FIGURES OF
SPEECH
LORREIN JOY VERGARA
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
● A direct comparison of two things, usually
employing the words like or as.
Example:
“My heart is like an apple tree whose boughs
are bent with thickest fruit.” (Chrsitina Rosseti)
Her lips is as red as a rose.
Clouds like fluffy balls of cotton.
A motor purring like a kitten.
METAPHOR
● An implied comparison in which one thing is
spoken of in terms of something else; in
figurative term is substituted for or identified
with the literal term. Metaphors are extremely
valuable in making an abstract idea clearer
by associating the idea with something
concrete that relates to one or more of the
senses.
METAPHOR
Example:
She is a wizard.
The sun is a wizard, and the moon is
a witch.
The Lord is my shepherd.
HYPERBOLE
● The use of exaggeration or
overstatement to make a point.it
may be used for emphasis, for
humor,or for poetic intensity.
HYPERBOLE
Example:
“Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard around the world.”
(Emerson)
Big as a house.
Starve to death.
On top of the world.
PERSONIFICATION
● Another type of comparison that treats
objects or things as if they were capable of
the actions and feelings of people. As in a
metaphor, there is an implied comparison
which gives the attributes of a human being
to an animal, object, or idea.
PERSONIFICATION
Example:
The path moving up the mountain
Trees clinging to the steep sides
The wind was howling
Growling thunder
IRONY
● An expression in which the author’s meaning is
quite different (often the opposite) from what
is literally said. irony , as a matter of tone,
occurs most frequently in prose as a
technique for humor, satire, or contrast.
IRONY
Example:
Deafening silence.
“The English are mentioned in the Bible :
Blessed are the meek, for they inherit the
earth.” (Mark Twain)
There are roaches infesting the office of a pest
control service.
ALLUSION
● A reference to some historical or
literary event or person that has
striking resembance tothe subject
under discussion. Allusion is used
often in prose.
ALLUSION
Example:
“We live under the nuclear sword of
Damocles.”
“He is a Romeo to every girl he meets.”
“When he met her, he met his Waterloo.”
IMAGERY
● The use of vivid detailed descriptions
that evoke sensory images. Imagery
is employed to give the reader the
sense that he or she can see,hear,
feel, smell, or otherwise experience
what is being described.
IMAGERY
Example:
“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm.”
(Emily Dickinson, I heard a Fly buzz)
*The sound imagery of the solitary buzzing in otherwise
complete stillness contributes to the poem’s theme of
death.
OXYMORON
● 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 preceded by a noun with
contrasting meaning, such as “cruel kindness”
or “living death”.
OXYMORON
Example:
Open secret Tragic comedy
Seriously funny Awfully funny
Foolish wisdom Original copies
Liquid gas
ALLITERATION
● The repetition of initial consonant sounds of
neighboring words.
Example:
Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
Heaven of heroes
To make a man to meet the mortal need
ONOMATOPOEIA
● Word that imitates the sound it represents.
Example:
The chiming of the bells
The chirping of the birds
Tinkling sleighing bells
Clanging fire bells
IDIOMS
● A saying that means something different than
what it says
Example:
It’s raining cats and dogs
Head over heels
Bend over backwards
Once in a blue moon
APOSTROPHE
● Directly addressing a nonexistent person or an
inanimate object as though it were a living being.
Example:
"Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need
you to," Bert sighed.
“Ugh, cell phone, why won’t you load my
messages?”
ANAPHORA
● A technique where several phrases or verses begin with the same
word or words.
Example:
I came, I saw, I conquered. - Julius Caesar
Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition! - King John II, William
Shakespeare
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. - A Tale of Two Cities, Charles
Dickens
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right.
- Abraham Lincoln
We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end... we shall never
surrender. - Winston Churchill
ASSONANCE
● The repetition of vowel sounds (not just letters) in words that
are close together. The sounds don't have to be at the
beginning of the word.
Examples include:
A - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named
Lenore. (Poe)
E - Therefore, all seasons shall be sweet to thee. (Coleridge)
I - From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor
fire. (Frost)
O - Oh hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. (Wordsworth)
U - Uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (Poe)
