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SEVERE EYES CHARACTERIZE
THE JUDGE'S FACE IN JAQUES'
SPEECH ON THE SEVEN AGES.
SURELY EVERYONE HAS FELT
THE SCRUTINY
OF ANOTHER'S EYES.
WHETHER WE WERE STANDING
IN FRONT OF OUR PARENTS,
OUR TEACHERS,
A COACH,
A SUPERVISOR,
OR LITERALLY
BEFORE SOME JUDGE,
WE HAVE EXPERIENCED
THE STEADY GAZE
OF SEVERE EYES.
THE LONGER THE EYES
ARE FIXED ON US,
THE GREATER SEEMS
THEIR INTENSITY
AND THE MORE WE FEEL
THEIR AUTHORITY.
ONE OF THE CONSEQUENCES
OF AUTHORITY
IS OFTEN A MOVE TOWARDS
GREATER FORMALITY.
WHEN I WAS IN TROUBLE
AND STOOD BEFORE
MY FATHER'S GAZE,
I KNEW IMMEDIATELY
IT WAS TIME
TO QUIT FOOLING AROUND.
THE SEVERE EYES
OF THE JUDGE REMINDS US
THE COURTROOM
IS A FORMAL PLACE.
THE PURPOSE FOR FORMALITY,
HOWEVER, IS NOT TO SATISFY
SOMEONE'S VAINGLORY.
THE COURTROOM IS FORMAL
BECAUSE THE SUBJECT
OF THE COURTROOM IS SERIOUS.
NO ONE SHOULD TRIFLE
WITH THE LAW.
SOME OCCASIONS CALL
FOR SERIOUSNESS.
THE RESEARCH PAPER IS WRITTEN
IN A FORMAL MANNER
BECAUSE IT IS
A SERIOUS ATTEMPT
TO REPRESENT
WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED,
TO REPRESENT YOUR KNOWLEDGE.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD
NEVER LAUGH AS YOU STUDY
A SUBJECT.
INDEED, AS G.K. CHESTERTON,
AN ESSAYIST FROM
THE 1930's AND '40s,
SAYS,
"THE MOST SERIOUS
PERSON KNOWS NOT
TO TAKE HIMSELF TOO SERIOUSLY.
A SERIOUS PERSON KNOWS
WHAT IS FUNNY."
THE SERIOUS STUDY
OF SERIOUS IDEAS CAN AND DOES
OFTEN END IN LAUGHTER
JUST AS THE TRUTH IS OFTEN
MORE REMARKABLE THAN
THE FICTITIOUS OR THE FICTIONS
THAT PEOPLE TELL
ABOUT THE TRUTH.
MOMENTS OF HUMOR MAY EMERGE
IN A FORMAL SETTING,
BUT THE HUMOR SHOULD NOT TURN
INTO SILLINESS.
YOUR RESEARCH PAPER
SHOULD REFLECT THE DEGREE
OF SERIOUSNESS
OF YOUR SUBJECT.
WHETHER THE RESEARCH PAPER
IS DONE TO PERSUADE,
TO INFORM, OR TO EVALUATE,
ITS PRIMARY METHOD
OF ARGUMENTATION
IS THE PRESENTATION
OF EVIDENCE.
PROBABLY YOU CAN NEVER WHOLLY
ESCAPE YOUR BIASES,
AND YOU MUST ALWAYS CONSIDER
THE EMOTIONS OF YOUR AUDIENCE,
BUT A RESEARCH PAPER
ATTEMPTS TO ACCOMPLISH
ITS PURPOSE BY USE OF
CLEAR AND AUTHORITATIVE
EVIDENCE.
THE FIRST GOAL
OF A RESEARCH PAPER
IS TO PRESENT A CLEAR AND
ACCURATE VIEW OF A SUBJECT,
NEITHER OVERSTATING
NOR UNDERSTATING YOUR
INFORMATION OR YOUR IDEAS.
AS YOU WRITE AND REVISE YOUR
RESEARCH PAPER,
YOU SHOULD REFLECT
ON THE RHETORICAL ELEMENTS
WE HAVE STUDIED IN EARLIER
LESSONS AS WELL AS THOSE
I WILL PRESENT IN THIS LESSON.
SINCE THE RHETORICAL ELEMENTS
HELP ESTABLISH EMPHASIS,
THEY WILL INFLUENCE THE WAY
YOUR IDEAS ARE INTERPRETED.
YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL THAT
YOUR IDEAS ARE NOT OBSCURED
BY THE PATTERNS OF YOUR
SENTENCES OR BY THE FIGURES
OF SPEECH AND TROPES
WHICH OCCUR NATURALLY
IN WRITING.
