英文名词解释personification ,contrast ,paradox ,chiasmus ,poverb,a

英文名词解释
personification ,contrast ,paradox ,chiasmus ,poverb,anticlimax,asstrophe ,repetition,antithesis

per⋅son⋅i⋅fi⋅ca⋅tion  /pərˌsɒnəfɪˈkeɪʃən/
–noun 1. the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, esp. as a rhetorical figure.
2. the representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art.
3. the person or thing embodying a quality or the like; an embodiment or incarnation: He is the personification of tact.
4. an imaginary person or creature conceived or figured to represent a thing or abstraction.
5. the act of personifying.
6. a character portrayal or representation in a dramatic or literary work.
con⋅trast  /v. kənˈtræst, ˈkɒntræst; n. ˈkɒntræst/
–verb (used with object) 1. to compare in order to show unlikeness or differences; note the opposite natures, purposes, etc., of: Contrast the political rights of Romans and Greeks.
–verb (used without object) 2. to exhibit unlikeness on comparison with something else; form a contrast.
3. Linguistics. to differ in a way that can serve to distinguish meanings: The sounds (p) and (b) contrast in the words “pin” and “bin.”
–noun 4. the act of contrasting; the state of being contrasted.
5. a striking exhibition of unlikeness.
6. a person or thing that is strikingly unlike in comparison: The weather down here is a welcome contrast to what we're having back home.
7. opposition or juxtaposition of different forms, lines, or colors in a work of art to intensify each element's properties and produce a more dynamic expressiveness.
8. Photography. the relative difference between light and dark areas of a print or negative.
9. Television. the brightness ratio of the lightest to the darkest part of the television screen image.
10. Linguistics. a difference between linguistic elements, esp. sounds, that can serve to distinguish meanings.
par⋅a⋅dox  /ˈpærəˌdɒks/
–noun 1. a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
2. a self-contradictory and false proposition.
3. any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature.
4. an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.
chi⋅as⋅mus  /kaɪˈæzməs/
–noun, plural -mi  /-maɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [-mahy] Show IPA . Rhetoric. a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in “He went to the country, to the town went she.”
Poverb? 这个应该是 Proverb吧?
prov⋅erb  /ˈprɒvərb/
–noun 1. a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought; adage; saw.
2. a wise saying or precept; a didactic sentence.
3. a person or thing that is commonly regarded as an embodiment or representation of some quality; byword.
4. Bible. a profound saying, maxim, or oracular utterance requiring interpretation.
–verb (used with object) 5. to utter in the form of a proverb.
6. to make (something) the subject of a proverb.
7. to make a byword of.
an⋅ti⋅cli⋅max  /ˌæntɪˈklaɪmæks/
–noun 1. an event, conclusion, statement, etc., that is far less important, powerful, or striking than expected.
2. a descent in power, quality, dignity, etc.; a disappointing, weak, or inglorious conclusion: After serving as President, he may find life in retirement an anticlimax.
3. a noticeable or ludicrous descent from lofty ideas or expressions to banalities or commonplace remarks: We were amused by the anticlimax of the company's motto: “For God, for country, and for Acme Gasworks.”
rep⋅e⋅ti⋅tion  /ˌrɛpɪˈtɪʃən/
–noun 1. the act of repeating; repeated action, performance, production, or presentation.
2. repeated utterance; reiteration.
3. something made by or resulting from repeating.
4. a reproduction, copy, or replica.
5. Civil Law. an action or demand for the recovery of a payment or delivery made by error or upon failure to fulfill a condition
an⋅tith⋅e⋅sis  /ænˈtɪθəsɪs/
–noun, plural -ses  /-ˌsiz/
1. opposition; contrast: the antithesis of right and wrong.
2. the direct opposite (usually fol. by of or to): Her behavior was the very antithesis of cowardly.
3. Rhetoric. a. the placing of a sentence or one of its parts against another to which it is opposed to form a balanced contrast of ideas, as in “Give me liberty or give me death.”
b. the second sentence or part thus set in opposition, as “or give me death.”

4. Philosophy.
那个asstrophe查不到,lz是不是拼错了.
还有,lz是不是在学 literature devices啊?
如果是按照literature devices来说的话,这些词分别是：
Personification
Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are given human thoughts, actions, perceptions and emotions. E.g. "The moon danced mournfully over the water" - you see that a moon cannot actually dance or with mourning, therefore it is being personified in order to create artistic meaning.
contrast: the process of pointing out differences between things.
Paradox: Where a situation is created which cannot possibly exist, because different elements of it cancel each other out.
In 1984, “doublethink” refers to the paradox where history is changed, and then claimed to have never been changed.
A Tale of Two Cities opens with the famous paradox, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
CHIASMUS (from Greek, "cross" or "x"): A literary scheme in which the author introduces words or concepts in a particular order, then later repeats those terms or similar ones in reversed or backwards order. It involves taking parallelism and deliberately turning it inside out, creating a "crisscross" pattern. For example, consider the chiasmus that follows: "By day the frolic, and the dance by night." If we draw the words as a chart, the words form an "x" (hence the word's Greek etymology):
The sequence is typically a b b a or a b c c b a. "I lead the life I love; I love the life I lead." "Naked I rose from the earth; to the grave I fall clothed." Biblical examples in the Greek can be found in Philippians 1:15-17 and Colossians 3:11, though the artistry is often lost in English translation. Chiasmus often overlaps with antimetabole.
Proverb - a short saying, usually of unknown or ancient origin, that expresses some useful thought, commonplace truth, or moral lesson and is most often expressed in simple, homely language. Sometimes, it is allegorical or symbolic. A proverb is appealing because it is succinct and uses simple rhyme, irony, metaphor, and comparison or contrast. Proverbs are common to almost all nations and peoples.
The term is from the Latin proverbium derived from verbum, meaning “word.”
Proverbs are rooted in folklore and preserved by oral tradition.
The best known collection is The Book of Proverbs following The Psalms in The Old Testament.
ANTICLIMAX (also called bathos): a drop, often sudden and unexpected, from a dignified or important idea or situation to one that is trivial or humorous. Also a sudden descent from something sublime to something ridiculous. In fiction and drama, this refers to action that is disappointing in contrast to the previous moment of intense interest. In rhetoric, the effect is frequently intentional and comic. For example: "Usama Bin Laden: Wanted for Crimes of War, Terrorism, Murder, Conspiracy, and Nefarious Parking Practices."
Repetition
When a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, usually in close proximity, to emphasize a particular idea.
ANTITHESIS (plural: antitheses): Using opposite phrases in close conjunction. Examples might be, "I burn and I freeze," or "Her character is white as sunlight, black as midnight." The best antitheses express their contrary ideas in a balanced sentence. It can be a contrast of opposites: "Evil men fear authority; good men cherish it." Alternatively, it can be a contrast of degree: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for all mankind." Antithesis is an example of a rhetorical scheme. Contrast with oxymoron.