Then I’m across the finish line, first again.

          An Epigone – which I always have on my tail – comes in second.

          An Antonomasia finishes third.

          Standing up in the Metaphor, I grab the champagne bottle from the marshal and do a victory lap, shaking the bottle and spraying the crowd with fizzy drink.

          Later I go up to collect my trophy. I salute my supporters and sign a few autographs.

          I am looking forward to the next event.

NOTES

Metaphor: figure of speech & writing in which one thing, idea or action is referred to by a word or expression denoting another thing, idea or action.

Narrative Drive: The momentum of reading a set of fictional events, determined by narrative pace, sentence structure, subject matter, etc.

Simile: An explicit comparison between different things, ideas or actions, often using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Cliché: A hackneyed phrase or opinion.

Alliteration: Repetition of the same sounds – usually initial consonants of words.

Agon: A contest, debate or dispute between two characters.

Aside: A remark made by a dramatic character to the audience. Not heard by other characters.

Synecdoche: Figure of speech & writing which refers to something indirectly by naming a constituent part of it.

Symbolic: A word or phrase referring to a concrete object or event – usually an evocative image.

Analepsis: A form of anachrony, better known as flashback or retrospection.

Prolepsis: (Greek) Anticipation. Also known as flash forward.

Metonymy: figure of speech & writing that replaces the name of one thing with the name of something closely associated with it.

Mimesis: (Greek) Imitation. A central term in aesthetic & literary theory since Aristotle.

Onomatopoeia: Use of words that imitate the sounds they refer to.

Hyperbole: Exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.

Anaphora: Rhetorical device of repetition.

Epigone: An inferior or derivative follower of someone more distinguished.

Antonomasia: A figure of speech & writing which replaces a proper name with an epithet or an indirect description.

Towards the Finish Line

© R J Dent (2010)

www.rjdent.com

http://rjdent.wordpress.com/