5. Elaborate and long-drawn-out figures, or an overabundance of short ones, should be avoided. 6. A figure must be consistent throughout. A comparison once begun must be carried through without change; mixing figures often produces results which are ridiculous. The "mixed metaphor" is a common blunder of beginners. This fault may arise either from confusing different metaphors in the same sentence, or from blending literal language with metaphorical. The following will serve to illustrate: 1. [Confused metaphor.] Let us pin our faith to the rock of perseverance and honest toil, where it may sail on to success on the wings of hope. 2. [Literal and figurative blended.] Washington was the father of his country and a surveyor of ability. 3. When the last awful moment came, the star of liberty went down with all on board. 4. The glorious work will never be accomplished until the good ship" Temperance" shall sail from one end of the land to the other, and with a cry of "Victory!" at each step she takes, shall plant her banner in every city, town, and village in the United States. 5. All along the untrodden paths of the future we see the hidden footprints of an unseen hand. 6. The British lion, whether it is roaming the deserts of India, or climbing the forests of Canada, will never draw in its horns nor retire into its shell. 7. Young man, if you have the spark of genius in you, water it. EXERCISES Are the images which you form made more vivid by the use of the figures in the following selections? 1. 2. She began to screech as wild as ocean birds. And when its force expended, The harmless storm was ended; And as the sunrise splendid Came blushing o'er the sea — 3. As a demon is hurled by an angel's spear, -J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 4. In this republican country, amid the fluctuating waves of our social life, somebody is always at the drowning point. - HAWTHORNE. 5. Poverty, treading close at her heels for a lifetime, has come up with her at last. - HAWTHORNE. 6. Friendships begin with liking or gratitude— roots that can be pulled up. - GEORGE ELIOT. 7. Nearing the end of the narrative, Ben paced up and down the narrow limits of the tent in great excitement, running his fingers through his hair, and barking out a question now and then. 8. A sky above, Where one white cloud like a stray lamb doth move. - LOWELL. 9. In days of public commotion every faction, like an Oriental army, is attended by a crowd of camp followers, a useless and heartless rabble, who prowl round its line of march in the hope of picking up something under its protection, but desert it in the day of battle, and often join to exterminate it after a defeat. - MACAULAY. 10. It is to be regretted that the prose writings of Milton should, in our time, be so little read. As compositions, they deserve the attention of every man who wishes to become acquainted with the full power of the English language. They abound with passages compared with which the finest declamations of Burke sink into insignificance. They are a perfect field of cloth of gold. The style is stiff with gorgeous embroidery. 11. -MACAULAY. And close behind her stood Eight daughters of the plow, stronger than men, Or like a spire of land that stands apart Cleft from the main and wall'd about with mews. -TENNYSON 12. But bland the smile that, like a wrinkling wind On glassy water, drove his cheek in lines. -TENNYSON. 13. The rush of affairs drifts words from their original meanings, as ships drag their anchors in a gale, but terms sheltered from common use hold to their moorings forever. - MILL. Theme XIV. Write a story suggested by the picture on page 59 or by one of the following subjects: (Do you think the reader will form the images you wish him to form? Consider what you have written with reference to climax. (See Section 7.) Have you needed to use figures? If so, have you used them in accordance with the suggestions on page 55? If you have used the word only, is it placed so as to give the correct meaning?) 31. Determination of Meaning Requires More than Image Making. The emphasis laid upon image making should not lead to the belief that this is all that is necessary in order to determine what is meant by the language we hear or read. Image making is important, but much of our language is concerned with presenting ideas of which no mental pictures can be formed. This very paragraph will serve as an illustration of such language. Our understanding of language of this kind depends upon our knowledge of the meanings of words, upon our understanding of the relations between word groups, or parts of sentences, and especially upon our appreciation of the relations in thought that sentences bear to one another. Each of these will be discussed in the following pages. Later it will be necessary to consider the relations in thought existing among paragraphs. 32. Word Relations. In order to get the thought of a sentence, we must understand the relations that exist between the words and word groups (phrases and clauses) that compose it. If the thought is simple, and expressed in straightforward terms, we grasp it readily and without any conscious effort to determine these relations. If the thought is complex, the relations become more complicated, and before we are sure that we know what the writer intends to say it may be necessary to note with care which is the main clause and which are the subordinate ones. either case our acquiring the thought depends upon our understanding the relations between words and word groups. This may occur without any knowledge of the names that have been applied to them in grammar, but a knowledge of the names will assist somewhat. These relations are treated in the grammar review in the Appendix and need not be repeated here. In 33. Incomplete Thoughts. We have learned (Section 27) that the introduction of unfamiliar words may cause us to form incomplete images. When the language is not designed to present images, we may, in a similar way, fail to get its real meaning if we are unfamiliar with the words used. If you do not know the meaning of fluent |