antonomasia
15.46
Antonomasian
A rhetorical term for the
substitution of a title, epithet, or descriptive phrase for a proper name(or of
a personal name for a common name) to designate a member of a group or class.
Antonomasia is a type of synecdoche. Roger Hornberry characterizes the figure as "basically a nickname with knobs on" (Sounds Good on Paper, 2010).
Antonomasia is a type of synecdoche. Roger Hornberry characterizes the figure as "basically a nickname with knobs on" (Sounds Good on Paper, 2010).
Example:
Example 1Imagine that you have a friend who is a fantastic chef, and you want to say hello.
Normal sentence:
“Oh, look! Sam’s arrived!”
Sentence with Antonomasia:
“Oh, look! The great chef has arrived!”
Here, the use of antonomasia allows you to greet your friend with a nickname which also reveals something about his character: he’s a great chef.
Example 2
For another example, consider that you have a grumpy teacher:
Normal sentence:
“He’s grumpy, boring, doesn’t want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesn’t want to help anyone.”
Sentence with Antonomasia:
“Mr. Grumps doesn’t want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesn’t want to help anyone.”
Replacing the teacher’s actual name with his defining characteristic, grumpiness, serves to highlight just how much the mood is associated with the man.
Here are a
few examples of antonomasia in the past:
- Aristotle as “The Philosopher”
- Winston Churchill as “The Great Commoner”
- William Shakespeare as “The Bard”
One instance of antonomasia is the treatment of Voldemort in J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. Rather than calling the dangerous man by name, all must call him “You-Know-Who” or “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” This usage of antonomasia emphasizes just how dangerous the man is, as most wizards and witches are too afraid to say his actual name aloud.
http://literaryterms.net/antonomasia/
http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/antonomasterm.htm
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