JUST AS THE JUDGE MUST WEIGH
THE LANGUAGE OF THE COURT
CAREFULLY, SO MUST YOU PHRASE
YOUR IDEAS CAREFULLY
WHEN PRESENTING THEM
IN YOUR RESEARCH PAPER.
WEIGHING THE LANGUAGE
OF YOUR ESSAY CAREFULLY
FOR CLARITY AND EMPHASIS
WILL HELP ENSURE
THE PROPER TONE
FOR YOUR RESEARCH PAPER.
WE HAVE IDENTIFIED
CUMULATIVE, PERIODIC,
AND PARALLEL SENTENCES
IN OUR PREVIOUS UNITS.
IN THIS LESSON I WILL DISCUSS
THESE SENTENCE PATTERNS
AS AIDS IN ESTABLISHING
CLARITY AND AUTHORITY
IN YOUR RESEARCH PAPER.
HOPEFULLY, OUR DISCUSSIONS
OF SENTENCE PATTERNS
HAS HELPED YOU DISCOVER
WAYS OF DEVELOPING SENTENCES
THAT CREATE THE EMPHASIS
YOU DESIRE.
I BELIEVE THAT THE SAME
SENTENCE PATTERNS CAN ALSO
HELP YOU INTERPRET AND EXPRESS
THE INFORMATION YOU GATHER
DURING RESEARCH
IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
BY CONSIDERING THE IMPORTANT
INFORMATION YOU LEARN
FROM YOUR RESEARCH
AND THE PURPOSE
OF YOUR OWN ESSAY,
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE
TO USE THE VARIOUS SENTENCE
PATTERNS WE HAVE DISCUSSED
TO AVOID PLAGIARIZING
AND TO GIVE CLARITY
TO YOUR ESSAY.
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE
FROM THE DRAFT
OF THE STUDENT ESSAY:
"THE CONSTITUTION OF 1960
WAS ABOLISHED ALONG WITH
ALL POLITICAL PARTIES.
THE COUNTRY'S NAME
WAS CHANGED TO THE
SOMALI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
BAHR ELIMINATED
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
AND REPLACED IT
WITH THE
SUPREME REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL,
AND HE PLACED HIMSELF
AT ITS CHAIR."
THIS PASSAGE FOLLOWS CLOSELY
THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S
PUBLISHED TEXT,
ALTERING ONLY A FEW WORDS.
THOUGH UNINTENDED, THE PASSAGE
STILL BORDERS ON PLAGIARISM.
THE STUDENT COULD USE
A CUMULATIVE SENTENCE PATTERN
TO SUMMARIZE THIS INFORMATION
IN HIS OWN WORDS.
FIRST, HE NEEDS TO IDENTIFY
THE MAIN IDEA,
AND THEN HE NEEDS TO IDENTIFY
THE SUPPORTING
OR CLARIFYING INFORMATION.
IN THIS PASSAGE, THE KEY
OR MAIN IDEA SEEMS TO BE
THAT SYAD BAHR
SEIZED POLITICAL POWER.
A NUMBER OF ACTIONS
ILLUSTRATE HOW
AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH
HE GAINED CONTROL OF SOMALIA.
STATING THE MAIN IDEA AND THEN
ADDING CLARIFYING DETAILS
COULD RESULT IN THE FOLLOWING
CUMULATIVE SENTENCE PATTERN:
"BAHR SEIZED POLITICAL POWER,
ABOLISHING THE CONSTITUTION
OF 1960 AND ALL POLITICAL
POWERS, REPLACING THE NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY WITH THE SUPREME
REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL,
EVEN CHANGING
THE COUNTRY'S NAME TO THE
SOMALI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC.
THIS SENTENCE EMPHASES WHAT
BAHR DID IN ORDER
TO SEIZE POLITICAL POWER.
EACH OF BAHR'S ACTIONS
ARE IDENTIFIED FOLLOWING
THE MAIN CLAUSE.
EXPRESSING THE IDEAS
OF THE ORIGINAL PASSAGE
IN A CUMULATIVE SENTENCE
LEADS THE STUDENT TO EXAMINE
THE ORIGINAL PASSAGE
MORE CAREFULLY
AND TO STATE THE INFORMATION
IN THE STUDENT'S OWN WORDS.
INTERESTINGLY,
BY BALANCING THE DETAILS
IN A SERIES OF PARALLEL
PARTICIPIAL PHRASES --
ABOLISHING THE CONSTITUTION
OF 1960
AND ALL POLITICAL PARTIES,
REPLACING THE NATIONAL
ASSEMBLY WITH THE SUPREME
REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL,
AND EVEN CHANGING
THE COUNTRY'S NAME --
WITH THAT SERIES OF PHRASES
EXTRA EMPHASIS IS GIVEN
TO THE SUPPORTING DETAILS.
