Onomatopoeia

Definition: the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it

For example: “Bang!” or “buzz” or “hiss.” Saying the word also makes the sound.

Why I Looked It Up

A film review said this:

Gruesome and deliciously broad, Sam Raimi’s Darkman bears the haunted soulfulness of Gothic tragedy while packing the stylistic verve of onomatopoeia springing off a comic strip page.

I didn’t get this at first, but onomatopoeia is common in comic books – think “pow!” and “ugh!” and such. With comic books, they write words to illustrate pictures that imply sounds.

I still don’t quite get how Darkman has a related “stylistic verve,” though.