GRADE 10 | ELECTIVE ENGLISH | HANDOUT

FIGURES OF SPEECH
‘Figurative Language’
It is any intentional deviation from literal statement or common usage that emphasizes, clarifies, or
embellishes both written and spoken language.

Figurative Language Definition Examples

It is the repetition of initial
Alliteration
consonant sound.
It refers to any scientific,
Allusion historical, mythological, and
biblical event or figure.
It is the repetition of words or
Anaphora phrases in a group of sentences,
clauses, or poetic lines.
Opposite ideas are placed next
Antithesis to one another to draw out their
contrast.
It is the repetition of the similar
Assonance vowel sound in between of the
neighboring words.
A character addresses someone
Apostrophe or something that is absent or
cannot respond.
It is the substitution of an
Euphemism inoffensive term for one
considered offensively explicit.
These are statements used to
Hyperbole
exaggerate terms and ideas.
It is a direct comparison of two
unlike things without using words
Metaphor
such as like, resemble and
similar to.
It is a word or phrase substituted
for another to which is
Metonymy
identifiable and associated with
the idea referred to.
She sells seashells by the
seashore.
Ralph’s reindeer rose rapidly and
ran round the room.
I am not Lazarus nor Prince
Hamlet.
Hey! Guess who the new
Newton of our school is?
Every Breath You Take
The Police
Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
“It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times...”
- Charles Dickens -
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and
weary.
Nine nice night nurses nursing
nicely.
Wind! oh comforting wind!
O stranger of the future!
O inconceivable being!
My friend passed away. (died)
At this very moment, she is
economically disadvantaged.
(poor)
I can love you for a thousand
years.
I am trying to solve a million
issues these days.
Your fist is a hammer.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Time is money.
Give me a hand. (help)
The pen is mightier than the
sword. (author/writer/words;
army, soldier, violence, battle)
 GRADE 10 | ELECTIVE ENGLISH
It is the use of words to imitate
Onomatopoeia
sounds.
It is the use of contradictory
Oxymoron words that appear on both sides
of the sentence.
It is a statement that appears at
Paradox first to be contradictory, but upon
reflection then makes sense.
It is an expression that gives
Personification human qualities to objects,
animals and ideas.
It is a comparison of two unlike
things with the use of words such
Simile
as: like, as ____ as, resemble to,
and similar to.
It is the use of a smaller unit or
Synecdoche
segment to signify a larger unit.
| HANDOUT
The sack fell into the river with a
splash.
Ding dong! The bells are going
to chime.
My sister and I had a friendly
fight over the lipstick.
The carpenters left the bench
completely unfinished.
Less is more.
This is the beginning of the end.
Men work together whether they
work together or apart.
The scissors are running on
your hair.
My alarm yelled at me this
morning.
You are like a star that shines
brightly in the velvet sky.
Love is like war: easy to begin
but very hard to stop.
He drove his new wheels. (car)
Four pairs of eyes rolled at the
corny joke. (people)
Two heads are better than one.
(people/minds)