FIGURES OF SPEECH

APOSTROPHE

Apostrophe is a figure of speech sometimes

represented by an exclamation, such as “Oh.” A
writer or speaker, using apostrophe, speaks
directly to someone who is not present or is
dead, or speaks to an inanimate object
 EXAMPLE
“Twinkle, twinkle, This poem became one of the most
little star, popular nursery rhymes told to little
How I wonder what children – often in the form of song.
you are. In this nursery rhyme, a child
speaks to a star (an inanimate
Up above the world so object). Hence, this is a classic
high, example of apostrophe
Like a diamond in the
sky.”
 EXAMPLE
Death be not Proud
By John Donne
“Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.”
 METONYMY

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. We can come across
examples of metonymy both from literature and in
everyday life.
 EXAMPLE
The given lines are from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar,
Act I:
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Mark Anthony uses “ears” to say that he wants the people present to
listen to him attentively. It is a metonymy because the word “ears”
replaces the concept of paying attention.
 EXAMPLE
This line is from Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind:

“I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after

Christmas before it secedes or it would have
ruined the Christmas parties.”
Scarlett uses the word “Georgia” to point out everything that makes up
the state: its citizens, politicians, and the government. It is a
metonymy extremely common in the modern world, where the name
of a country or state refers to a whole nation and its government.
Thus, it renders brevity to the ideas.
 SYNECHDOCHE
Synecdoche is a literary device in which a part of
something represents the whole, or it may use a whole
to represent a part. Synecdoche may also use larger
groups to refer to smaller groups, or vice versa. It may
also call a thing by the name of the material it is made
of, or it may refer to a thing in a container or
packaging by the name of that container or packing.
 EXAMPLE
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (By Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
“The western wave was all a-flame.
The day was well was nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright Sun”

The “western wave” is a synecdoche, as it refers to the sea by

the name of one of its parts, a wave.
EXAMPLE
The Lady or the Tiger? (By Frank R.
Stockton)

“His eye met hers as she sat there paler

and whiter than anyone in the vast
ocean of anxious faces about her.”

“Faces” refers to people, not just their faces.

 DIFFERENCE OF SYNECDOCHE
AND METONOMY

Synecdoche refers to the whole of a thing by the name of any

one of its parts. For example, calling a car “wheels” is a
synecdoche because a part of the car, its “wheels,” stands for the
whole car. However, in metonymy, the word used to describe a
thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not
necessarily a part of it. For example, using the word “crown” to
refer to power or authority is a metonymy, used to replace the word
“king” or “queen.”
 OXYMORON

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite

ideas are joined to create an effect. The common
oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective
proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings, such
as “cruel kindness,” or “living death”.
EXAMPLE
Example #1: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)
Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!
O anything, of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!
This love feel I, that feel no love in this.
Dost thou not laugh?
EXAMPLE
We notice a series of oxymora being employed
when Romeo confronts the love of an inaccessible
woman. An intense emotional effect is
produced, to highlight his mental conflict by
the use of contradictory pairs of words, such
as “hating love,” “heavy lightness,” “bright
smoke,” “cold fire,” and “sick health
EXAMPLE

The green pasture surrounded by hills

was teeming with a deafening silence
 PARADOX
The term paradox is from the Greek word paradoxon,
which means “contrary to expectations, existing belief, or
perceived opinion.”
It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or
silly, but which may include a latent truth. It is also used
to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to accepted
traditional ideas. A paradox is often used to make a reader
think over an idea in innovative way.
IN GEORGE ORWELL’S ANIMAL FARM, ONE PART OF THE
CARDINAL RULE IS THIS STATEMENT:

“All animals are equal, but some are more equal

than others.”
This statement seems to not make any sense. However, on
closer examination, it becomes clear that Orwell points out a
political truth. The government in the novel claims that
everyone is equal, but it has never treated everyone equally. It is
the concept of equality stated in this paradox that is opposite to
the common belief of equality.
EXAMPLE
In William Shakespeare’s famous play
Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet says:

“I must be cruel to be kind.”

 DIFFERENCE OF SYNECDOCHE
AND METONOMY

It is important to understand the difference between an oxymoron

and a paradox. A paradox may consist of a sentence, or even a
group of sentences. An oxymoron, on the other hand, is a
combination of two contradictory or opposite words. A paradox
seems contradictory to the general truth, but it does contain
an implied truth. An oxymoron, however, may produce a
dramatic effect, but does not make literal sense. Examples of
oxymoron are found both in casual conversations and in literature.