Rhetorical figures are stylistic resources used in literature with the purpose of achieving a more aesthetic than functional language, which is capable of expressing and transmitting emotions.
Examples of Anaphora: repetition of initial words
Youthat you boast about my sadness.
Youthat you feed on miseries.
These anonymous verses resort to the pronoun you at the beginning of each verse to emphasize the object of the reproaches.
YesYo you smile at me when I come to see you,
Yeah You understand that you are my people.
It is a stanza in which the introduction of each of the verses is done through the conjunction if, referring to a series of conditions. The name of the song Tell me about you and the author is Pedro José Herrero Pozo.
Ofdefend joy like a trench,
ofdefend her from scandal and routine,
of misery and the miserable […]
In the Defense of Joy (Everyday) by Mario Benedetti, this figure is used by repeating the preposition de at the beginning of the verses and through words whose first syllable is also de-.
Examples of Metaphor: relationship of ideas
Wind He is a dog without an owner,
that licks the immense night.
The metaphor is found in the first verse, where the author speaks of the wind as a solitary being that wanders during the night. It is a poem by Dámaso Alonso that belongs to his work night wind.
Is your laughter the sword
more victorious.
In these verses, which are part of the Song book and romancer of absences, Miguel Hernández refers to laughter as a weapon, as opposed to weapons of war.
Your hands they are my caress
my chords everyday […]
In this fragment of Poems of othersby Mario Benedetti, the author presents his beloved’s hands as something essential for daily life, as they represent something beneficial to the being, such as affection and music.
Examples of Allegory: continued metaphor
On the layers they shine
ink and wax stains.
They have, that’s why they don’t cry,
the skulls of lead.
With the soul of patent leather
They come down the road.
In this composition the author uses an allegory to describe the essence of the Spanish Civil Guard, making references to the most characteristic elements of its uniform. It is a poem taken from the Romancero gypsy by Federico García Lorca.
Oh lamps of fire,
in whose radiance
the deep caverns of meaning,
that was dark and blind,
with strange beauty
warmth and light give together with your Beloved!
Saint John of the Cross captures in these verses, which belong to his work Poemsthe illuminating effect that love has for those who experience it.
The named fortress
is in the high mountains
of a slope,
on a broken rock,
solid all of love,
very well placed;
This poem called love castle by Jorge Manrique, recreates an image in which the feeling of love is identified with a large and robust construction.
Examples of Metonymy: designate with another name
When I cover the mountains
of white snow The January […]
Luis de Góngora uses the month of January to refer to winter in this fragment of Solitudes and other poems.
[…] and those from Flanders returned
to their lands to live.
The author speaks of those from Flanders, to refer to the soldiers who fought in Flanders. From the work of José Zorrilla, Poems.
[…] further I received Cupid’s arrow,
and I loved how hospitable they can be.
Antonio Machado talks about Cupid’s arrow to manifest the feeling of love. These verses belong to his work Fields from Castile.
Examples of Simile: comparison of two elements
In an afternoon clear and broad as boredom […]
The author makes a comparison between the period of time that lasts an afternoon with something endless and boring. This verse comes from Solitudes. Galleries. Other poems, by Antonio Machado.
strange shaking
that stirs ideas,
like a hurricane that pushes
the waves in droves;
This composition belongs to one of the Rhymes of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. The entire stanza contains a comparison, the first two verses refer to a thought so convulsive and agitated that it seems like a hurricane.
Twenty-four carats
it’s like gold the girl […]
The value of the girl is so high that it can be compared to a precious metal such as gold. Poem extracted from Solitudes and other poems, by Luis de Góngora.
Examples of Hyperbole: exaggerated vision
Blood runs through the world
caged, dissatisfied.
The author uses this resource to denounce the extent and amount of blood shed due to wars. It is a poem of Songbook and romance book of absencesby Miguel Hernandez.
[…] and they have surrendered their banners
hundred nations To my feet.
The hyperbole is found in the last verse, where the author recounts the number of nations that have been defeated. These verses are part of The Pirate Song, by José de Espronceda.
But I promise you now pay you
with a thousand centuries of love any moment […]
Lope de Vega makes a promise of eternal love, establishing a period of time that surpasses human life. It is a fragment of his work sacred rhymes.
Examples of Synecdoche: the part for the whole
[…] hello the cruel iron for the wife
who sings sad hymns to their flags;
In this passage of Jerusalem conqueredLope de Vega represents a weapon or a sword using iron, the material from which it is made.
14. […]neither East
He bought honesty with fine stones.
It is generalized through the East, to talk about the countries or kingdoms that are in that region. Verses by Francisco de Quevedo, metaphysical poems.
[…] in the warrior palenque
they stabbed him with steel
so close to the heart […]
The steel represents the weapon with which the knight was wounded. Verses belonging to the work Case by Rubén Darío.
