The Anoiconometon of Homer

For centuries, rhetoricians have used quotes from the classics to illustrate how the masters used the tools of language to persuade, inflame, and thrill their audience. Exemplars of the art of rhetoric are such immortals as Plato, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Shakespeare, and, of course, Homer. No, not the blind dude... Homer Simpson, the bard of the third millennium! Yes -- It Figures, the Web site of modern-day rhetorician Figaro (a.k.a. Jay Heinrichs), uses quotes from "The Simpsons" to help teach readers about figures of speech. For instance, when Homer says: "Homer no function beer well without," that's an example of anoiconometon: a jumbled-up figure, in which the words are grotesquely out of order. And when he says: "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try, " that's diatyposis: recommending useful precepts or rules of conduct to someone. There are other "Simpsons" quote sites out there, but few quite so darned educational. Just think... by sitting on your can, watching an animated sitcom, you can learn all sorts of impressive things about language arts. But be careful. As Homer says: "Every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?"* It Figures is at http://www.figarospeech.com/homerisms/ *Martyria: A figure that recalls the speaker’s own experience.