REVISING SENTENCES USING
THE CUMULATIVE SENTENCE
PATTERN IS ONE WAY
OF ATTEMPTING TO GAIN CLARITY
AS WELL AS ORIGINALITY
IN YOUR SENTENCES.
YOU CAN DO THE SAME USING
THE PERIODIC SENTENCE PATTERN.
THE FOLLOWING SERIES OF SHORT
SENTENCES OCCUR IN THE DRAFT
OF THE STUDENT ESSAY.
THE STUDENT WROTE:
"BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND ITALY
ESTABLISHED COLONIES
IN SOMALIA
BEGINNING IN 1884.
FROM 1908 TO 1940,
ITALY WAS INDIRECTLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR REUNIFYING
SOMALIA BY SEIZING
BRITISH-CONTROLLED AREAS.
DURING WORLD WAR II,
BRITAIN REGAINED CONTROL.
IT BECAME A UNITED NATIONS
TRUST TERRITORY IN 1950.
ON JULY 1, 1960, SOMALIA
GAINED ITS INDEPENDENCE."
THESE SENTENCES ARE
GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT.
HOWEVER,
USING A PERIODIC SENTENCE
THE INFORMATION
IN THIS PARAGRAPH
MIGHT BE GIVEN A CLEARER
RELATION TO THE THESIS.
EACH OF THE SENTENCES
COULD BE COMBINED INTO ONE
SENTENCE LEADING UP
TO A DEFINITE STATEMENT
INTERPRETING
THEIR COMBINED SIGNIFICANCE.
THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE
ILLUSTRATES THE PERIODIC
SENTENCE PATTERN:
"COLONIZED FIRST BY BRITAIN,
FRANCE, AND ITALY
BEGINNING IN 1884,
REUNIFIED BY ITALY'S
TAKING COMPLETE CONTROL
BETWEEN 1908 AND 1940,
DOMINATED ONCE AGAIN
BY BRITAIN
DURING WORLD WAR II,
AND FINALLY MADE A UNITED
NATIONS TRUST TERRITORY
IN 1950,
SOMALIA HAS LONG WITNESSED
FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
IN ITS POLITICS."
EACH OF THE SENTENCES
FROM THE STUDENT DRAFT
ARE HERE TURNED INTO
A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE.
THE BALANCED OR PARALLEL
SERIES OF PARTICIPIAL PHRASES
LEADS THE READER
TO THE CONCLUDING MAIN CLAUSE
WHICH IS HIGHLIGHTED
IN YOUR EXAMPLE.
"COLONIZED,"
"REUNIFIED,"
"DOMINATED" --
THESE PARTICIPLES
CLEARLY EMPHASIZE THE FACT
OF FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
WHICH IS THE MAIN POINT
OF THE INFORMATION.
USING THE PERIODIC SENTENCE
HERE PROVIDES THE STUDENT
A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN
THE IMPORTANCE
OF THE INFORMATION
HE HAS GATHERED.
NOT ONLY DOES THE STUDENT
AVOID A SERIES
OF SHORT SENTENCES,
BUT USING
THE PERIODIC SENTENCE
HE SYNTHESIZES AND INTERPRETS
THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF HIS RESEARCH.
THIS GIVES GREATER AUTHORITY
TO HIS VOICE AND TO THE ESSAY.
THE ORDER IN PARALLEL
SENTENCES MAY HELP THE STUDENT
BETTER CONTROL HIS MATERIAL
JUST AS THE PERIODIC AND THE
CUMULATIVE SENTENCE PATTERNS.
AS I SUGGESTED IN EARLIER
LESSONS, PARALLEL SENTENCES
OFTEN EMPHASIZE
COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS.
THE REVISED THESIS POSED
IN LESSON THREE OF THIS UNIT
SUGGESTS A COMPARISON
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES'
POLICIES AND THE POLICIES
OF THE SOVIET UNION.
THE OPENING PARAGRAPHS
OF THE STUDENT'S DRAFT
ARE SHORT AND DO NOT CLEARLY
LEAD TO THE THESIS.
THE STUDENT COULD REVISE THOSE
SHORT PARAGRAPHS USING
THE IDEA OF PARALLEL SENTENCES
TO EXPLORE SOMALIA'S RELATION
TO THE TWO COLD WAR
SUPERPOWERS.
THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS
FROM THE DRAFT
OF THE STUDENT ESSAY
COULD BE REVISED AS FOLLOWS.
