Table of Contents

Introduction: the figures in Renaissance theory and practice Sylvia Adamson, Gavin Alexander and Katrin Ettenhuber; 1. Synonymia: or, in other words Sylvia Adamson; 2. Compar or Parison: measure for measure Russ McDonald; 3. Periodos: squaring the circle Janel Mueller; 4. Puns: serious wordplay Sophie Read; 5. Prosopopoeia: the speaking figure Gavin Alexander; 6. Ekphrasis: painting in words Claire Preston; 7. Hysteron proteron, or the preposterous Patricia Parker; 8. Paradiastole: redescribing the vices as virtues Quentin Skinner; 9. Syncrisis: the figure of contestation Ian Donaldson; 10. Testimony: the artless proof R. W. Serjeantson; 11. Hyperbole: exceeding similitude Katrin Ettenhuber; 12. Metalepsis: the boundaries of metaphor Brian Cummings; 13. The vices of style William Poole.

Promotional Information

A collection of essays, each tackling a Renaissance figure of speech in literature.

About the Author

Sylvia Adamson is Professor of English Literature, Language and Linguistics at the University of Sheffield. Gavin Alexander is Lecturer in the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge. Katrin Ettenhuber is Fellow and Lecturer in English at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Reviews

' ... this is an outstanding contribution to the subject - the most rewarding book about rhetoric I have ever read and a very fine tribute to the late Jeremy Maule, in whose memory it was conceived.' Review of English Studies