Tropes

The Oxford Languages define litote as "ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary" and hyperbole as "exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally" (Oxford Langauges). 

Litotes seem to be apart of Old English Poetry, and the word originates from Greek terminology while Hyperbole, also stemming from Greek terminology, dating its first known or thought usage to the 15th century (according to Wikipedia which means this could be tenuous) This link nicely explains the proper usage and meaning of the litote and some background information (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zQv0ktmeFc) and this link does the same for hyperbole (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFxL-Jta0P4).

An example of the proper usage of Litote is evident in the poetryfoundation's Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare.

"Love is not love 

Which alters when it alteration finds, 

Or bends with the remover to remove."

He is describing love throught what it is not, or what "is expressed by the negative of its contrary."

An example of the proper use of hyperbole is seen in Homer's The Illiad: "Mars roared as loudly as nine or ten thousand men in the thick of a fight, and the Achaeans and Trojans were struck with panic, so terrible was the cry he raised" (http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.5.v.html). 

Obciously nine or ten thousand men did not universally cry out but Homer is alluding that the mere sound of such a scream or shout was comprable to an unbearably loud noise, such as nine or ten thousdan men screaming.

Tips:

For litotes, if someone were to ask if your outift looks good, a proper litotical answer would be: "it doesn't look bad." It is essentially negating a word that means the opposite of the negating. 

For hyperbole, comparing something to another that seems weird or unlikely, you are probably using a hyperbole. If someone said "I am so hungry I could eat a cow," they likely could not eat upwards of 1500 lbs of raw cow meat; they are exaggerating. 

Definition: A metonymy is defined as a figure of speech in which a word is substituted by another word or object that is closely associated with that word. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

History: The word metonymy and metonym come from the Greek word metonumía, which means "change in name." An exact origin of this literary device is unknown, however, it is regarded as one of the four "master tropes" by American literary theorist Kenneth Burke, which include metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony.

Tricks and Tips: Metonymies are a great way to add voice to a piece, as you are easily able to replace very common words with words that fit a specific character better. While metonymies can absolutely be used in a formal context, they are very effective in a setting that is more informal, for example, when talking about a car, you could say:

 "Wanna check out my ride," 

in which the word ride would replace the word car, in a manner that is easy comprehensible, yet changes the mood of the scene to one that is more lighthearted.

Famous Poets/Examples: Shakespeare is perhaps the most famous example of a poet that utilized this poetic technique, applying it quite frequently in his works, some of which have gone on to be quite popular metonymic phrases in the modern world, such as, most famously:

"Lend me your ears," (Julius Caesar, 1599)

where ears would replace the act of listening, yet the meaning comes across quite clearly.

Another poet that utilized metonymies in their work is Romantic poet John Keats, who wrote in "Ode to a Nightingale:"

"O, for a draught of vintage!"

in which vintage is replacing wine.

Definition: “a use of language in which a word that has more than one meaning is used with one meaning in one part of a sentence and with a different meaning in another part of the sentence, usually in order to produce a humorous effect” (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/zeugma)

For a good explanation, this video produced by Oregon State University explains it well, using quotations from several authors of prose, and the greatest Canadian-American Poet of all time, Alanis Morissette. 

The above page also explains that the word comes from Ancient Greek. It has to do with how the word is used with a mind to its different meanings.

A poet could use this form to be humorous, or to put emphasis on the multiple connotations of a word; it can also be used to any number of dramatic effects, it just hits hard sometimes. 

Examples:

A section from Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline, “Song: Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun” contains a zeugma-

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,

Nor the furious winter’s rages;

Thou thy worldly task hast done,

Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages:

Golden lads and girls all must,

As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

It is the use of dust  in the final line, paired with chimney-sweepers. As is explained on the Poetry Foundation Website, “Here, “coming to dust” refers to the chimney-sweeper’s trade as well as the body’s decay.”

I don’t see there being any specific way to best use this form. I think it would best be used sparingly, or as a once in a poem thing. The play with words like that could get old too, and so it may seem less interesting and clever to always repeat it.  This site gives examples of zeugma and also explains where it can go wrong, such as adding modifiers that only match one of the two words being used within the structure. The other thing I’ve gotten a sense to avoid, is reusing the word you are forming the zeugma with. It should be used only one time in the sentence. 