NOTE HOW THE
ACTIONS OF THE SOVIET UNION
AND THOSE OF THE UNITED STATES
AND OTHER FOREIGN POWERS
ARE BALANCED AGAINST EACH
OTHER THROUGHOUT
THE PARAGRAPH.
AND AFTER THE PERIODIC
SENTENCE JUST DEVELOPED,
THE STUDENT COULD CREATE
THE FOLLOWING PARALLEL
PATTERNS:
"FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
IN SOMALIA DATES BACK
TO BRITISH AND ITALIAN CONTROL
OF SOMALIA FROM THE LATE
1800s TO THE EARLY 1900s.
COLONIZED FIRST BY BRITAIN,
FRANCE, AND ITALY BEGINNING
IN 1884, REUNIFIED BY ITALY's
TAKING COMPLETE CONTROL
BETWEEN 1908 AND 1940,
DOMINATED ONCE AGAIN BY
BRITAIN DURING WORLD WAR II,
AND FINALLY MADE A
UNITED NATIONS TRUST
TERRITORY IN 1950,
SOMALIA HAS LONG WITNESSED
FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
IN ITS POLITICS."
NOW THE STUDENT COULD
INTRODUCE A PARALLEL STRUCTURE
TO CLARIFY THE THESIS:
"SOMALIA GAINED INDEPENDENCE
IN 1960, BUT SOMALIA COULD
NOT FREE ITSELF
FROM THE CONFLICTS
OF MODERN POLITICS.
IN THE COLD WAR, SOMALIA'S
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
BORDERING ETHIOPIA AND THE
GULF OF ADEN AT THE ENTRANCE
TO THE RED SEA MADE SOMALIA
IMPORTANT FIRST
TO THE SOVIET UNION AND NEXT
TO THE UNITED STATES."
THE STUDENT COULD CONTINUE:
"WHEN ETHIOPIA,
ALSO LOCATED ON THE RED SEA,
FAVORED THE UNITED STATES,
SOMALIA WAS ARMED
BY THE SOVIETS.
WHEN ETHIOPIA TURNED
TO THE SOVIETS, THE SOVIETS
SHIFTED THEIR ALLEGIANCE
FROM SOMALIA TO ETHIOPIA;
SOMALIA WAS THEN SUPPORTED
BY THE AMERICANS.
FROM 1969 TO 1977,
AS A SCIENTIFIC SOCIALIST
STATE, SOMALIA RECEIVED
MILITARY TRAINING AND
HUMANITARIAN AID
FROM THE SOVIET UNION
AND THE EASTERN BLOC.
WHEN SOMALIA INVADED ETHIOPIA
AND WAS DROPPED BY THE EAST,
SOMALIA RECEIVED ARMS AND AID
FROM THE UNITED STATES
IN EXCHANGE
FOR MILITARY BASES."
THESE PARALLEL IDEAS
WOULD PREPARE THE READER
FOR THE THESIS,
AND THE LANGUAGE
OF THE OPENING PASSAGE
WOULD BECOME
COMPLETELY HIS OWN.
YOU CAN EXAMINE THIS REVISION
OF THE STUDENT'S RESEARCH
PAPER IN YOUR COURSE
MATERIALS.
BALANCING ONE IDEA AGAINST
ANOTHER SUGGESTS
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE WHOLE PARAGRAPH.
IN SEVERAL OF THE SENTENCES,
INTRODUCTORY PHRASES
ARE PARALLEL,
AS ARE THE MAIN CLAUSES.
A POINT OF GRAMMAR
SHOULD BE NOTED WHEN STUDYING
THESE PARALLEL IDEAS.
"WHEN ETHIOPIA TURNED
TO THE SOVIETS, THE SOVIETS
SHIFTED THEIR ALLEGIANCE
FROM SOMALIA TO ETHIOPIA;
SOMALIA WAS THEN SUPPORTED
BY THE AMERICANS."
LOOKING AT THIS SECTION,
YOU SHOULD NOTE THE SEMICOLON.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER
THE USES OF THE SEMICOLON.
HERE THE SEMICOLON IS USED
TO JOIN TWO MAIN CLAUSES
IN THE PARTS ITALICIZED
IN PLACE OF COORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS SUCH AS "AND."
YOU SHOULD REVIEW IN YOUR
HANDBOOKS THE RULES
CONCERNING THE SEMICOLON.
THE IMPORTANT THING HERE
IS TO SEE HOW CLOSELY RELATED
THE TWO JOINED CLAUSES ARE.
JOINING CLAUSES WITH THE
SEMICOLON SHOULD ONLY
BE CONSIDERED WHEN BOTH IDEAS
ARE CLOSELY CONNECTED.
