Apostrophe (figure of speech)

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An apostrophe is an exclamatory figure of speech. [1] It occurs when a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes absent from the scene. Often the addressee is a personified abstract quality or inanimate object. [2] [3] In dramatic works and poetry written in or translated into English, such a figure of speech is often introduced by the vocative exclamation, "O". Poets may apostrophize a beloved, the Muses, God or gods, love, time, or any other entity that can't respond in reality.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psalm 50</span> Biblical psalm

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psalm 71</span>

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Psalm 86 is the 86th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 85. In Latin, it is known as "Inclina Domine". It is attributed to David.

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"Macht hoch die Tür" is a popular German Advent hymn, written in 17th century Ducal Prussia. The lyrics were written by Georg Weissel in 1623 for the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in Königsberg. The melody that is now associated with the text appeared first in 1704 in the hymnal by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen.

References

  1. "Apostrophe"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 2 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 205.
  2. Hays, J. Daniel; Duvall, J. Scott (1 September 2011). The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook (Text Only ed.). Baker Books. p. 891. ISBN   978-1-4412-3785-9.
  3. Ford, Margaret L. (1984). Techniques of Good Writing. Irwin Pub. p. 27. ISBN   978-0-7725-5001-9 . Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  4. Greenblatt, Stephen (2006). The Norton Anthology of English Literature . Vol. D (8 ed.). New York: Norton. p. 429.
  5. "Politics of friendship. (Cover Story)". American Imago. September 22, 1993.