Would this sentence I wrote be an example of zeugma?: “The ship, pregnant with treasure, made berth at port.”  

DEFINITION: The assignment of human feelings to inanimate objects. (Poetry Foundation)

Pathetic fallacy is similar to personification and anthropomorphism since all relate to the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman entities. Pathetic fallacy is unique, however, in that it is directly applicable to human feelings and inanimate objects only, whereas the other two relate to abstractions, animals, or other nonhuman forms and their subsequent human actions at large.

EXAMPLES:

Perhaps the most popular example of pathetic fallacy occurs in William Wordsworth’s poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (Literary Terms) in which the title/opening line of the poem references an inanimate object, in this case a cloud, and gives it a distinctly human trait, in this case loneliness.

A better example of pathetic fallacy may be found in Charles Kingsley’s poem “The Water Bubbles” (Literary Terms).

“They rowed her in across the rolling foam, the cruel crawling foam, the cruel hungry foam”

This is an excellent example as it provides clarity on what can actually be considered a pathetic fallacy. In this case, the descriptions of “cruel” and “hungry” foam may be considered pathetic fallacy, but the words “crawling” and “rolling” cannot be, as they are actions/descriptions and not emotionally related.

TIPS:

The use of pathetic fallacy can be a unique tool in a writers toolbelt, but, like all poetic devices, it must be deployed carefully. If William Wordsworth had simply called it a “sad cloud” that wouldn’t be nearly as interesting and engaging and would instead come across as childish. What emotion you’re applying and to what you’re applying it is a critical decision.

DEFINITION: one name for it is called an epic simile also known as a Homeric simile. This simile is also known as an extended form which often runs several lines in a poem. It is also typically used in some sort of epic poetry, in which it creates and intensifies heroic stature with a subject in which it serves as decoration. (https://www.britannica.com/art/epic) 

EXAMPLES:

A heroic and or epic simile is a detailed or extended comparison which is typically found in epic poetry. Here's an example from Homer's "The Iliad'' poem. In which it comparing the hero Hector to a mighty oak tree:

"As when a man, well skilled in naval toil, 

With level axe prepares some lofty pile,

That, from the mountain's brow (a cubit's size), 

He shapes, and bids it from the clouds arise,

So Hector rising in the field of fame 

Was charged and armed, and met the Grecian claim."

In this simile it shows Hector's preparation in which he rises into battle. These are compared to a skilled craftsman which is shaping a massive structure from a lofty mountain. This comparison of the simile emphasizes Hector's strength, determination, and the formidable presence well entering the battlefield. 

TIPS:

The use of Heroic (or Epic) simile is through studying epic poems. Use vivid and evocative comparisons from there you need to extend those comparisons. Use natural methodology and emphasize heroic qualities. Strong points that add to Heroic similes are emotion, creating emotion and consistency throughout your poem.

Initially coined by T.S. Eliot, the objective correlative is how concrete objects are used to convey the weight of a more abstract feeling. An objective correlative can be described as external facts, such as images, actions, a chain of events, or characters that, when given, implicitly yet immediately evoke emotion. The goal of this technique is to get the reader to feel a very particular kind of emotion without naming the emotion itself. A work will fail as an objective correlative if it simply names an emotion without really conveying it.

         An example pointed out on Ingrid Sundberg is an excerpt from Jacqueline Woodson’s novel Beneath the Meth Moon:

“I sat up front with Daddy, stared at the flat land as we drove. Big sky that I couldn’t look up into without thinking about M’lady and Mama. Green land moving fast toward us, then passing us by. Farms and fields. Whole stretches with nothing at all” (44).

Ingrid says that the first two sentences are employed to convey Laurel, the narrator’s, feeling of being overwhelmed by something massive. Furthermore, the large object is intangible yet everywhere (big sky, expansive flat land). She goes on to describe how the green lawns may traditionally convey a positive image, but then their moving uncontrollably by means that the narrator is unable to hold onto good things, even if she wanted to. This is an objective correlative at work to more effectively convey Laurel’s emotion beyond simply saying “Laurel is depressed.”

(Written by Gabriel Cowley)