Compare

He is as tall as his brother (a comparison).

He is as tall as a lamp-post (a simile).

3.4. Epithets

Epithets are words or phrases used attributively, which reveal the author's attitude to a thing or notion; they are usually emotionally coloured, while many attributes are not.

Compare

gray hair (an attribute) and golden hair (an epithet)

She was a faded white rabbit of a woman. (A. Cronin)

During the past few weeks she had become most sharply conscious of the smiling interest of Hauptwanger. His straight lithe body – his quick, aggressive manner – his assertive, seeking eyes. (Th. Dreiser)

3.5. Hyperbole and understatement.

Hyperbole is a stylistic device in which emphasis is achieved through deliberate exaggeration. It is one of the most common expressive means used by all writers. They resort to it when they want to intensify the quantitative aspect of the described objects. Hyperbole can be expressed by all notional parts of speech.

I was scared to death when he entered the room. (J.D. Salinger)

Her family is one aunt about a thousand years old. (F.S. Fitzgerald)

Four loudspeakers attached to the flagpole emitted a shattering roar of what Benjamin could hardly call music, as if it were played by a collection of brass bands, a few hundred fire engines, a thousand blacksmiths' hammers and the amplified reproduction of a force-twelve wind. (A. Saxton)

But when the size, shape, dimensions, characteristic features of the object are not overrated, but intentionally underrated, we deal with understatement.

She wore a pink hat, the size of a button. (J. Reed)

The little woman, for she was of pocket size, crossed her hands solemnly on middle. (J. Galsworthy)

She was a sparrow of a woman. (Ph. Larkin)

3.6. Oxymoron

Oxymoron is a stylistic device the syntactic and semantic structures of which come to clashes. It emphasizes contradictory qualities simultaneously existing in the described phenomenon as a dialectical unity. The most widely known structure of oxymoron is attributive, but there are also others, in which verbs are employed.

A neon sign reads "Welcome to Reno - the biggest little town in the world." (A. Miller)

Their bitter-sweet union did not last long. (A. Cronin)

She was a damned nice woman, too. (E. Hemingway)

He behaved pretty lousily to Jan. (D. Cusack)

3.6. Irony

Irony is a stylistic device by which the words and phrases are used to express a meaning opposite to their direct meaning. The context is arranged so that the qualifying word or phrase reverses the direction of evaluation, and the word positively charged is understood by the reader as a negative qualifica­tion.

She turned with the sweet smile of an alligator. (J. Steinbeck)

"I have nothing to add except my thanks for your politeness," said Miss Murdstone.

"Bah! Stuff and nonsense!" said my aunt. "Don't talk to me!"

"How exquisitely polite," exclaimed Miss Murdstone. "Overpowering, really!" (Ch. Dickens)