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Epigram

An epigram is a brief pointed saying. It introduces ideas which excite surprise and arrest attention.

• Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
• A man can't be careful in the choice of his enemies.
• He makes no friend, who never made a foe.
• The proper study of mankind is man.
• The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
• In the midst of the life we are in death.

Irony

Irony is a figure of speech in which the real meaning is exactly the opposite of that which is literally conveyed.

Here under leave of Brutus and the rest
(For Brutus is a honourable man:
So are they all, all honourable men)
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me;
But Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is a honourable man.

Pun

Pun is a play on words that are either identical in sound or very similar in sound, but are sharply diverse in meaning.

Is life worth living? - It depends upon the liver.
An ambassador is an honest man who lies abroad for the good of his country.

Metonymy

In metonymy an object is designated by the name of something which is generally associated with it.

The bench, for the judges
The Crown, for the King or Queen
The laurel, for success