IN THIS CASE, BOTH IDEAS
ARE RELATED DIRECTLY
TO THE INTRODUCTORY PHRASE,
"WHEN ETHIOPIA TURNED
TO THE SOVIETS."
AS I DISCUSSED
WITH THE FIGURE OF ASYNDETON
IN THE UNIT ON CHILDHOOD,
ELIMINATING THE CONJUNCTION
INTENSIFIES THE CLOSENESS
OF THE JOINED IDEAS.
USING ASYNDETON
USUALLY REQUIRES
ONLY THE COMMA.
HOWEVER, IT IS MORE COMMON
WHEN A SERIES OF LONGER
PHRASES ARE JOINED
TO CONNECT THEM
WITH A SEMICOLON.
IF ONE OF THE PHRASES IN
A SERIES CONTAINS A COMMA,
THEN A SEMICOLON
MUST BE USED
TO JOIN THE PHRASES.
REFLECTING ON THE CUMULATIVE,
PERIODIC, AND PARALLEL
SENTENCE PATTERNS,
THE MAIN IDEA SUGGESTED
BY THIS LESSON IS THAT
SENTENCES REVEAL
PATTERNS OF THOUGHT.
SENTENCES ARE MORE THAN LOOSE
JUMBLES OF WORDS.
A PROFESSOR I HAD ONCE TOLD ME
THAT YOU ALWAYS WRITE
EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN.
IF YOUR SENTENCE ISN'T CLEAR,
IT IS BECAUSE
YOU PROBABLY AREN'T YET SURE
WHAT YOU MEAN.
ONE WAY OF EXAMINING
YOUR THOUGHTS FOR CLARIFY
IS TO WRITE THEM IN ONE
OF THE PATTERNS
I'VE DESCRIBED.
STATE YOUR MAIN POINT
AND ADD MODIFYING OR
CLARIFYING INFORMATION,
OR LIST MODIFYING IDEAS
BUILDING TO YOUR MAIN POINT,
OR BALANCE TWO OR MORE IDEAS
AGAINST EACH OTHER.
THINKING IN THESE TERMS
CAN ADD CLARITY AS WELL AS
RHETORICAL EMPHASIS
TO YOUR IDEAS.
WHEN REVISING A PASSAGE
YOU NEED TO LISTEN
TO WHAT YOU WRITE
AND USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT.
YOU NEED NOT FORCE EVERY
SENTENCE INTO ONE OF THESE
THREE RHETORICAL PATTERNS
THAT I'VE DISCUSSED.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG
WITH LOOSE SENTENCES.
FIRST, STRIVE FOR CLARITY
OF CONTENT, AND NEXT WORK
TO MAINTAIN INTERESTING
SENTENCES USING A VARIETY
OF SENTENCE PATTERNS.
NOW I WILL TURN OUR ATTENTION
TO THE FIGURES OF SPEECH
AUXESIS AND TO THE TROPES
OF METONYMY AND SYNECDOCHE.
AUXESIS ARRANGES WORDS OR
PHRASES IN THEIR ASCENDING
ORDER OF IMPORTANCE.
DESCRIBING OUR COMPOSITIONS,
I MIGHT SAY SOMETHING LIKE
THE FOLLOWING:
"TO THINK, TO WRITE, TO KNOW,
THIS IS THE EXPERIENCE
WRITERS HOPE FOR
AS THEY COMPOSE THEIR ESSAYS."
AUXESIS REMINDS US OF EARLIER
DISCUSSIONS IN WHICH
I MENTIONED THE ARRANGEMENT
OF PARTS IN SENTENCES
AND ESSAYS.
USUALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT
IDEA IS SAVED FOR LAST,
SO THAT IT WILL RECEIVE
THE GREATER EMPHASIS.
IF THE LEAST IMPORTANT IDEA
IS SPOKEN LAST,
YOU MAY ACCIDENTALLY CREATE
SOMETHING A BIT HUMOROUS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE ABOVE
ILLUSTRATION OF AUXESIS
SUGGESTS SOMETHING QUITE
DIFFERENT WHEN REVERSED.
"TO THINK, TO WRITE, TO KNOW."
REVERSED, THIS IS
"TO KNOW, TO WRITE, TO THINK."
I SUPPOSE EVERYONE HAS FELT
TRUTH IN THE SECOND SERIES.
WE OFTEN THINK WE UNDERSTAND
SOMETHING UNTIL WE TRY
TO WRITE IT DOWN,
AND THEN WE'RE FORCED
TO THINK AGAIN.
SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF AUXESIS
OCCUR IN THE CUMULATIVE
AND PERIODIC SENTENCES
THAT WE JUST EXAMINED.
