FIGURES OF SPEECH

A figure of speech is a word or phrase that possesses a separate meaning from its literal definition.

1.Simile is a figure of speech that uses comparison. In a simile, we use two specific words “like” and “as” to compare two
unlikely things, that actually have nothing in common.
Examples:
 You were as brave as a lion.
 They fought like cats and dogs.
 He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.
2. A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps
explain an idea or make a comparison.
Examples:
 The snow is a white blanket.
 He is a shining star.
 Her long hair was a flowing golden river.
3. Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing – an idea or an animal – is given human attributes.
Examples:
 My house is a friend who protects me.
 The moon played hide and seek with the clouds.
 The approaching car's headlights winked at me.
4.Hyperbole, from a Greek word meaning "excess," is a figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to make
a point or show emphasis. It is the opposite of understatement.
Examples:
 I had a ton of homework.
 If I can't buy that perfect prom dress, I'll die!
 Her brain is the size of a pea.
5. Irony is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is really
meant.
Examples:
 His argument was as clear as mud.
 The two identical twins were arguing. One of them told the other: "You're ugly"
 The thieves robbed the police station.
6. Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are in close proximity to
each other.
Examples:
 Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
 She sells seashells by the seashore.
 big black bug bit a big black dog and the big black dog bled blood.
7. An allusion is a figure of speech that references a person, place, thing, or event. Each of these concepts can be real
or imaginary, referring to anything from fiction, to folklore, to historical events and religious manuscripts.
Examples:
 Your backyard is a Garden of Eden. (Biblical allusion)
 I guess I should see this message about a new job as my burning bush. (Biblical Allusion)
 You're a regular Einstein. (allusion to a historical figure)
8. Metonymy is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it
is closely associated.
Examples:
 I need a hand in this piano.
 He has always remained loyal to the crown.
 He is a man of cloth.
9. Onomatopoeia is when a word describes a sound and actually mimics the sound of the object or action it refers to
when it is spoken.
Examples:
 Ticktock, ticktock… the sound of the clock was all that could be heard in the hospital waiting room.
 I ordered online proofreading services with the click of a mouse.
 I knew we had finally left the city when I could hear the gentle moo of the cows in the field.
10. An oxymoron is a figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict each other. It's often referred to as
a contradiction in terms.
Examples:
 I really would like to try that new jumbo shrimp restaurant.
 His new girlfriend really is pretty ugly.
 Sorry, I can’t help you out right now, I am involved in my own minor crisis.
11. A paradox is a figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself.
Examples:
 Your enemy's friend is your enemy.
 I am nobody.
 Truth is honey, which is bitter.
12. Litotes, derived from a Greek word meaning “simple,” is a figure of speech that employs an understatement by
using double negatives or, in other words, a positive statement expressed by negating its opposite expressions.
Examples:
 They do not seem the happiest couple around.
 The ice cream was not too bad.
 New York is not an ordinary city.
13. An analogy is a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from
it.
Examples:
 Life is like a race. The one who keeps running wins the race, and the one who stops to catch a breath loses.
 Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer.
 How a doctor diagnoses diseases is like how a detective investigates crimes.
14. An allegory is a term for a figure of speech. It is a story or picture with a hidden meaning.
Examples:
 The story of Icarus: Icarus fashions wings for himself out of wax, but when he flies too close to the sun his wings
melt. This story is a message about the dangers of reaching beyond out powers.
 The Hunger Games: This trilogy of Young Adult books (and now blockbuster movies) is an allegory for our
obsession with reality television and how it numbs us to reality.
15. Caesura, which is a rhythmical pause in a poetic line or a sentence. It often occurs in the middle of a line, or
sometimes at the beginning and the end. At times, it occurs with punctuation; at other times it does not.
Examples:
 The headphone explodes, || breaking the mold
 Roses, roses! || Two bucks a bunch! They say
the boys in the street, || ready to sell you.

16. Deus Ex Machina is the literary term that refers to a character or event that seems to exist just to effortlessly solve
a problem that seems unsolvable.
Examples:
 Cinderella's fairy godmother comes and solves all of her problems by magically creating a dress, coach, and
servants so that Cinderella can go to the ball.
 Pinocchio's blue fairy rescues him several times during the course of the story.
 Gandalf seems to return from the dead just when Frodo needs him so that he can survive and continue his
journey with the ring.