrictiveness, the elimination of those features that are not directly noticeable in a given phenomenon. Like metaphor, metonymy is inherent in language in general (cf., for example, the word “wiring,” the meaning of which is metonymically extended from an action to its result), but it has a special meaning in artistic and literary creativity.

In early Soviet literature, an attempt to make maximum use of metonymy both theoretically and practically was made by the constructivists, who put forward the principle of so-called “locality” (the motivation of verbal means by the theme of the work, that is, limiting them to real dependence on the theme). However, this attempt was not sufficiently substantiated, since the promotion of metonymy to the detriment of metaphor is illegal: these are two different ways of establishing a connection between phenomena, not exclusive, but complementary.

Types of metonymy:

General language, general poetic, general newspaper, individual author, individual creative.

Examples:

"Hand of Moscow"

“I ate three plates”

“Black tailcoats flashed and rushed separately and in heaps here and there”

Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a trope, a type of metonymy, based on the transfer of meaning from one phenomenon to another based on the quantitative relationship between them. Typically used in synecdoche:

Singular instead of plural: “Everything is sleeping - man, beast, and bird.” (Gogol);

Plural instead of singular: “We all look at Napoleons.” (Pushkin);

Part instead of whole: “Do you need anything? “In the roof for my family.” (Herzen);

Generic name instead of specific name: “Well, sit down, luminary.” (Mayakovsky) (instead of: sun);

The specific name instead of the generic name: “Take care of your penny above all else.” (Gogol) (instead of: money).

Hyperbola

Hyperbole (“transition; excess, excess; exaggeration”) is a stylistic figure of obvious and deliberate exaggeration, in order to enhance expressiveness and emphasize the said thought. For example: “I’ve said this a thousand times” or “we have enough food for six months.”

Hyperbole is often combined with other stylistic devices, giving them an appropriate coloring: hyperbolic comparisons, metaphors (“the waves rose like mountains”). The character or situation portrayed may also be hyperbolic. Hyperbole is also characteristic of the rhetorical and oratorical style, as a means of pathetic elation, as well as the romantic style, where pathos comes into contact with irony.

Examples:

Phraseologisms and catchphrases

"sea of ​​tears"

"fast as lightning", "lightning fast"

"as numerous as the sand on the seashore"

“We haven’t seen each other for a hundred years!”

Prose

Ivan Nikiforovich, on the contrary, has trousers with such wide folds that if they were inflated, the entire yard with barns and buildings could be placed in them.

N. Gogol. The story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich

A million Cossack caps suddenly poured into the square. ...

...for one hilt of my saber they give me the best herd and three thousand sheep.

N. Gogol. Taras Bulba

Poems, songs

About our meeting - what can I say,
I waited for her, as they wait for natural disasters,
But you and I immediately began to live,
Without fear of harmful consequences!

Litotes

Litota, litotes (simplicity, smallness, moderation) - a trope that has the meaning of understatement or deliberate softening.

Litotes is a figurative expression, a stylistic figure, a turn of phrase that contains an artistic understatement of the magnitude, strength of meaning of the depicted object or phenomenon. Litotes in this sense is the opposite of hyperbole, which is why it is also called inverse hyperbole. In litotes, on the basis of some common feature, two dissimilar phenomena are compared, but this feature is represented in the phenomenon-means of comparison to a much lesser extent than in the phenomenon-object of comparison.

For example: “A horse is the size of a cat”, “A person’s life is one moment”, etc.

Many litotes are phraseological units or idioms: “snail’s pace”, “at hand”, “the cat cried for money”, “the sky seemed like a sheepskin”.

Litotes can be found in folk and literary fairy tales: “Tom-thumb”, “little-man-nail”, “thumbelina-girl”.

Litota (otherwise: antenantiosis or antenantiosis) is also a stylistic figure of deliberately softening an expression by replacing a word or expression containing a statement of some attribute with an expression that denies the opposite attribute. That is, an object or concept is defined through the negation of the opposite. For example: “smart” - “not stupid”, “agree” - “I don’t mind”, “cold” - “not warm”, “low” - “short”, “famous” - “not unknown”, “dangerous” - “ unsafe”, “good” - “not bad”. In this meaning, litotes is a form of euphemism (a word or descriptive expression that is neutral in meaning and emotional “load”, usually used in texts and public statements to replace other words and expressions considered indecent or inappropriate.).

...and his love for his wife will grow cold

Irony

Irony (“mockery”) is a trope, while the meaning, from the point of view of what it should be, is hidden or contradicts (opposed) to the obvious “meaning”. Irony creates the feeling that the subject of discussion is not what it seems. Irony is the use of words in a negative sense, directly opposite to the literal one. Example: “Well, you are brave!”, “Smart, smart...” Here positive statements have a negative connotation.

