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Aphorismus
"summer day" suddenly seems like an inaccurate way of describing
DEFINITION that particular day.
What is aphorismus? Here’s a quick and simple definition:
Aphorismus Does No
Nott Hav
Havee tto
oUUse
se Rhe
Rhettoric
orical
al Ques
Questions
tions
Aphorismus is a type of figure of speech that calls into While aphorismus often involves the use of a rhetorical question to
question the way a word is used. Aphorismus is used not to cast doubt about he usage of a word, it doesn't have to. Any
question the meaning of a word, but whether it is actually questioning of the usage of a word is a form of aphorismus.
appropriate to use that word in a particular situation. For For instance, someone driving through Tuba City, Arizona (which is
instance, in Shakespeare's Richard II, King Richard asks actually a small town with a population of 1,400 people) might say
"How can you say to me I am a king?" as a way of expressing aloud to themselves, "I can't believe they call this a city." Here, the
that, although he is technically a king, he doesn't feel he person is calling into question this particular usage of the word
actually possesses the qualities of a king and that therefore "city"—the word implies a large metropolitan area, which does not
perhaps the word should not apply to him. correspond to the actual size or nature of Tuba City.

Some additional key details about aphorismus:

A Mnemonic De
Devic
vicee tto
oRRemember
emember Wha
Whatt Aphorismus Me
Means
ans
• Aphorismus is often used as a rhetorical turning point in a Imagine that you are walking through a garden tour, and the female
monologue, whether in poetry, drama, or public speaking. tour guide keeps referring to the garden as "a forest." You ask the
• Aphorismus is frequently posed as a rhetorical question (or a guide, "Can you even call this a forest, miss?" The word "aphorismus"
question asked without the intention of receiving an answer), as sounds similar to the end of the question ("a forest, miss"), which is
in the example given above. However, it doesn't have to be posed itself an example of aphorismus. If you ever have trouble
as a rhetorical question. remembering the word aphorismus, just think of this example of the
• Aphorismus should not to be confused with aphorism, which is a female tour guide who keeps calling the garden "a forest."
concise statement of a general truth, like "A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush."
EX
EXAMPLES
AMPLES
Aphorismus Pr
Pronuncia
onunciation
tion
Here's how to pronounce aphorismus: a-fore-iz
iz-miss Aphorismus E
Exxamples in Lit
Liter
eraatur
turee
Aphorismus appears fairly regularly in fiction, poetry and drama.
Under
Undersstanding Aphorismus
Aphorismus in Samuel Beck t'ss Waiting ffor
Beckeett' or Godo
Godott
The word "aphorismus" comes from the Greek word aphorismós,
which means "rejection." This is fitting because when a speaker or In this scene from Beckett's famous play, Waiting for Godot, the
writer uses aphorismus, they are effectively rejecting the usage of a characters Vladimir and Estragon ask Pozzo why his servant never
word by suggesting that it is an inaccurate way of describing a certain puts down his bags. Pozzo, in response, questions their use of the
subject. For instance, imagine that you are walking down the street word "bags" to describe his luggage:
on a very cold day in August, and you turn to your friend and say "I
didn't even think it was possible for a summer day to be so cold." Your Vladimir
Vladimir:: You can ask him now. He's on the alert.
friend might add: Es
Estr
trag
agon:
on: Ask him what?
Vladimir
Vladimir:: Why he doesn't put down his bags.
"Can you even call it a summer day?" Es
Estr
trag
agon:
on: I wonder.
Vladimir
Vladimir:: Ask him, can't you?
This remark, made in the form of a rhetorical question, is an example Pozz
zzoo (who has followed these exchanges with anxious
of aphorismus because it calls into question the usage of a particular attention, fearing lest the question get lost): You want to
word or term ("summer day") to describe a particular subject (that know why he doesn't put down his bags, as you call them.
particular cold day in August). As in this example, aphorismus always Vladimir
Vladimir:: That's it.
implies that there is a gap between what a word actually means and Pozz
zzoo (to Estragon): You are sure you agree with that?
how it has been used. So even though every day in August is Es
Estr
trag
agon:
on: He's puffing like a grampus.
technically a day of summer, it might be so cold that the term

