Information About

Catachresis
  CATEGORIES ABOUT CATACHRESIS
   
rhetoric
   
figures of speech
   
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Common forms of catachresis are:

  • Using a word to denote something radically different from its normal meaning.

    • :'Tis deepest winter in Lord Timon's purse – Shakespeare , Timon Of Athens

  • Using a word out of context.

    • :'Can't you hear that? Are you blind?'


:To take arms against a sea of troubles... – Shakespeare , Hamlet
::Arguably, however, this is perhaps neither a catachresis nor a mixed metaphor. In context, Hamlet is pondering futility: faced with a sea of troubles, taking up a sword and shield is not going to have an effect on the oncoming wave. In this sense, the quotation is a straightforward Metaphor , albeit interpretable as a catachresis.

Catachresis is often used to convey extreme emotion or alienation, and is prominent in Baroque literature and, more recently, in the Avant-garde .


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