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Figures of Speech Notes by Kavita Hegde

figures of speech

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20 views6 pages

Figures of Speech Notes by Kavita Hegde

figures of speech

Uploaded by

sanikahegde112
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Figures of Speech

- Kavita Hegde

A figure of speech is a departure from the ordinary form of expression, or the ordinary
course of ideas in order to produce a greater effect, to convey meanings in fresh,
unexpected ways.

1. Simile: A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or “so” or "as") between two
fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.

Example:

a. Roberto was white as a sheet after he walked out of the horror movie.

b. She was like a star in the sky.

2. Metaphor: An implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in
common.

Example:

a. "All the world's a stage."

b. He is a fish out of water.

3. Personification: A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is


endowed with human qualities or abilities.

Example:

a. That kitchen knife will take a bite out of your hand if you don't handle it safely.

b. I heard the wind whistling.

4. Apostrophe: Directly addressing a non-existent person or an inanimate object as though


it were a living being.
Example:

a. "Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need you to," Bert sighed.

b. “Work! Idiot computer, work.”

5. Assonance: Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighbouring


words.

Example:

a. How now, brown cow?

b. Cat sat, fat cat.

6. Chiasmus: A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against
the first but with the parts reversed.

Example:

a. The famous chef said people should live to eat, not eat to live.

b. Earn to live and not live to earn.

7. Euphemism: The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively


explicit.

Example:

a. "We're teaching our toddler how to go potty," Bob said.

b. Last night, Joe’s father passed away.

8. Hyperbole: An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of
emphasis or heightened effect.
Example:

a. I have million things to do when I get home.

b. My bag weighs a ton.

9. Irony: The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, it is
a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance of the idea.

Example:

a. "Oh, I love spending big bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny pincher.

b. “No doubt ye are people, and wisdom shall die with you.”

10. Litotes: A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is


expressed by negating its opposite.

Example:

a. A million dollars is no small chunk of change.

b. The man is no fool.

11. Anaphora: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive
clauses or verses.

Example:

a. Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong day.

b. Taking a right decision at right time will take you in the right direction.

12. Metonymy: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another with
which it is closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly
by referring to things around it.

Example:
a. "That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman," the manager said
angrily.

b. The bench, of judges.

13. Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or
actions they refer to.

Example:

a. The clap of thunder went bang and scared my poor dog.

b. The hiss of the snake.

14. Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side
by side.

Example:

a. They disagreed to agree.

b. This is an open secret.

15. Paradox: A statement that appears to contradict itself.

Example:

a. "This is the beginning of the end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.

b. You have to spend money to save it.

16. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

Example:

a. As Abraham Lincoln said, "Folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

b. Man proposes, God disposes.


17. Pun: A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes
on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Example:

a. A sleeping bull is called a bull-dozer.

b. Is life worth living? It depends on a liver.

18. Alliteration: The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

Example:

a. She sells seashells by the seashore.

b. Heavy heart.

19. Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.

Example:

a. Tina is learning her ABC's in preschool

b. He has many mouths to feed.

20. Understatement: A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a


situation seem less important or serious than it is.

Example:

a. "You could say Babe Ruth was a decent ballplayer," the reporter said with a wink.

b. I heard she has cancer, but it’s not a big deal.

20. Repetition: A figure of speech in which same words are repeated as a first word in two
or more consecutive lines in order to produce more emphasis.
a. Did you see any angel in this world more than a baby girl?

Did you see any other angel or will you?

b. With or without pomp and show

With or without happiness and sorrow

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