Euphemisms & Allegory and Personification

Euphemisms This term denotes the use of a different, more gentle or favourable name for an object or phenomenon so as to avoid undesirable or unpleasant associations. Thus, the verb to die may be replaced by euphemisms like to expire, to be no more, to join the majority, to begone, to depart; a madhouse may be called a lunatic asylum or a mental hospital; euphemisms for toilet, lavatory are ladies'(men's) room; rest-room; bathroom. Euphemistic expressions may have the structure of a sentence: China is a country where you often get different accounts of the same thing (= where many lies are told) (from Lord Salisbury's Speech). There are euphemisms replacing taboo-words (taboos), i.e. words forbidden in use in a community: The Prince of darkness or The Evil One (=the Devil); the kingdom of darkness or the place of no return (= Hell).

Allegory and Personification Allegory is a device by which the names of objects or characters of a story are used in a figurative sense, representing some more general things, good or bad qualities. This is often found in fables and parables. It is also a typical feature of proverbs, which contain generalizations (express some general moral truths): All is not gold that glitters {= impressive words or people are not always really so good as they seem); Every cloud has a silver lining {= even in bad situations we may find positive elements); There is no rose without a thorn (= there are always disadvantages in the choice that we make); Make the hay while the sun shines (= hurry to achieve your aim while there is a suitable situation). As a subtype of allegory we distinguish Personification, by which human qualities are ascribed to inanimate objects, phenomena or animals: 'No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet To chase the glowing Hours with flyingfeef. (Byron) Silent, like sorrowing children, the birds have ceased their song ...the dying day breathes out her last... and Night, upon her sombre throne, folds her black wings above the darkening world, and, from her phantom palace, lit by the pale stars, reigns in stillness. (Jerome). In the well-known poem: Twinkle, little star! How I wonder what you are!... a star is represented as if it were a living being whom the author addresses. In poetry, fables, etc., personification is often represented grammatically by the choice of masculine or feminine pronouns for the names of animals, inanimate objects or forces of nature. The pronoun He is used for the Sun, the Wind, for the names of any animals that act like human beings in the tale (The Cat who walked by himself), forstrong, active phenomena (Death, Ocean. River) or feelings (Fear, Love). The pronoun She is used for what is regarded as rather gentle (the Moon, Nature, Silence, Beauty, Hope, Mercy: cf. Fair Science frowned not on his humble birth, But Melancholy marked him for her own — Gray) or in some way woman-like (in Aesop's fable about The Crow and the Fox, the pronoun She is used for the Crow, whose behaviour is coquettish and light-minded, whereas He is used for the Fox).