nds of sentences or
paragraph development. Since these so-called figures are not all mentioned
elsewhere in this text, a brief explanation and example of each will be
given here.

1. _Irony_ consists in saying just the opposite of the intended meaning,
but in such a way that it emphasizes that meaning.

What has the gray-haired prisoner done?
Has murder stained his hands with gore?
Not so; his crime is a fouler one--
God made the old man poor.

--Whittier.

2. _Hyperbole_ is an exaggerated expression used to increase
the effectiveness of a statement.

He was a man of boundless knowledge.

3. _Antithesis_ consists merely of contrasted statements. This contrast
may be found in a single sentence or it may be extended through an entire
paragraph.

Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it.

--Shakespeare.

4. _Climax_ consists of an ascendant arrangement of words or ideas.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

5. When a question is asked, not for the purpose of obtaining information
but in order to make speech more effective, it is called the figure of
_interrogation_. An affirmative question denies and a negative question
affirms.

1. Am I my brother's keeper?
2. Am I not free?

IV. THE RHETORICAL FEATURES OF THE SENTENCE

+95. Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis in Sentences.+--On pages 153-155 we
have considered the principles of unity, coherence, and emphasis as
applied to the whole composition. In much the same way these principles
are applicable to the sentence. A sentence possesses unity if all that it
contains makes one complete statement, and no more; and if all minor ideas
are made subordinate to one main idea. The effect must be single. A
sentence exhibits coherence when the relation of all of its parts is
perfectly clear. We secure emphasis in the sentence by placing ideas that
deserve distinction in conspicuous positions; by arranging the members of
a series in the order of climax; by using specific rather than general
terms; by expressing thoughts with directness and simplicity; and by
employing the devices of balance and contrast.

We must remember that, in the sentence as well as in the whole composition
and the paragraph, if coherence and unity are secured, emphasis is quite
likely to follow naturally. On the other hand, a violation of coherence or
unity often results in a lack of emphasis.

+96. Unity in the sentence is affected unfavorably