THE FIRST EXAMPLE SHOWS
THE EFFECTS OF
BAHR'S SEIZING POWER,
PROGRESSING FROM HIS FIRST ACT
TO HIS RENAMING OF THE COUNTRY
WHICH SEEMS TO SIGNIFY
THE COMPLETE CONTROL
OF THE STATE.
"BAHR SEIZED POLITICAL POWER,
ABOLISHING THE CONSTITUTION
OF 1960,
REPLACING THE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WITH THE
SUPREME REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL,
EVEN CHANGING
THE COUNTRY'S NAME TO THE
SOMALI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC."
IN THIS PERIODIC SENTENCE,
THE SECOND EXAMPLE TRACES WHAT
WOULD APPEAR TO BE SOMALIA'S
INABILITY TO ESCAPE FOREIGN
INFLUENCE FROM THE LATE 1800s
TO THE MID-1900s.
"COLONIZED FIRST BY BRITAIN,
FRANCE, AND ITALY
BEGINNING IN 1884,
REUNIFIED BY ITALY's
TAKING COMPLETE CONTROL
BETWEEN 1908 AND 1940,
DOMINATED ONCE AGAIN
BY BRITAIN DURING
WORLD WAR II,
AND FINALLY MADE A UNITED
NATIONS TRUST TERRITORY
IN 1950,
SOMALIA HAS LONG WITNESSED
FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
IN ITS POLITICS."
AS I SAID EARLIER,
ALL FIGURES OF SPEECH
GOVERN THE REPETITION
OR PLACEMENT
OF WORDS AND PHRASES.
AUXESIS REMINDS US
OF THE RHETORICAL PRINCIPLE
WHICH I HAVE EMPHASIZED
IN THIS COURSE --
THE PLACE OF GREATEST EMPHASIS
IS IN THE END.
BY ARRANGING WORDS ACCORDING
TO INCREASING ORDER
OF IMPORTANCE,
ONE INCREASES THE DRAMATIC
QUALITY OF THE SERIES.
LIKEWISE,
BY REVERSING THE ORDER,
ONE WILL OFTEN CREATE
A FEELING OF ANTICLIMAX,
A SENSE EVEN
OF THE RIDICULOUS.
CALLING THE COURT TO ORDER,
LISTENING TO THE ARGUMENTS,
JUDGING THE CASE,
DELIVERING THE SENTENCE,
THIS IS THE NATURAL ORDER
OF THE COURTROOM.
YOU MIGHT WELL WORRY ABOUT
YOUR FATE IF THE ORDER
OF THESE ITEMS WERE ARRANGED
IN REVERSE --
DELIVERING THE SENTENCE,
JUDGING THE CASE,
LISTENING TO THE ARGUMENTS,
CALLING THE COURT TO ORDER.
YOU ALWAYS HOPE YOUR JUDGE
AT LEAST LISTENS
TO THE ARGUMENTS
BEFORE YOU'RE SENTENCED.
AUXESIS IS PERHAPS
A RHETORICAL REMINDER
THAT IN DIVINE JUSTICE
THE FIRST MAY INDEED
BE THE LAST.
IN EARLIER LESSONS
WE HAVE EXAMINED OTHER TROPES:
ONOMATOPOEIA,
METAPHOR AND SIMILE,
HYPERBOLE AND LITOTES.
IN THIS LESSON
I WILL DESCRIBE THE TROPES
OF METONYMY AND SYNECDOCHE.
JUST AS WE OFTEN TURN
TO SOUNDS,
AS IN ONOMATOPOEIA,
TO COMPARISONS
IN METAPHOR AND SIMILE,
TO EXAGGERATION AND
UNDERSTATEMENT
IN HYPERBOLE AND LITOTES,
IT IS ALSO COMMON
TO SUBSTITUTE WORDS
FOR CLOSELY RELATED TERMS
USING METONYMY AND SYNECDOCHE.
METONYMY SUBSTITUTES
THE NAME OF ONE THING
FOR THAT OF ANOTHER
CLOSELY RELATED TO IT.
THE PERSON IN CHARGE
OF A COMMITTEE
MAY BE CALLED "THE CHAIR."
THE KING OR QUEEN MAY BE
CALLED SIMPLY "THE CROWN."
IN COLLEGE TOWNS, ONE OFTEN
HEARS OF "TOWN-GOWN ISSUES,"
REFERRING TO THE DIVISION
BETWEEN THE PEOPLE WHOSE
PRIMARY ASSOCIATION IS WITH
THE TOWN AND THOSE WHO ARE
ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLLEGE
OR THE ACADEMIC GOWN
THAT PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS
NOW WEAR MOSTLY AT GRADUATION.
