FIGURES OF SPEECH AND

OTHER LITERARY
TECHNIQUES
IDENTIFY THE FIGURES OF SPEECH AND OTHER LITERARY TECHNIQUES AND
DEVICES IN THE TEXT
PRE-TEST

 1. The clouds are soft cottons in the sky.

 A. Simile B. Metaphor C. Hyperbole D.
Personification
 2. I ask for your hand to marry me.
 A. Metonymy B. Hyperbole C. Synecdoche
D. Simile
PRE-TEST

 3. He is running faster than the wind.

 A. Oxymoron B. Paradox C. Alliteration
D.Hyperbole
 4. Black bug bit in a big black bear is an example of
 A. Alliteration B. Hyperbole C. Onomatopoeia D.
Simile
PRE-TEST

 5. My hair is like a satin.

 A. Simile B. Metaphor C.
Hyperbole D. Personification
 1, B
 2. A
 3. C
 4. D
 5. A
 SIMILE

 COMPARES TWO UNLIKE THINGS WITH A

COMMON QUALITY
 LIKE, AS
 EXAMPLE
 MY LOVE IS LIKE A RED ROSE
 (LOVE IS BEING COMPARED TO A ROSE)
 METAPHOR

 A COMPARISON THAT IS DONE BY STATING

THAT ONE THING IS ANOTHER IN ORDER TO
SUGGEST THEIR SIMILARITY OR SHARED
QUALITIES
 EXAMPLE
 THE CLOUDS ARE SOFT COTTONS IN THE SKY.
 (CLOUDS ARE COMPARED TO SOFT COTTONS)
PERSONIFICATION

 GIVES HUMAN QUALITIES TO OBJECTS

AND THINGS
 EXAMPLE
 THE RAIN GENTLY KISSED MY CHEEKS.
 (CAN RAIN KISS?ONLY A PERSON KISS)
 METONYMY

 REFERS TO USING A THING OR IDEA THAT IS

NOT REFERRED TO BY ITW OWN NAME BUT
BY A DIFFERENT ONE, A NAME OF SOMETHING
WITH WHICH IT IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED
 EXAMPLE
 “WHITE HOUSE DECLARED….”
 (RATHER THAN “THE PRESIDENT DECLARED”)
SYNECDOCHE

 USES A PART OF SOMETHING TO REPRESENT

THE WHOLE OR THE WHOLE TO REPRESENT
A PART.
 EXAMPLE.
 ASK FOR A HAND
 (REFERS TO ASKING FOR A WOMAN TO
MARRY)
HYPERBOLE

 USES INTENTIONAL EXAGGERATION

TO ACHIEVE EMPHASIS OR
PRODUCE A COMIC EFFECT.
 EXAMPLE
 HE’S RUNNING FASTER THAN THE
WIND.
OXYMORON

 IS A WORD OR A COMBINATION OF
WORDS WITH CONTRADICTORY
MEANINGS, AS IN BITTERSWEET AND
OPEN SECRET
 EXAMPLE
 DURIAN IS DISGUSTINGLY DELICIOUS.
PARADOX

 IS A STATEMENT THAT APPEARS TO

HOLD CONTRADICTORY IDEAS
BUT MAY ACTUALLY BE TRUE.
 EXAMPLE
 JOHN IS NORMALLY ABNORMAL
ALLITERATION

 REFERS TO THE USE OF CLOSELY

SPACED WORDS THAT HAVE THE
SAME INITIAL SOUNDS.
 EXAMPLE
 BLACK BUG BIT A BIG BLACK BEAR.
ONOMATOPOEIA

 IS THE USE OF WORDS THAT IMITATE

THE SOUND OF WHAT THEY ARE
REFERRING TO.
 EXAMPLE
 MACHINE NOISES-
HONK,BEEP,VROOM,CLANG,ZAP, BANG
 LITERARY
TECHNIQUES
 What are literary techniques/ devices?