Forms of irony

Direct irony is a way to belittle, give a negative or funny character to the phenomenon being described.

Anti-irony is the opposite of direct irony and allows you to present the object of anti-irony as underestimated.

Self-irony is irony directed at oneself. In self-irony and anti-irony, negative statements may imply the opposite (positive) subtext. Example: “Where can we fools drink tea?”

Socratic irony is a form of self-irony, constructed in such a way that the object to which it is addressed, as it were, independently comes to natural logical conclusions and finds the hidden meaning of the ironic statement, following the premises of the “ignorant of the truth” subject.

An ironic worldview is a state of mind that allows one not to take common statements and stereotypes on faith, and not to take various “generally accepted values” too seriously.

"Have you sung everything? This is the thing:
So come and dance!" (I. A. Krylov)

Allegory

Allegory (legend) is an artistic comparison of ideas (concepts) through a specific artistic image or dialogue.

As a trope, allegory is used in poetry, parables, and morality. It arose on the basis of mythology, was reflected in folklore and was developed in the fine arts. The main way to depict an allegory is to generalize human concepts; representations are revealed in the images and behavior of animals, plants, mythological and fairy-tale characters, inanimate objects that acquire figurative meaning.

Example: justice - Themis (woman with scales).

The nightingale is sad near the fallen rose,
sings hysterically over a flower.
But the garden scarecrow also sheds tears,
loved a rose secretly.

Aydin Khanmagomedov. Two loves

Allegory is the artistic isolation of foreign concepts with the help of specific ideas. Religion, love, soul, justice, discord, glory, war, peace, spring, summer, autumn, winter, death, etc. are depicted and presented as living beings. The qualities and appearance attached to these living beings are borrowed from the actions and consequences of what corresponds to the isolation contained in these concepts, for example, the isolation of battle and war is indicated by means of military weapons, seasons - with the help of flowers, fruits or activities corresponding to them, impartiality - through scales and blindfolds, death - through a clepsydra and a scythe.

Then with reverent relish,
then the soul of a friend in the arms,
like a lily with a poppy,
the soul kisses the heart.

Aydin Khanmagomedov. Kissing pun.

Personification

Personification (personification, prosopopoeia) is a trope, attributing properties and characteristics of animate objects to inanimate ones. Very often, personification is used when depicting nature, which is endowed with certain human traits.

Examples:

And woe, woe, woe!
And grief was girded with a bast,
My legs are tangled with washcloths.

folk song

Personification was common in the poetry of different eras and peoples, from folklore lyrics to the poetic works of romantic poets, from precision poetry to the creativity of the OBERIUTs.

Periphrase

In stylistics and poetics, periphrase (paraphrase, periphrase; “descriptive expression”, “allegory”, “statement”) is a trope that descriptively expresses one concept using several.

Periphrasis is an indirect mention of an object by not naming it, but describing it (for example, “night luminary” = “moon” or “I love you, Peter’s creation!” = “I love you, St. Petersburg!”).

In periphrases, the names of objects and people are replaced by indications of their characteristics, for example, “who writes these lines” instead of “I” in the author’s speech, “fall into sleep” instead of “fall asleep,” “king of beasts” instead of “lion,” “one-armed bandit” instead of "slot machine". There are logical periphrases (“the author of “Dead Souls”) and figurative periphrases (“the sun of Russian poetry”).

Often, periphrasis is used to descriptively express “low” or “forbidden” concepts (“unclean” instead of “devil”, “get by with a handkerchief” instead of “blow your nose”). In these cases, the periphrasis is at the same time a euphemism. // Literary encyclopedia: Dictionary of literary terms: in 2 volumes - M.; L.: Publishing house L. D. Frenkel, 1925. T. 2. P-Ya. - Stb. 984-986.

4. Khazagerov G. G.The system of persuasive speech as homeostasis: oratory, homiletics, didactics, symbolism// Sociological journal. - 2001. - No. 3.

5. Nikolaev A. I. Lexical means of expression// Nikolaev A.I. Fundamentals of literary criticism: a textbook for students of philological specialties. - Ivanovo: LISTOS, 2011. - pp. 121-139.

6. Panov M. I. Trails// Pedagogical speech science: Dictionary-reference book / ed. T. A. Ladyzhenskaya, A. K. Michalskaya. M.: Flint; Science, 1998.

7. Toporov V. N. Trails// Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary / ch. ed. V. N. Yartseva. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990.

Trope is a figure of speech in which a word or expression is used in a figurative meaning. The trope is based on a comparison of two concepts that seem close to us in some respect. The most common types of tropes are epithet, simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, litotes, irony, allegory, personification, periphrase(s).

