FIGURES OF SPEECH

A figure of speech is a deviation from the ordinary use of words in order to increase
their effectiveness. Basically, it is a figurative language that may consist of a single word
or phrase. It may be a simile, a metaphor or personification to convey the meaning other
than the literal meaning.

TYPES OF FIGURES OF SPEECH

The figures of speech list is over a hundred but some commonly used types are
given along with examples.

1. SIMILE
In simile two unlike things are explicitly compared. For example,
“She is like a fairy”
“as busy as a bee” or
“as clear as crystal”
A simile is introduced by words such as like, so, as etc.

2. METAPHOR
It is an informal or implied simile in which words like, as, so are omitted. For example,
He is a lion .
The snow is a white blanket.
She is a star of our family.
.
3. PERSONIFICATION
Personification is an attribution of personal nature, intelligence or character to
inanimate objects or abstract notions. For example, in some phrases we use the
furious storm, the thirsty ground, and the pitiless cold. Some other examples are:
• Little sorrows sit and weep. (Boccaccio)
The dish ran away with the spoon. (Blake)

4. METONYMY
Metonymy is meant for a change of name. It is a substitute of the thing names for
the thing meant. Following examples will clarify the concept.
• From the cradle to the grave. = from childhood to death.
• I have never read Milton. = the works of Milton.

5. APOSTROPHE
It is a direct address to some inanimate thing or some abstract idea as if it were
living person or some absent person as if it were present. Example,
"Boy's mother loved him very much."
Oh, rose, how sweet you smell and how bright you look!
6. HYPERBOLE
Hyperbole is a statement made emphatic by overstatement. For example,
“Virtues as the sands of the shore.”
There are a million other things to do.
The person in front of me walked as slow as a turtle.

7. SYNECDOCHE
Synecdoche is the understanding of one thing by means of another. Here, a part is used
to designate the whole or the whole to designate a part. For example,
“All hands (crew) at work.”
The phrase "hired hands" can be used to refer to workers. ...
 The word "bread" can be used to represent food. ...
 The word "wheels" refers to a vehicle. ...

8. TRANSFERRED EPITHETS
In transferred epithets, the qualifying objective is transferred from a person to a thing
as in phrases. For example, “sleepless night”, “sunburn mirth”, and “melodious plain”.

9. EUPHEMISM
By using the euphemism, we speak in agreeable and favorable terms of some
person, object or event which is ordinarily considered unpleasant and disagreeable.
For example,
• He is telling us a fairy tale. (A lie)
• He has fallen asleep. (He is dead)

10. IRONY OR SARCASM

In this mode of speech, the real meanings of the words used are different from
the intended meanings. For example, the child of cobbler has no shoe.
 Telling a quiet group, “don’t speak all at once”
 Telling a rude customer to “have a nice day”
 Walking into an empty theater and asking, “it’s too crowded”
 Stating during a thunderstorm, “beautiful weather we’re having”

11. PUN
This consists of a play on the various meanings of a word. Its effect is often
ludicrous. For example,
• Is life worth living? It depends upon the liver.
 Everyone thinks my runny nose is funny, but it's not.
 I've been to the dentist many times, so I know the drill.

12. EPIGRAM
It is a brief pointed saying. It couples words which apparently contradict each other.
The language of the epigram is remarkable for its brevity. Examples are as under:
• The child is the father of the man. (Wordsworth)
• Silence is sometimes more eloquent than words.
13. ANTITHESIS
In antithesis, a striking opposition or contrast of words is made in the same sentence
in order to secure emphasis. For example,
 Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.
 Speech is silver but silence is gold.
 No pain, no gain.

14. OXYMORON
It is a figure of speech which combines two seemingly contradictory or
incongruous words for sharp emphasis or effect. For example,
• “darkness visible” (Milton);
• “make haste slowly” (Suetonius)
• “loving hate” (Romeo and Juliet)

15. LITOTES
It is the opposite of hyperbole. Here an affirmative is conveyed by negation of
the opposite. For example, For example, saying "It's not the best weather
today" during a hurricane

16. EXCLAMATION
It is used for strong expression of feelings. For examples, O lift me as a wave, a
leaf, a cloud I fall upon the thorns of life; I bleed!

17. CLIMAX
It is an arrangement of a series of ideas in the order of increasing importance. For
example,
“What a piece of work man!

18. ANTICLIMAX OR BATHOS

This is the opposite to climax and signifies a ludicrous descent from the higher to
the lower.

19. ALLITERATION
The repetition of the same letter or syllable at the beginning of two or more words
is called alliteration. For example,
• By apt Alliteration’s artful a
• Glittering through the gloomy g
• The furrow follows f

20. ONOMATOPOEIA
The formation of a word whose sound is made to suggest or echo the sense as in
cuckoo, bang, growl, hiss.
21. ALLUSION
An allusion is a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other
literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar. As a literary device, allusion
allows a writer to compress a great deal of meaning and significance into a word
or phrase.

 Is there an Einstein in your physics class? (Albert Einstein)

22. Symbolism

Symbolism is a literary device that refers to the use of symbols in a literary work.
A symbol is something that stands for or suggests something else; it represents
something beyond literal meaning. In literature, a symbol can be a word, object,
action, character, or concept that embodies and evokes a range of additional meaning
and significance.
 rainbow–symbolizes hope and promise
 green traffic light–symbolizes “go” or proceed
 tree blossoms–symbolize spring season
23. ASSONANCE
Assonance is the figurative term used to refer to the repetition of a vowel sound in a line
of text or poetry. The words have to be close enough together for the repetition to be
noticeable. Assonance is used for some of the same reasons as alliteration. It can affect
the rhythm, tone, and mood of a text. The repetition of certain vowel sounds-think short
vowels sounds from the letters u or o-can create a melancholy mood.
1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers (repetition of the short e and long i
sounds)
2. Sally sells sea shells beside the sea shore (repetition of the short e and long e
sounds)

24. PARADOX
A paradox is a statement that appears at first to be contradictory, but upon reflection
then makes sense. This literary device is commonly used to engage a reader to
discover an underlying logic in a seemingly self-contradictory statement or phrase. As a
result, paradox allows readers to understand concepts in a different and even non-
traditional way.
“I know one thing: that I know nothing.” -Socrates (via Plato)