Examples of Prosopopoeia: humanizing concepts
My tired log,
son of the forest and father of my life […]
The author speaks of the log attributing to it sensations typical of human beings. Poem of the work Solitudes by Luis de Góngora.
In the moved air
the moon moves its arms […]
In it Gypsy romance by Federico García Lorca there are abundant references to the moon, which acts as a representation of women.
AND the air had legs,
trunk, arms, head.
The author speaks of air as an entity with attributes of a person. Fragment of Ode to Platkoby Rafael Alberti.
Examples of Epithet: preposition of adjectives
Very beautiful winter of my life,
without summer heat constant ice, […]
The adjective very beautiful appears preceding its respective noun. It’s one of the love poems by Francisco de Quevedo.
They have the high houses
open balconies
of the old town to the wide square.
This poem contains several epithets, tall, open, old, wide, that describe this locality present in the Fields of Castile by Antonio Machado.
He rude sun
tears the complex darkness […]
In this poem by Jorge Luis Borges extracted from Complete works, We can see two epithets that accompany sun and darkness respectively.
Examples of Apostrophe: invocation or calling
Hey, serversThose who are present and those who are absent, take axes in your hands and rush towards that place that is in sight.
Creon appeals to his servants, to whom the order contained in this fragment of Antigone by Sophocles.
Help me, My God! I screamed, fainting.
But God, he was so high up that he couldn’t hear me.
In this example the author implores God to grant her help. Rosalía de Castro, new leaves.
And the heart sounds like a sour snail,
calls, oh sea, oh sorry, oh melted terror
scattered in misfortunes and rickety waves.
In these verses of Residence on EarthPablo Neruda performs a multiple invocation with the intention of attracting the attention of three entities.
Examples of Alliteration: repetition of sounds
The Hummingbird Rooster
he was redheadjeither,
and it was his jobjand
of beautiful featherjand.
This children’s poem repeats the guttural sound of the letter j several times, probably with a didactic intention to help children with its correct pronunciation. The poem is by Gloria Fuertes and is titled The alarm clock rooster.
Blashe beitherbor from the village,
lives in no whatbrado ricebeither;
Alliteration is represented by the word Blas and the presence of the letter b, which probably symbolizes the babbling that Blas the fool emits when speaking. Work of Miguel de Unamuno, Poems.
Pablito clavó a clavito, what clavito clAvó Pablito.
It is a popular tongue twister that plays with the lyrics l, which is repeated in most of the words. Tongue twisters are a fun system for children to practice the correct pronunciation of certain sounds.
Examples of Polysyndeton: repetition of conjunctions
Dogs and the Wolves,
the rats and the cats,
the bitches and the monkeys,
the deer and horses.
In this fable we find a repetitive use of links that serves to show the multitude of characters that participate in it. Felix María de Samaniego, Fables.
AND for your sincere face.
AND your wandering step.
AND your cry for the world.
Because you are a people I love you.
The first three verses begin with the conjunction with the intention of emphasizing each of the reasons that support their love. Mario Benedetti, Poems of others.
AND the carpet is pure fern,
and the birch walls,
and the light comes from the ceiling,
of the blue sky ceiling.
Each verse begins with the conjunction to highlight the qualities that, in the author’s eyes, the quiet life of the country has in contrast to life in the city. Work by José Martí titled Simple verses.
Examples of Asyndeton: suppression of links
Give your passing woes
a one-way ticket and so on,
They will leave, they will flee, they will flow, they will fall […]
Verse of a song in which several unrelated actions are expressed, trying to represent the fluidity and movement of evils as they move away. Love of lesbian, The passing evils.
There is no comparable anguish to your oppressed eyes,
to your trembling blood inside the dark eclipse,
to your maroon violence deaf and dumb in the dark,
to your great king prisonerin a janitor suit.
The author compares a negative emotion with a series of elements that represent the New York neighborhood of Harlem. Federico García Lorca, Poet in New York.
I I am alive,
I am active;
I wiggle,
I walk;
I job,
I go up and low;
I am never still.
Tomás de Iriarte contributes to the text through this resource a dynamism typical of the character, through the description of his multiple actions. It is a fragment of one of the Fables.
Examples of Onomatopoeia: representation of sounds
Alice had spoken energetically, but the Hatter and the March Hare silenced her with their Shst! Shst! […]
In this fragment the onomatopoeia represents a sound to ask for silence. Passage of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderlandby Lewis Carroll.
She hugged him and stroked his head. ‘Shhh, shhhh’, he whispered.
It is a sound that imitates a whisper, a lullaby and the intention is to convey calm. Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Prisoner of Heaven.
Clip-clop, clip-clop; The rider was approaching. The sound of hooves echoed in the still, misty air.
It is the representation of the sound that a horse produces when walking. JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.