Writing is not like chemical engineering. The figures of speech should not be learned the same way as the periodic table of elements. This is because figures of speech are not about hypothetical structures in things, but about real potentialities within language and within ourselves. The "figurings" of speech reveal the apparently limitless plasticity of language itself. We are inescapably confronted with the intoxicating possibility that we can make language do for us almost anything we want. Or at least a Shakespeare can. The figures of speech help to see how he does it, and how we might. Therefore, in the chapters presented in this volume, the quotations from Shakespeare, the Bible, and other sources are not presented to exemplify the definitions. Rather, the definitions are presented to lead to the quotations. And the quotations are there to show us how to do with language what we have not done before. They are there for imitation.

“Enjoyable and informative . . . Using this humorously presented book, children will truly improve their styles of writing” (School Library Journal). Writing “The road was bumpy” is okay . . . but isn’t it more fun to say “It felt like we were riding on square tires”? This lively guide shows kids how to make their writing more dramatic, more memorable, or just plain funnier—whether they’re writing for school or for creative expression. It explains six techniques: Similes Metaphors Onomatopoeia Alliteration Hyperbole Personification . . . and provides guidelines for their use, plenty of examples, and entertaining illustrations.

Tim Cassedy’s fascinating study examines the role that language played at the turn of the nineteenth century as a marker of one’s identity. During this time of revolution (U.S., French, and Haitian) and globalization, language served as a way to categorize people within a world that appeared more diverse than ever. Linguistic differences, especially among English-speakers, seemed to validate the emerging national, racial, local, and regional identity categories that took shape in this new world order. Focusing on six eccentric characters of the time—from the woman known as “Princess Caraboo” to wordsmith Noah Webster—Cassedy shows how each put language at the center of their identities and lived out the possibilities of their era’s linguistic ideas. The result is a highly entertaining and equally informative look at how perceptions about who spoke what language—and how they spoke it—determined the shape of communities in the British American colonies and beyond. This engagingly written story is sure to appeal to historians of literature, culture, and communication; to linguists and book historians; and to general readers interested in how ideas about English developed in the early United States and throughout the English-speaking world.

The essential volume on the great fashion designer, entrepreneur and Louis Vuitton artistic director, back in print This authoritative Virgil Abloh compendium, created by the designer himself, accompanies his acclaimed landmark 2019-23 touring exhibition and offers in-depth analysis of his career and his inspirations. More than a catalog, Figures of Speechis a 500-page user's manual to Abloh's genre-bending work in art, fashion and design. The first section features essays and an interview that examine Abloh's oeuvre through the lenses of contemporary art history, architecture, streetwear, high fashion and race, to provide insight into a prolific and impactful career that cuts across mediums, connecting visual artists, musicians, graphic designers, fashion designers, major brands and architects. The book also contains a massive archive of images culled from Abloh's personal files on major projects, revealing behind-the-scenes snapshots, prototypes, inspirations and more--accompanied by intimate commentary from the artist. Finally, a gorgeous full-color plate section offers a detailed view of Abloh's work across disciplines. Virgil Abloh(1980-2021) was a fashion designer and entrepreneur, and the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's men's wear collection from 2018 to 2021. He was also CEO of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013. Born in Rockford, Illinois, to Ghanaian parents, he entered the world of fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009 alongside rapper Kanye West. The two began an artistic collaboration that would launch Abloh's career with the founding of Off-White. Timemagazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

A collection of essays, each tackling a Renaissance figure of speech in literature.

Over the past two hundred years, thousands of ancient Greek vases have been unearthed. Yet these artifacts remain a challenge: what did the images depicted on these vases actually mean to ancient Greek viewers? In this long-awaited book, Gloria Ferrari uses Athenian vases, literary evidence, and other works of art from the Archaic and Classical periods (520-400 B.C.) to investigate what these items can tell us about the ancient Greeks—specifically, their notions of gender. Ferrari begins by developing a theoretical perspective on visual representation, arguing that artistic images give us access to how their subjects were imagined rather than to the way they really were. For instance, Ferrari's examinations of the many representations of women working wool reveal that these images constitute powerful metaphors—metaphors, she argues, which both reflect and construct Greek conceptions of the ideal woman and her ideal behavior. From this perspective, Ferrari studies a number of icons representing blameless femininity and ideal masculinity to reevaluate the rites of passage by which girls are made ready for marriage and boys become men. Representations of the nude male body in Archaic statues known as kouroi, for example, symbolize manhood itself and shed new light on the much-discussed institution of paiderastia. And, in Ferrari's hands, imagery equating maidens with arable land and buried treasure provides a fresh view of Greek ideas of matrimony. Innovative, thought-provoking, and insightful throughout, Figures of Speech is a powerful demonstration of how the study of visual images as well as texts can reshape our understanding of ancient Greek culture.

2011 Hardcover Reprint of 1898 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. Many consider Bullinger's handbook to be the best one on the subject. According to Walter Kaiser, "this book should be on every exegete's shelf alongside the Greek and Hebrew lexicons and grammars." Bullinger sets out 217 distinct figures of speech present in Scripture. He gives for each the pronunciation and etymology of its name, and then a number of passages of Scripture in which it appears, accompanied by a full explanation. In all, nearly eight thousand passages are thus cited.