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This is an interesting use of aphorismus, because Pozzo seems to use "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."
it as a way of avoiding the original question. Estragon and Vladimir
are wondering why the servant doesn't put down the bags. Pozzo Clinton is saying here that when he used the word "is," he was
responds not be answering, but by questioning whether "bags" is the truthfully telling his aides that there wasn't anything "going on"
right term for the luggage at all given how large and heavy they are. between him and Lewinsky at that particular time, even though
Pozzo uses aphorismus here to shift attention from the servant to the previously there had been. Here Clinton is calling into question the
"bags." way that the prosecutors are using the word "is" in this particular
situation—he is using aphorismus—as a defense in order to argue
Aphorismus in T
Truman
ruman Capo e'ss Br
Capotte' Breeakf
akfas
astt aatt Tiff
Tiffany'
any'ss that he was always telling the truth when he denied the relationship.
In this quote, Fred accuses Holly, the woman he's in love with, of not
being the true "free spirit" that she believes she is: Aphorismus E
Exxamples in Music
Lyricists use aphorismus to appeal to their listeners' emotions.
You call yourself a free spirit, a “wild thing,” and you’re
Aphorismus in Abig
Abigail'
ail'ss "Ho
"Howw Can YYou
ou Call It LLo
ove?"
terrified somebody’s gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby,
you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it’s not In this dance song from the '90s, the singer questions whether it's
bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by accurate to say that what she shares with her romantic partner is
Somali-land. It’s wherever you go. Because no matter where "love," given that it seems "so unkind" and the person is not there for
you run, you just end up running into yourself. her all the time.

The aphorismus in this example is implied rather than direct. Fred Making love on borrowed time
never says explicitly that Holly isn't a free spirit or a wild thing—he Just to keep my hopes alive
rather mentions that she has called herself those things, but his tone You're in my dreams and on my mind
and words then implicitly questions whether those are accurate Will your conscience survive?
descriptors. How can you call it love?
Why does it seem so unkind?
Aphorismus E
Exxamples in P
Politic
olitical
al Speeches How can you call it love?
You should be there all the time
Orators often use aphorismus to refute opponents' ideas.
In this verse, Abigail implies that her partner has not been fully
Aphorismus in Eug
Eugene
ene Debs'
Debs'ss Cant
Canton,
on, Ohio Anti-W
Anti-War
ar Speech committed to their relationship. She calls into question how someone
In this 1918 speech, politician Eugene Debs used aphorismus to who acts that way can claim that they are in love.
question the legitimacy of a democracy that exploits child labor:

Why, the other day, by a vote of five to four—a kind of craps WHY WRITER
WRITERSSU
USE
SE IT
game—come seven, come ‘leven —they declared the child
labor law unconstitutional ... and this in our so-called Writers, lyricists and orators use aphorismus for a variety of reasons:
democracy, so that we may continue to grind the flesh and • To challenge a preconceived idea about how a word can be used
blood and bones of puny little children into profits for the by showing the word to be an inaccurate way of speaking about a
Junkers of Wall Street. And this in a country that boasts of subject.
fighting to make the world safe for democracy!
• To express disbelief, shock, or disagreement with someone else's
This example shows how aphorismus can be accomplished very statement.
succinctly: simply by tossing the words "so-called" in front of the • To question the legitimacy of something by pointing out that it
word "democracy," Debs calls into question whether that word truly doesn't live up to its name.
captures the essence of a society that allows for child labor. • As a rhetorical device, to strengthen an argument.
• To clarify an uncommon or confusing use of a word (or to try to
Aphorismus in Bill Clint
Clinton'
on'ss S
Sttatement tto
o the Gr
Grand
and Jur
Juryy
manipulate meaning for personal reasons), as in the example
When President Bill Clinton was discovered to have had above with Bill Clinton.
inappropriate relations with Monica Lewinsky, an intern in the White
• To identify something as a misnomer.
House during his presidency, he was called before a grand jury to
testify under oath. When asked whether he had been lying to his aides
Aphorismus can add considerable depth to a dramatic moment,
when he told them "there is nothing going on between [me and
especially as a sharp rhetorical point in a speech or monologue. It can
Monica Lewinsky]," Clinton famously responded:

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make an argument more incisive, witty, expressive, and implicitly ◦ Actor Mark Ruffalo recites Eugene Debs' famous "Canton,
draw attention to another person's inappropriate use of a word. If Ohio" speech, which includes a few examples of aphorismus.
King Richard II had bluntly said, "Given my troubles, I think there are ◦ The 90s dance hit "How Can You Call it Love" by singer Abigail.
more accurate words you can use to describe me than 'king,'" his The title is an example of aphorismus.
inquiry would have lacked all the punch that makes it such a famous
line of dialogue. With aphorismus, however, it rings out as one of the
play's most quoted lines. HO
HOWWT
TO
O CITE
OTHER RESOURCES ML
MLAA
Blake, Ethan. "Aphorismus." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 5 May 2017.
• The Wikipedia PPag
agee on Aphorismus
Aphorismus:: A brief guide to a definition Web. 31 Aug 2017.
and a couple of examples of the word.
• The Changing Minds P Pag
agee on Aphorismus
Aphorismus:: An additional source Chic
Chicag
ago
o Manual
of basic definitions, examples and discussions of aphorismus. It Blake, Ethan. "Aphorismus." LitCharts LLC, May 5, 2017. Retrieved
has several links to similar literary devices used in rhetoric. August 31, 2017. http://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-
• Aphorismus on YYou
ouTTube: terms/aphorismus.
◦ The most commonly cited instance of aphorismus in
Shakespeare's Richard II.

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