Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A-Z

Kelly L. Green is a freelance writer living in Ajax, Ontario.

A more useful book for the lover of literature would be hard to imagine.
This marvelous dictionary is not only a superb reference for students
and other serious readers, it is wonderful reading in its own right.

Originally written in French by professeur titulaire Dupriez of the
University of Montreal, Gradus: les precedes litteraires was translated
into English by Halsall, a professor of French at Carleton University.
The English version is unusual, however, in that it is not a literal
translation of the original work. Because there are distinct differences
in many of the literary devices of the English and French languages, not
to mention the differences in the bodies of French- and English-language
literature, Halsall was not able simply to translate Dupriez’s text.
In many cases he was forced instead to translate the original book’s
concepts, making them applicable to English language and literature.

The combined work of these two scholars has resulted in a jewel in the
crown of Canadian literary scholarship. The devices included in the
dictionary range from the ordinary and well known (anagram, parody,
euphemism, cliché) to the rare and peculiar (antonomasia,
epitrochasmus, haplography, mimology). Each entry has a definition,
followed by examples from literature, and remarks. The remarks are quite
lengthy and contain valuable and entertaining information relating the
entry to other devices, discussing a particular author’s use of the
device, or giving other similarly pertinent lore. The following is an
abbreviated sample entry: “Chleuasmos: Irony turned against oneself.
Mockery, persiflage or sarcasm at one’s own expense, but performed
with the expectation that others present will protest, if only by a
gesture. Exx. ‘Stupid me!’ ‘Well, aren’t I clumsy!’ ”

In addition to entertaining and enlightening, this dictionary has the
potential to make a more intelligent reader of anyone who opens it.