Auxesis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Auxesis is a form of hyperbole, in which something is referred to by a term disproportionate to its importance for the very purpose of amplifying that thing's importance or gravity.
It can be contrasted with meiosis and litotes, which make deliberate use of understatement.
[edit] Examples
- A lawyer may refer to a scratch as a "wound" or "laceration".
- A book may be referred to as a "volume."
- Referring to a film as a "drama" or an "epic", when the intent is to lend a sense of importance or majesty.
- Calling the body of work a newcomer has produced in a field a literary canon.
[edit] References
- Corbett, Edward P.J. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Oxford University Press, New York, 1971.