Epithet- this is a word that figuratively defines an object, phenomenon or action and emphasizes some characteristic property or quality in them. For example, in the sentence The golden days of a carefree, cheerful childhood flash quickly by.(D. Grigorovich) adjectives serve as a means of artistic depiction and act as epithets. The adverb plays the same role proudly : The Petrel soars proudly between the clouds and the sea(M. Gorky) or noun enchantress in a sentence: And here comes the sorceress winter herself(A. Pushkin). Most often, adjectives and adverbs are used as epithets due to their inherent polysemy.

But do not rush to the conclusion that the more epithets in the descriptions and narratives, the better. It is useful to remember the advice of A.P. Chekhov: “Cross out, where possible, the definitions of nouns and verbs... It’s clear when I write: “A man sat down on the grass”; this is understandable because it is clear and does not hold attention. On the contrary, it is incomprehensible and hard on the brain if I write: “A tall, narrow-chested, medium-sized man with a red beard sat down on the green grass, already crushed by pedestrians, sat down silently, timidly and fearfully looking around.”

Comparison- this is a comparison of two objects, phenomena in order to explain one of them with the help of the other. L.N. Tolstoy believed that “comparison is one of the most natural and valid means of description.” The stylistic function of comparison is the creation of artistic imagery. For example, in the sentence A mighty oak stands like a fighter next to a beautiful linden tree(I. Turgenev) a tree is compared with a living creature and an artistic image is created, which, in particular, is facilitated by the comparison of masculine and feminine words ( oak - linden). And in a sentence Like a steppe scorched by fires, Gregory’s life became black(M. Sholokhov) the figurative perception of the gloomy, scorched steppe is transferred to the internal state of the hero of the novel.

Comparisons are expressed in various ways:

1) revolutions with unions ( as, as if, as if, exactly and etc.): The air is clean and fresh, like a child's kiss(M. Lermontov); He ran faster than a horse(A. Pushkin);

2) the form of the comparative degree of an adjective or adverb: And she appears at the door or at the window, an early star brighter, a morning rose fresher(A. Pushkin);

3) a noun in the instrumental case: Joy sang like a bird in her chest(M. Gorky);

4) lexically (using words similar, similar and etc.): Her love for her son was like madness(M. Gorky); Your eyes look like the eyes of a cautious cat(A. Akhmatova).

Along with simple comparisons, in which two phenomena are brought closer together based on some common characteristic, detailed comparisons are used, in which many similar features are compared:

Chichikov was still standing motionless in the same place, like a man who had happily gone out into the street for a walk, with his eyes disposed to look at everything, and suddenly stopped motionless, remembering that he had forgotten something, and then nothing could be more stupid than such a person: the carefree expression flies from his face; he is trying to remember what he forgot, is it not a handkerchief, but a handkerchief in his pocket, is it not money, but money is also in his pocket; everything seems to be with him, and yet some unknown spirit whispers in his ears that he has forgotten something.

(N. Gogol)

Metaphor- is a word or expression that is used in a figurative sense to designate an object or phenomenon based on its similarity in some respect to another object or phenomenon. For example, in the sentence Where, where have you gone, golden days of my spring?? (A. Pushkin) word spring used metaphorically to mean “youth.” Metaphor is one of the most common tropes, since the similarity between objects or phenomena can be based on a variety of features (compare the usual expressions in everyday speech: the sun rises, it rains, winter has come etc., no longer perceived as a metaphor).

Like comparison, metaphor can be not only simple, but also expanded, i.e. can be built on various associations by similarity: Now the wind embraces flocks of waves with a strong embrace and throws them with wild anger onto the cliffs, smashing the emerald masses into dust and splashes.(M. Gorky).

But, while creating picturesque clarity and emotionality of description, one should not forget that inappropriately or in abundance used metaphors can make speech unjustifiably “florid” and difficult to understand. A.S. Pushkin, in his article “On Prose,” ridiculed some writers, “who, considering it base to simply explain the most ordinary things, think to enliven children’s prose with additions and sluggish metaphors.<...>It should say: early in the morning, and they write: As soon as the first rays of the rising sun illuminated the eastern edges of the azure sky- oh, how new and fresh it all is, is it better just because it’s longer.”

Metonymy is a word or expression that is used figuratively on the basis of various kinds of connections between two objects or phenomena. Yes, in verse You led swords to a bountiful feast; everything fell with a noise before you(A. Pushkin) word swords used instead of the word warriors, i.e. instead of the names of the owners of these swords.

