In
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
, synonymia (Greek: syn, "alike" + onoma, "name") is the use of several synonyms together to amplify or explain a given subject or term. It is a kind of repetition that adds emotional force or intellectual clarity. Synonymia often occurs in parallel fashion.
[Henry Peacham, The Garden of Eloquence. 1593.]
Example
* The tribune Marullus taunts the Roman populace in
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
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Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
'' for their fickleness, calling the people several different pejorative names: "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!"
See also
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Figure of speech
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...
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Trope (linguistics)
A literary trope is the use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. Keith and Lundburg describe a trope as, "a substitution of a word or phrase by a less literal word or phrase." ...
References
Rhetoric
fi:Synonymia
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