Come on, you cowards, you were got in fear,
Though you were born in Rome; his bloody brow
With his mail'd hand then wiping forth he goes;
Like to a harvest man, that's tasked to mow

Or lose his hire. (Coriolanus.)

8. Onomatopoeia a Figure which endeavours to imitate and reproduce natural sounds, by the sounds of the words employed to describe them.

Ex. A creaking lock; hissing iron.

There are numerous examples of Onomatopoeia in German, French, Latin and Greek writers. One of the most famous specimens in English is "Lodore":

It would appear that each alphabetical sound possessed its own peculiar significance, until by constant and varied use its characteristic meaning became faint and obscure. Thus the combination st seems indicative of something stiff, rigid, inflexible, e.g. stick, stave, stair, step, stone, stile, stilt, star, stump, steeple, stupid, stand, stare. Str implies "strength", or the exertion of force, e.g. strive, stretch, stream, struggle, strip, strike, strain, strenuous, stress, stride, strew, strut, street (from Latin stratum). Sl is the reverse of st, e.g. slime, sly, slip, slide, sling, slice, slang, sleep, slumber, slur, sluice, sledge, sleigh, slough, sludge, slug, sloth, sluggard. Fl possesses more activity and mobility than sl, e.g. fly, flow, flea, flit, flirt, flourish,

flurry, fluid, flux, flame, flicker, flood, float, flag, flail, flash, fluctuate, flake, flare, fling, flinch, flippant. Spr is expressive of spreading, distention, displacement, e.g. sprawl, sprain, sprinkle, spring (to jump), spring (of a watch), sprout. Many other instances might be given to show that certain sounds seem naturally allied to certain ideas, e.g. crash, clang, snap, war, shriek.

EXERCISE XIX.

1. Define Vision.

2. Mention some other Figures not classified.
3. What is Onomatopoeia?

§ 26.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

We may here remark that the same expression can, and very frequently does, comprehend several different Figures. Take for instance: "the cruel sword." In the first place we have a Metaphor, for to the concrete "sword" there is attributed an abstract idea, the human quality "cruelty." In the second place, the expression contains Metonymy, the means being put for the cause, since man, and not the sword, is the source of the cruelty spoken of. In the third place, the inanimate sword is called "cruel", and so is spoken of as if it were a living thing; this constitutes Personification. Lastly, "cruel" is an Epithet applied to the noun "sword."

THE END.

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