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Culture Documents
Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech
1》ALLITERATION:
Alliteration refers to the repetition of an initial consonant sound, at least three times in a sentence.
*EXAMPLES
2》SIMILE:
In Simile, a comparison is made between two object of different kinds which have at least one point
in common. The Simile is introduced by the word ‘as…as’ or ‘like’.
“Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get”
*EXAMPLES:
• As active as quicksilver
• As afraid as a grasshopper
• As agile as a cat
• As agile as a monkey
• As alert as a bird
• As alone as a leper
• As alone as Crusoe
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in common
(as if two things were one.)
*EXAMPLES:
• Life is a dream.
*** *NOTE* : Every SIMILE can be compressed into a METAPHOR, and Every METAPHOR can be
expanded into a SIMILE.
*EXAMPLES:
• The waves broke on the shore with noise like a thunder. (Simile)
4 》ANTITHESIS:
In Antithesis, a striking opposition or contrast of words or sentiments is made in the same sentence. It
is employed to secure emphasis.
*EXAMPLES:
• Man proposes, but God disposes.
5》OXYMORON:
A figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear side by side or at once of the same thing.
*EXAMPLES:
• It is an open secret.
6》PARADOX:
*EXAMPLES:
“War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery.” Though we know these things aren’t true,
they present an interesting paradox that makes a person think seriously about what they have just read
or heard.
7》IRONY:
The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. It is often used to poke fun at a
situation that everyone else sees as a very serious matter.
*EXAMPLES:
8》APOSTROPHE:
An Apostrophe is a direct address to the dead, to the absent, or to a personified object or idea. This
figure is a special form of Personification.
*EXAMPLES:
9》EUPHEMISM:
*EXAMPLES:
10》HYPERBOLE:
*EXAMPLES:
•“It was as big as a mountain! It was faster than a cheetah! It was dumber than a rock!”
11》SYNECDOCHE:
12》ONOMATOPOEIA:
;This is the use of a word that actually sounds like what it means.
Onomatopoeia (pronounced ON-a-MAT-a-PEE-a) refers to words (such as bow-wow and hiss ) that
imitate the sounds
13》PERSONIFICATION:
In Personification, inanimate objects and abstract notions are spoken of as having life and
intelligence.
*EXAMPLES:
14》PUN:
;A play on words , sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar
sense or sound of different words.
A form of wordplay using similar sounding words.
*EXAMPLES:
“The wedding was so emotional that even the cake was in tiers (tears).”
“Two silk worms had a race and ended in a tie.” – A “tie” can of course either be when neither party
wins, but in this pun also refers to the piece of clothing usually made from silk.
“Why can a man never starve in the Great Desert? Because he can eat the sand which is there. But what
brought the sandwiches there? Why, Noah sent Ham, and his descendants mustered and bred.” – There
are several separate puns, including the pun on “sand which” and “sandwich,” as well as “Ham” (a
Biblical figure) and “ham” and the homophonic puns on “mustered”/“mustard” and “bred”/“bread.”
15》METONYMY:
; A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it’s closely
associated. Metonyms make associations or substitutions.
However, we all understand the meaning, and so the words are interchangeable.
*EXAMPLES:
The place name “Bollywood,” has become a metonym for the Hindi film industry.
Using the word “crown” for “king or queen” or “lab coats” for “scientists”.
“The White House said” doesn’t actually mean the White House said it (a house can’t speak!) but that
the President of America (who lives in The White House) said it.
16》RHETORICAL QUESTION:
;A rhetorical question is a question that is asked not to get an answer, but instead to emphasize a
point. They are often used to elicit thought and understanding on the part of the listener or reader.
*EXAMPLES: