Simile

1.Simile: Compares one thing to another (of a

different kind, and yet alike in some significant
way)
For e.g.
•wan, pale as a late winter’s moon. (My Mother
at Sixty-Six)
•Her face ashen like that of a corpse.
•This world is like a rattrap.
•He fought like a king
 Metaphor
2. Metaphor: A word or phrase for one thing that is
used in place of another thing in order to show or
suggest that they are similar. ‘Like’ or ‘As’ is not used
in metaphor.
For e.g.
•Life is a big roller-coaster ride.
•Garbage to them is gold (Lost Spring).
•He is the big fish who must be trapped.
 Alliteration
3. Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds,
especially at the beginning of the words.
For e.g.
•Don’t drink and drive.
•The sea washed their terribly transient toes.
(Photograph)
•He saw a spider and snake on the shelf.
 Repetition
4. Repetition: The repeated use word or word
pattern.
For e.g.
•All she did was smile, smile and smile. (My
Mother at Sixty-Six)
•Break O Break open till they break the town.
(An Elementary School Classroom in Slum)
•I felt happy to see happy people make others
happy.
 Personification
5. Personification: The practice of representing an
inanimate object or an abstract idea as a person, and
endowing it with human traits.
For e.g.
•The sun stretched its golden arms and greeted
everyone with his kind smile
•The trees were fluttering and dancing in the
breeze.
•I heard my heart cry at night.
 Pun
6. Pun: The pun can use multiple meanings of the
same word (homonyms) or different meanings of
similar sounding words.
For e.g.
•I am a mender of bad soles.
•Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
•People should stop moving their arms.
 Antithesis
7. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting
words or ideas to give a feeling of balance.
For e.g.
•There was both Peace and War.
•Good and Evil are the part of life.
•Spicy food is heaven on the tongue but hell
in the tummy
 Onomatopoeia
8. Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a
sound associated with what is named.
For e.g.
•The dog barked all the night
•They all clapped at the magnificent performance of
the kids.
•What a thunderclap those words to me. (The Last
Lesson)
 Assonance
9. Assonance: The use of words that have the same or
very similar vowel sounds near one another.
For e.g.
•The fat cat had a smack. Alas! It was a tough nut to
crack.
•Well, it rises high into the bright blue sky.
•Hear the mellow wedding bells
 Oxymoron
10. Oxymoron: The conjoining of two
contradictory words.
For e.g.
•I observed deafening silence there.
•It was an intelligent donkey.
•Have you ever seen a wise owl?
 Synecdoche
11. Synecdoche: It is a figure of speech wherein a
part is made to represent the whole.
For e.g.
•They came on their wheels.
•Five brains are enough to deal with this
problem
•The ship was lost with all hands.
 Epithet
12. Epithet: It is an adjective or a phrase given to
one for one’s quality.
For e.g.
•He was called Evans the break (Evans Tries an O-
Level)
•He called the white-haired Director.
•They were hard-earning people.
 Apostrophe
13. Apostrophe: It is used to address a dead/absent
person or thing.
For e.g.
•Oh God ! Where are you staying?
•Well Mr. Terror, what do you think you can do to
me? (Deep Water)
•Death, be not proud !
 Metonymy
14. Metonymy : Substitution of one term for
another.
For e.g.
•I am reading Chetan Bhagat nowadays. (Here
books of Chetan Bhagat have been substituted with
Chetan Bhagat)
•They were listening to Lata Mangeshkar.
 Imagery
15. Imagery: It creates a mental picture which is
claimed an experienced by the poet/author.
For e.g.
•Merry Children were spilling out of their homes. (My
Mother at Sixty-Six)
•Trees were sprinting at a great speed.
 Hyperbole/Overstatement
16. Hyperbole/Overstatement : Exaggeration of
the fact by poet/author
For e.g.
•He scored a goal and the entire world rose to
greet him.
•She winked and everyone, around her, fell
down.
 Euphemism
17. Euphemism: To use inoffensive expression
instead of offensive one.
For e.g.
•My father died at the age of 64. (Offensive)
•My father passed away at the age of 64.
(Inoffensive)
 Zeugma
18. Zeugma: Use of a word (Verb) in a sentence
to modify other words.
For e.g.
•She broke my phone and my heart.
•He took his hat and his leave from there.
 Consonance
19. Consonance: Repetition of consonant
sound at the end of words.
For e.g.
•Slip slop and creek crock.
•Tip top of shop
 Paradox
20. Paradox: A statement that seems absurd
but has a deeper meaning.
For e.g.
•Child is the father of a man.
•Coward dies many times before their
death but valiant dies only once.
 Allusion
21. Allusion: A passing reference to historical
even or a play.
For e.g.
•He picked the bow like Lord Rama and broke it
into two pieces.
•Don’t behave like a Scrooge (Character from
Christmas Carol)
 Refrain
22. Refrain: It is a phrase or a line repeated at
intervals in a poem, especially at the end of a
every stanza.
For e.g.
•Men may go, men may come but I go on
forever. (The Brook)
•Miles to go before I sleep. (Stopping by woods
on a snowy evening)
 Anaphora
23. Anaphora : It is the repetition of words at the
beginning of successive clause.
For e.g.
Instead of calling me there
Instead of treating me well
Instead of speaking well
 Transferred Epithet
24. Transferred Epithet : It is a figure of speech wherein adjective
is transferred to other noun than it actually describes.
For e.g.
•When aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie. (Here the
adjective ‘Terrified’ has been used for hands in place of Aunt
Jennifer} (Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)
•A sweet, unnoted young boy sitting at the back of dim class.
(Here the adjective ‘Dim’ has been used for class instead of the
room.) (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
•Fisherman in the cold sea would not harm whales. (Here the
word ‘Cold’ has been used for sea instead of cold-hearted
man.) (Keeping Quiet)
 Contrast
25. Contrast: It is a literary device through which the
poet/writer/author differentiates between two
persons/places/things or subjects.
For e.g.
•Seemapuri is on the periphery of Delhi yet miles
away from it. (Lost Spring by Anees Jung)
•Young Trees sprinting and my children spilling out of
their homes. (My Mother at Sixty-Six)
 Symbolism
26. Symbolism : It is a poetic device using an action that means
something more than its literal meaning
For e.g.
•Squirrel’s Game symbolises the fun and freedom outdoors. (An
Elementary School Classroom in a Slum by Stephen Spender).
•Civilized Domes symbolises the cities which show progress and
great architecture. (An Elementary School Classroom in a
Slum by Stephen Spender)
•Clean Clothes symbolise peace and tranquility. (Keeping
Quiet by Pablo Neruda)
 Irony
27. Irony: It is a literary device which helps up figure out
the difference between reality and appearance.
For e.g.
•His name suggests that he is lord of the universe but
he is a ragpicker. (Lost Spring)
•The operation is successful and he is dead. (The Tiger
King)
 Allegory
28. Allegory: It is a
narrative/story found in verse
that has a purpose of elaborating
an idea.
 Parallelism
29. Parallelism: It is a literary device which shows the
phrases having the same grammatical structure.
For e.g.
•That’s one step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
•Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of
love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
 Enjambment
30. Enjambment: It is a literary device wherein thoughts and
ideas are carried over to the next line without any pause.
For e.g.
•Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. (Macbeth)