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Figure of Speech

This document defines and provides examples of various figures of speech including simile, metaphor, hyperbole, allegory, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, euphemism, climax, bathos, epigram, pun, irony, alliteration, assonance, and tautology. It explains that figures of speech use creative language to convey ideas, thoughts, and images beyond the literal meanings of words in order to stimulate the imagination and evoke vivid mental pictures. Examples are given for each figure of speech to illustrate how they work.

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1K views

Figure of Speech

This document defines and provides examples of various figures of speech including simile, metaphor, hyperbole, allegory, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, euphemism, climax, bathos, epigram, pun, irony, alliteration, assonance, and tautology. It explains that figures of speech use creative language to convey ideas, thoughts, and images beyond the literal meanings of words in order to stimulate the imagination and evoke vivid mental pictures. Examples are given for each figure of speech to illustrate how they work.

Uploaded by

Abhi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Figure Of Speech

A figure of speech expresses an idea, thought, or image with words which carry meanings
beyond their literal ones. Figures of speech give extra dimension to language by stimulating
the imagination and evoking visual, sensual imagery; such language paints a mental picture in
words.

Simile

Simile is a direct comparison of two things, usually employing the words like or as.

Example:
He fights like a lion.

Metaphor - an implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something
important in common.

Example:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an extravagant statement for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect.

Example:
The bag weighed a ton.

Allegory –

Abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. It can
be employed in prose and poetry to tell a story, with a purpose of teaching or explaining an
idea or a principle. The objective of its use is to teach some kind of a moral lesson.

Allegories are similar to metaphors in that both illustrate an idea by making a comparison to
something else. However, allegories are complete stories with characters, while metaphors
are brief figures of speech.

Example:

George Orwell, Animal Farm. Animal Farm is a great example of allegory. In this farm
fable, animals run a society that divides into factions and mirrors the rise of Leon Trotsky and
the Russian Revolution. The story can be read as a fable of farm animals running a society, or
it can be interpreted as the author’s criticism of communism.

Personification

Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing – an idea or an animal – is given human


attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the
ability to act like human beings.
Example:
1. wind whispered through dry grass.

2. The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.


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.

Example:

The pen is mightier than the sword.” (Pen refers to written words, and sword to military
force.)

Synecdoche

a part of something that 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.

Example:

1. Boots on the ground—refers to soldiers.


2. New wheels—refer to a new car.
3. Ask for her hand—refers to asking a woman to marry.
Euphemism
The term euphemism refers to polite, indirect expressions that replace words and phrases
considered harsh and impolite, or which suggest something unpleasant.

Example:

1. She’s on the streets. — She’s homeless.

2. She’s between jobs. — She’s unemployed.

3. He is a special child (disabled or learning challenged).

Climax - use of language that is characterized by a feeling of mounting intensity across


successive words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Example:

1. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

2. Let a man acknowledge his obligations to himself, his family, his country, and
his God.

Bathos

Bathos is a sudden change of tone in a work of writing, usually from the sublime to the
ridiculous. This may be done unintentionally or can be done knowingly and for comedic
effect, and is found in many skits and jokes in the way that it turns expectations around.
Example:

1. It was pure bathos onstage when the singer switched from singing a classic aria to
crooning nursery rhymes.

2. Few months of life has he in store

As he to you will tell,

For still, the more he works, the more

Do his weak ankles swell?

Epigram

An epigram refers to a concise, witty, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical


statement.

Example:
1. It is called the “American Dream” because you have to be asleep to believe it.
2. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Pun

Pun is the manipulation of words that have more than one meaning. It brings humor in an
expression.

1. She had a photographic memory but never developed it.


2. I was struggling to figure out how lightning works, but then it struck me.
3. A pessimist's blood type is always B-negative.

Irony

Irony is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction of expectation between what is


said and what is really meant. It is characterized by an incongruity, a contrast, between reality
and appearance.

Example:

1. His argument was as clear as mud.


2. The two identical twins were arguing. One of them told the other: "You're ugly"
3. The thieves robbed the police station.
Alliteration

In alliteration, the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in:
“Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.” Alliteration uses repetition to create a
musical effect that helps phrases to stand out from the language around them.

Assonance

A scheme in which vowel sounds repeat in nearby words, such as the "ee" sound in the
proverb: "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." Like alliteration, assonance uses repeated
sounds to create a musical effect in which words echo one another
Tautology

A tautology states the same thing twice in slightly different wording, or adds redundant and
unnecessary words.

Example:

1. new innovation, added bonus


2. If we do not succeed, we run the risk of failure.
3. You can observe a lot by watching.

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