Poetic Terms Dictionary
Figure of Speech

Hypocatastasis

From Greek: placing under. Distinguished from simile (explicit) and metaphor (equating); the most compressed form of comparison. Discussed by E.W. Bullinger.

Definition

An implied comparison in which only the image is named, leaving the subject of comparison unstated.

Example

'You wolf!' — the speaker does not say 'you are like a wolf' or 'you are a wolf' but names the image directly.

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