 Literary techniques or devices refer

to specific methods writers employ
in their works to convey messages.
 Readers, on the other hand, look
for several literary techniques
when examining or analyzing a
text or simply evaluating a text’s
artistic value
 Literary Techniques
 1. Anaphora (epanaphora), refers to the repetition
of a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence.
 To create an artistic or heightened effect.
 It adds rhythm to a particular line or paragraph,
making it easier to memorize or remember.
 used for emphasis or to stir emotions among the
audience
 Anapora Examples:
You’re likely familiar with the
famous lyrics to Santa Claus Is
Comin’ to Town.
You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout…
 Anapora Examples:
 Anaphora in Speeches
 In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
repeated the words “I have a dream” at the start of five
consecutive sentences. With each repetition, the intensity
of his belief and the inspiration of his words increased.
 I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi,
a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering
with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an
oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four
little children will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content
of their character. I have a dream today.
 Anapora Examples:
 In his 1999 speech at the White House,
“The Perils of Indifference” Elie Wiesel
uses anaphora to emphasize the
meaning and effect of indifference.
 Indifference elicits no
response. Indifference is not a
response. Indifference is not a
beginning; it is an end.
 Anapora Examples:

 1.“Every day, every night, in every way,

I am getting better and better”
 2. “My life is my purpose. My life is my
goal. My life is my inspiration”.
Literary Techniques
 2. Antihero is a fictional character
who does not possess the traits, such
as pride and valor, expected of a hero.
Often, antiheroes are portrayed as
foolish and usually find themselves in
mischief.
 Literary Techniques
 3. Cliff-hanger is a literary technique used by the author
to arouse curiosity among readers by ending a chapter or
story abruptly.
 The characters are confronted with a difficult or an
unsettling situation. Instead of providing a resolution, the
author would end it.
 serialized works.
 Writers utilize cliff-hangers in their works to keep the
readers focused and interested as to what will happen next
 Literary Techniques
 4. Juxtaposition is a technique authors use in
their works to compare two different things, or
two contrasting ideas to be able to emphasize
their differences, such as good and evil, life and
death, truth and lies, among others. This
technique is also used to develop a character,
resolve a conflict, or clarify various concepts
 Literary Techniques
 5. Foreshadowing refers to lines or dialogues in
a story which give the reader an idea of what is
about to happen without spoiling or explicitly
stating the plot’s entirety.
 When writers use this technique, especially in
mystery or thriller novels, they provide “red
herrings” (misleading or false clues) to divert
the readers’ expectations.
 A prime example of dialogue
foreshadowing occurs
in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,
when Romeo says, “My life were
better ended by their hate, than death
prorogued, wanting of thy love.” This
line foreshadows Romeo's eventual
fate: commiting suicide over the loss of
Juliet.
 Literary Techniques
 6. Catharsis – derived from the Greek word katharsis,
which means “purification” or “purgation.”
 It refers to the emotional release or cleansing of the
characters, or audience or readers, from strong emotions
usually brought by learning of the truth or when
confronted with difficult situations.
 This technique is commonly found in tragedies, such as
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Sophocles’
Oedipus the King
 Examples
 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
 William Shakespeare is a master of catharsis, as you
can see in many of his great tragedies.
 In Romeo and Juliet, the two star-crossed lovers
eventually commit suicide. The audience, often in
tears by this point, experiences a feeling of catharsis.
As the play closes, the two families in the story make
peace with one another, offering a feeling of closure.
 Example
 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
 Russian literature is full of examples of catharsis, but
one notable work is Anna Karenina.
 In the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy, the heroine endures
the torture of being in love with one man and married to
another. Her eventual suicide leaves the reader crying,
and it offers an emotional release for the sadness that
runs throughout the story.
 Literary Techniques
 7. Stream of Consciousness “referred to as
interior monologue”
 Character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions
are depicted in a continuous
flow uninterrupted by objective description
or conventional dialogue.
 A literary technique that is usually associated
with Modern writers.
 Stream of Consciousness
 The plot is developed based on the characters’
reminiscence or recollection of events and thought
fragments. Instead of using dialogues to show the
characters’ reaction or emotion, writers make use of
stream of consciousness to show each character’s
complex nature.
 Readers are taken into the depths of the characters’
mind and witness how these characters process their
thoughts when faced with a particular situation or
emotion.
 Literary Techniques
 8. Hamartia or tragic flaw-found in Greek tragedies.
 The tragic hero’s error in judgment, which leads to his or her
downfall.
 This error is committed unknowingly, such in the case of Oedipus
when he killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta.
Hamartia is used to have the audience identify themselves with the
protagonist (that he or she has weaknesses too) and to provoke pity
because of the miserable turn of events he or she went through.
 Used to impart a moral objective among readers or audience to
improve or change for the better so as to avoid the tragedy that has
befallen the protagonist