OUR LANGUAGE IS FILLED
WITH EXAMPLES OF METONYMY.
IN THE COURT
WE APPROACH "THE BENCH."
PEOPLE MAY SETTLE
THEIR ARGUMENTS
"AT THE TABLE,"
THE NATIVE LANGUAGE
MAY BE REFERRED TO AS
"THE NATIVE TONGUE."
INFORMAL EDUCATION MAY BE
REFERRED TO AS
"AN EDUCATION IN THE STREETS,"
BECAUSE THE STREETS
ARE WHERE WE ENCOUNTER
PEOPLE AS THEY ACTUALLY ARE
INSTEAD OF HOW WE THINK
THEY SHOULD BE.
WHEN THE POLICE ARRIVE
AT A DISTURBANCE,
WE MAY SAY
"THE LAW HAS ARRIVED."
SYNECDOCHE MAY BE CONSIDERED
AS A KIND OF METONYMY.
HOWEVER, INSTEAD OF
SUBSTITUTING ONE WORD
FOR A WORD CLOSELY RELATED,
USING SYNECDOCHE
WE SUBSTITUTE THE NAME
OF A PART OF A THING
TO REPRESENT THE WHOLE THING
OR A NAME OF THE WHOLE
TO REPRESENT THE PART.
USING SYNECDOCHE,
THE MATERIAL OF WHICH
SOMETHING IS MADE MAY
REPRESENT THE THING MADE.
THE GENUS MAY REPRESENT
THE SPECIES,
OR THE SPECIES THE GENUS.
USING THE PART FOR THE WHOLE,
YOU MAY REFER TO YOUR "WHEELS"
WHEN REFERRING TO
YOUR WHOLE CAR.
USING THE WHOLE TO REFER
TO A PART YOU MIGHT SAY,
"THE ARMY WAS WAITING SOME
PLACE," WHEN, IN FACT,
ONLY A FEW SOLDIERS
WERE THERE.
THE GENUS MAY REFER
TO THE SPECIES --
AS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
HEARING THE BIRD,
WHEN, IN FACT,
WE MEAN A CARDINAL.
SYNECDOCHE IS A COMMON
ELEMENT OF OUR DAILY SPEECH.
DISCUSSING THE CONSTRUCTION
OR THE MAINTENANCE
OF BUILDINGS,
YOU MAY REFER TO
BRICKS AND MORTAR.
SPORTS ANNOUNCERS REPORT
THAT KANSAS CITY SCORED
A TOUCHDOWN, THOUGH,
OF COURSE, ONLY THE TEAM
WAS ON THE FIELD AND ONLY
ONE PLAYER HELD THE BALL
IN THE END ZONE.
TO IDENTIFY THE TEAM
WITH THE WHOLE CITY
IS AN EXAMPLE OF SYNECDOCHE,
USING A PART
TO REPRESENT A WHOLE.
WHEREAS SIMILE AND METAPHOR
FOCUS ON COMPARISONS,
METONYMY AND SYNECDOCHE
FOCUS ON
CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION,
SUBSTITUTING THE PART
FOR THE WHOLE
OR A WHOLE FOR THE PART
AS THE EXAMPLES
HAVE ILLUSTRATED.
UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPLES
AT WORK IN THESE TROPES
IS IMPORTANT
BECAUSE THEY AFFECT
THE MEANING OF
WHAT WE SAY AND THINK.
THE EASE WITH WHICH THEY ARE
USED MAKES THEM POTENTIAL
OBSTACLES TO CLEAR THOUGHT.
EXAMINING A PASSAGE
FROM ONE OF THE ARTICLES
USED IN PREPARING
THE STUDENT'S RESEARCH PAPER,
THE POSSIBLE MISUNDERSTANDING
OR INCOMPLETE UNDERSTANDING
OF A PROBLEM
CAN BE ILLUSTRATED.
CONSIDER THIS SENTENCE
FROM ONE OF THE NEWS ARTICLES:
"SOMALIA SEEMS TO CRY OUT
FOR UNITED NATIONS
INTERVENTION."
CERTAINLY THIS IS
A RATHER TAME STATEMENT.
NONETHELESS, IT IS AN EXAMPLE
OF SYNECDOCHE.
SOMALIA AS A WHOLE COUNTRY
DOES NOT, IN FACT, CRY OUT.
MANY PEOPLE WERE STARVING
OR SUFFERING FROM MANY CAUSES,
BUT WHO EXACTLY CRIED OUT
FOR INTERVENTION?
IF SOMALIA AS A WHOLE COUNTRY
HAD CALLED FOR HELP,
WHY WERE REPRESENTATIVES
FROM THE UNITED NATIONS
KILLED WHEN THEY CAME TO HELP?
