Simile The intensification of some features of the concept in question is realized in a device called simile. S. must not be confused with ordinary comparison. They represent two diverse processes. C. means weighing two objects belonging to one class of things with the purpose of establishing the degree of their sameness or difference. To use S. is to characterize one object by bringing it into contact with another object belonging to an entirely different class of things. C. takes into consideration all the properties of the two objects, stressing the one that is compared. S. excludes all the properties of the two objects except one which is made common to them. E. g. 'The boy seems to be as clever as his mother It is ordinary comparison. 'Boy' and 'Mother' belong to the same class of objects - human beings - and only one quality is being stressed to find the resemblance. 'Maidens, like moths, are ever caught by glare,' It is simile. 'Maidens' and 'moths' belong to different classes of objects and Byron has found the concept 'moth' to indicate one of the secondary features of the concept 'maiden', i. e., to be easily lured. Concept 'Maidens' is characterized and the concept 'moths' characterizing. Similes have formal elements in their structure: connective words such as like, as, such as, as if, seem. Similes may suggest analogies in the character of actions performed. In this case the two members of the structural design of this simile will resemble each other trough the actions they perform. Thus: "The Liberals have plunged for entry without considering its effects, while Labour leaders like cautious bathers have put a timorous toe into the water and promptly withdrawn it." The simile in this passage from newspaper's article is based on the simultaneous realization of the two meanings of the word 'plunged'. The primary meaning 'to through oneself into the water' - prompted the figurative periphrasis 'have put a timorous toe into the water and promptly withdrawn it' standing for 'have abstained from taking action'. In the English language, there is a long list of hackneyed similes pointing out the analogy between the various qualities, states or actions of human being and animals: busy as a bee, blind as a bat, to work like a hors, to fly like a bird, thirsty as a camel. These combinations have become cliches. Oxymoron Oxymoron is a combination of two words (mostly an adjective and a noun or an adverb with an adjective) in which the meanings of the two clash, being opposite in sense, E.g.: low skyscraper; sweet sorrow; pleasantly ugly face The essence of oxymoron consists in the capacity of the primary meaning of the adjective or adverb to resist for some time the overwhelming power of semantic change which words undegro in combination. The forcible combination of non-combinative words seems to develop what may be called a kind of centrifugal force which keeps them apart, in contrast to ordinary word combinations where centripetal force is in action. In oxymoron the logical meaning holds fast because there is no true word combination, only the juxtaposition of two non-combinative words. But we may notice a peculiar change in the meaning of the qualifying word. It assumes a new life in oxymoron, definitely indicative of assessing tendency in the writer's mind. E. g. (O. Henry) "I despise its very vastness and power. It has the poorest millionaires, the littlest great men, the haughtiest beggars, the plainest beauties, the lowest skyscrapers, the dolefulest pleasures of any town I eve seen." Even the superlative degree of the adjectives fails to extinguish the primary meaning of the adjectives: poor, little, haughty, etc. But by some inner law of word combinations they also show the attitude of the speaker, reinforced, of course, by the preceding sentence: "I despise its very vastness and power." Oxymoron as a rule has one structural model: adjective + noun. It is in this structural model that the resistance of the two component parts to fusion into one unit manifests itself most strongly. In the adverb + adjective model the change of meaning in the first element, the adverb, is more rapid, resistance to the unifying process not being so strong Not every combination of words which we called non-combinative should be regarded as oxymoron, because new meaning developed in new combinations do not necessarily give rise to opposition. Irony Irony is stylistic device based on the simultaneous realization of two logical meanings - dictionary and contextual, but the two meanings stand in opposition to each other. E.g. "It must be delightful to find oneself in a foreign country without a penny in one's pocket." The word "delightful" acquires a meaning quite the opposite to its primary dictionary meaning, that is "unpleasant". Irony must not be confused with humor, although they have very much in common. Humor always causes laughter. What is funny must come as sudden clash of the positive an the negative. In this respect irony can be likened to humor. But the function of irony is not confined to producing a humorous effect. In a sentence like "How clever of you" where, due to the intonation pattern, the word "clever" conveys a sense opposite to its literal signification, the irony does not cause a ludicrous effect. It rather expresses a feeling of irritation, displeasure, pity or regret Richard Altick says, "The effect of irony lies in the striking disparity between what is said and what is meant." This "striking disparity" is achieved trough the intentional interplay of the two meanings, which are in opposition to each other. We must also take into consideration that irony is generally used to convey a negative meaning. Therefore only positive concepts may be used in their logical dictionary meanings. Metonymy Metonymy is based on different types of relation between the dictionary and contextual meanings, a relation based not on affinity, but on some kind of association connecting the two concepts which these meanings represent. Thus the word "crown" may stand for "king or queen", "cup or glass" for the "drink it contains" These examples of metonymy are traditional. ............