Said connection could be:

1) between content and containing: I ate three plates(I. Krylov) (i.e. “three plates of fish soup”);

3) between an action (or its result) and the instrument of this action: For the violent raid he doomed their villages and fields to swords and fires(A. Pushkin) (i.e. “ruin, destruction”); His pen breathes revenge(A.K. Tolstoy) (i.e. “a letter written with this pen”);

4) between the object and the material from which the object is made: The amber in his mouth smoked(A. Pushkin) (i.e. “amber smoking pipe”);

5) between the place of action and the people at this place: The boxes shine; the stalls and the chairs - everything is boiling(A. Pushkin) (i.e. “spectators sitting in the stalls and in chairs”).

Synecdoche is a type of metonymy based on the transfer of meaning from one phenomenon to another based on the quantitative relationship between them. Typically synecdoche is the use of:

1) singular instead of plural: And you could hear how the Frenchman rejoiced until dawn(M. Lermontov) (i.e. “French”);

2) plural instead of singular: We all look at Napoleons(A. Pushkin) (i.e. “we want to be like Napoleon”);

3) the name of the part instead of the name of the whole: - Do you need anything? - In the roof for my family(A. Herzen) (i.e. “in a house under a roof”);

4) generic name instead of specific name: Well, sit down, darling(V. Mayakovsky) (i.e. “sun”);

5) specific name instead of generic name: Most of all, save a penny(N. Gogol) (i.e. “money”).

The variety of meanings inherent in metonymy and synecdoche allows these tropes to be widely used in works of different styles, mainly in fiction and journalism, where, along with metaphor, they create picturesqueness and expressiveness of speech. For example: Childhood ran barefoot(V. Soloukhin); Maturity joked, youth sang(A. Tvardovsky) - here are metonymies childhood in the meaning of “children, children”, maturity in the meaning of "adult people" and youth in the meaning of “young men”, of course, is more expressive than the words they replace in the literal meaning.

Hyperbola is a figurative expression containing an exorbitant exaggeration of size, strength, meaning, etc. any object or phenomenon: A rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper(N. Gogol); At one hundred and forty suns the sunset glowed(V. Mayakovsky).

Litotes is an expression containing an exorbitant understatement of the size, strength, significance of any object or phenomenon: Your Pomeranian, your lovely Pomeranian, is no bigger than a thimble(A. Griboyedov).

It is possible to use hyperbole and litotes at the same time: Our world is wonderfully designed... He has an excellent cook, but, unfortunately, such a small mouth that he can’t miss more than two pieces; the other has a mouth the size of the arch of the main headquarters, but, alas, must be content with some German dinner of potatoes(N. Gogol).

Irony- this is a trope consisting of using a word or expression in the opposite sense to the literal, direct one, which creates a subtle mockery: Why, smart one, are you delirious, head?(I. Krylov) (addressing the donkey).

The highest degree of irony is sarcasm, i.e. evil mockery:

For everything, for everything I thank you:

For the secret torment of passions,

For the bitterness of tears, the poison of a kiss,

For the revenge of enemies and slander of friends,

For the heat of the soul, wasted in the desert,

For everything I was deceived in life...

(M. Lermontov)

The skillful use of such expressive means as hyperbole and irony enliven speech, in particular colloquial speech. But do not forget that they cannot be taken literally and that irony is subtle ridicule, not gross mockery.

Allegory(allegory) is a trope consisting of an allegorical depiction of an abstract concept using a specific life image. Allegory is often used in fables and fairy tales, where animals, objects, and natural phenomena act as carriers of human properties. For example: cunning is shown in the form of a fox, greed in the form of a wolf, cunning in the form of a snake.

Compare the accepted artistic and graphic allegories: justice - a blindfolded woman, hope - an anchor, freedom - broken chains, peace - a white dove, medicine - a snake and a cup.

Personification is a trope consisting of transferring human properties to inanimate objects or abstract concepts: Silent sadness will be consoled and joy will reflect quickly(A. Pushkin); Her nurse lay down next to her in the bedchamber - silence(A. Blok). Like allegory, personification is widely used in fairy tales, fiction, especially fables.

Paraphrase(s)- this is a turnover consisting of replacing the name of a person, object or phenomenon with a description of their essential features or an indication of their characteristic features: You know the land where everything breathes abundantly, where rivers flow purer than silver...(A.K. Tolstoy) (instead of Italy); author " Hero of our time"(instead of M.Yu. Lermontov); king of beasts(instead of a lion); queen of flowers(instead of rose); Land of the Rising Sun(instead of Japan). Compare A.S. Pushkin: creator of Macbeth(those. Shakespeare), singer of Gyaur and Juan(those. Byron), Lithuanian singer(those. Mickiewicz).

A large list of tropes proves the wide possibilities of using expressive means of the Russian language. But speech is decorated not by an abundance of tropes, not by excessive “floridity,” but by simplicity and naturalness. This is how A.S. understood good speech. Pushkin: “Accuracy and brevity are the first advantages of prose. It requires thoughts and thoughts - without them brilliant expressions serve no purpose.”