CLEARLY SOME PEOPLE IN SOMALIA
DID NOT WANT
THE UNITED NATIONS THERE.
BY SUBSTITUTING
THE WHOLE COUNTRY
FOR THE ACTUAL SOMALIANS
WHO DESIRED
UNITED NATIONS INTERVENTION,
IT WOULD APPEAR
ALL OF SOMALIA
WANTED THE UNITED NATIONS
TO INTERVENE,
CREATING A FALSE SENSE
OF SECURITY
AND PERHAPS A FALSE
AND OVERSIMPLIFIED VIEW
OF HOW THE UNITED NATIONS
ASSEMBLY MIGHT HELP
A SUFFERING COUNTRY.
YOU SHOULD REMEMBER
THAT POLITICS ARE EASILY
OVERSIMPLIFIED.
AND SYNECDOCHE IS ONE VERBAL
TROPE THAT MAY RESULT
IN OUR NOT SEEING A SUBJECT
AS IT REALLY IS.
SEEING ONLY THE WHOLE
ENABLES US TO AVOID DEALING
WITH SOME OF THE SPECIFIC
DETAILS THAT MAKE
A PROBLEM DIFFICULT.
IT IS ONE THING TO COME UP
WITH A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM.
IT IS QUITE ANOTHER
TO IMPLEMENT THAT SOLUTION.
FACTS, SPECIFIC DETAILS,
THEY OFTEN GET IN THE WAY.
THE OPPOSITE
CAN EQUALLY BE TRUE.
SOME PROBLEMS WILL REPRESENT
US WITH PLENTY OF CLEAR,
DEFINED DETAILS.
INDEED, THERE CAN BE SO MANY
DETAILS THAT NO PATTERN
SEEMS TO EMERGE.
UNDERSTANDING SYNECDOCHE
AND METONYMY ENABLE YOU
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND
BETTER EVALUATE THE DIFFERENT
LEVELS OF INFORMATION THAT
NEARLY EVERY TOPIC INVOLVES.
WE USE TROPES NATURALLY
AS WE TRY TO
EXPRESS THE PARTICULAR
QUALITIES OF OUR EXPERIENCES.
SOMETIMES USING ONOMATOPOEIA
WE TRY TO CAPTURE
THE SOUND OF THE EXPERIENCE
IN THE VERY WORDS
USED TO DESCRIBE
THE EXPERIENCE.
SIMILES AND METAPHORS
ENABLE US TO COMPARE
ONE SUBJECT TO ANOTHER.
USING HYPERBOLES OR LITOTES,
WE MAY EXAGGERATE OR
UNDERSTATE AN EVENT
TO TRY AND CAPTURE
OUR FEELINGS MORE ACCURATELY
THAN IS ACCOMPLISHED
WITH A PURELY
OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION.
METONYMY ATTEMPTS
TO CLARIFY ONE IDEA
BY PRESENTING IT IN TERMS
OF OTHER
CLOSELY-RELATED IDEAS;
SYNECDOCHE BY PRESENTING
AN IDEA USING THE RELATIONSHIP
OF WHOLE TO PART
OR PART TO WHOLE.
THE WAY IN WHICH YOU EMPHASIZE
AN IDEA CAN REVEAL YOUR
ATTITUDE TOWARDS YOUR SUBJECT
AS MUCH AS THE PRECISE
INFORMATION YOU REVEAL
ABOUT THE SUBJECT.
IN THIS UNIT I HAVE DESCRIBED
THE DESIRED TONE
OF THE RESEARCH PAPER.
YOU SHOULD STRIVE FOR CLARITY
AND OBJECTIVITY.
YOU SHOULD GIVE EVIDENCE
THAT YOU HAVE BASED YOUR ESSAY
ON SOUND AUTHORITY
BY PRESENTING ACCURATE
INFORMATION,
WELL-REASONED POSITIONS,
AND BY CITING THE SOURCES
OF YOUR INFORMATION.
YOU MUST SUPPORT YOUR THESIS,
WHETHER INFORMATIVE
OR PERSUASIVE,
WITH CLEARLY-REASONED AND
WELL-SUPPORTED INFORMATION.
A RESEARCH PAPER SHOULD SEE
THROUGH THE SUPERFICIAL
AND PREJUDICED VIEWS
OF A SUBJECT IN AN HONEST
EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND
AND REPRESENT THE TRUTH.
AS YOU FACE THE SEVERE EYES
OF THE JUDGE,
REMEMBER THAT THE MOST
PROFOUND JOY IS OFTEN FOUND
IN THE MOST HONEST SEARCH
FOR THE TRUTH.
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