èIntroduction to Figure of Speech
A figure
of speech is the use of a word or a phrase, which
transcends its literal interpretation. It can be a special repetition,
arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or
a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning
of the words in it, as
in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification,
or synecdoche. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness
of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their
use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and
figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called
a rhetorical figure or a locution.
Rhetoric
originated as the study of the ways in which a source text can be transformed
to suit the goals of the person reusing the material. For this
goal, classical rhetoric detected four fundamental
operations[1] that can be used to transform a sentence or a larger portion
of a text: expansion, abridgement, switching, transferring and so on.
è1.
Figures Based on Resemblance
èSimile
A simile is
a rhetorical figure expressing comparison or likeness that directly compares
two objects through some connective word such as like, as, so, than, or many
other verbs such as resembles. Although similes and metaphors are
generally seen as interchangeable, similes acknowledge the imperfections and
limitations of the comparative relationship to a greater extent
than metaphors.
Examples:
1. They are
as different as night and day.
2. This house
is as clean as a whistle.
3. He is as
strong as an ox.
4. Watching
the show was like watching grass grow.
5. Last
night, I slept like a log.
èMetaphor
A metaphor is a figure
of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some
point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object. It is a
figure of speech comparing two unlike things without using either
"like" or "as".
Examples:
1. My brother
was boiling mad. (This implies he was too angry.)
2. The
assignment was a breeze.
3. It is
going to be clear skies from now on.
4. Time
is money.
5. The world
is a stage.
èAllegory
Allegory is
a rhetorical device in which characters or events in a literary,
visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and
concepts. Allegory has been used widely throughout the histories of all forms
of art; a major reason for this is its immense power to illustrate complex
ideas and concepts in ways that are easily digestible and tangible to its
viewers, readers, or listeners.
Examples:
1. Animal
Farm”, written by George Orwell,
2. “Faerie
Queen”, a masterpiece of Edmund Spenser, is a moral and religious allegory.
3. John
Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” is an example of spiritual allegory
4. Faerie
Queene by Edmund Spenser is a religious or moral allegory where characters
represent virtues and vices.
5. The Lord
of the Flies by William Golding has many allegories about society,
morality and religion, to name a few.
èPersonification
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.
Examples:
1. Look at
my car. She is a beauty, isn’t it so?
2. The wind
whispered through dry grass.
3. The
flowers danced in the gentle breeze.
4. Time and
tide waits for none.
5. The fire
swallowed the entire forest.
èApostrophe
Apostrophe is
an exclamatory figure of speech. It occurs when a speaker breaks off from
addressing the audience (e.g. in a play) and directs speech to a third party
such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes absent from
the scene. Often the addressee is a personified abstract quality or inanimate
object.
Examples:
1. God
deliver me from fools. 2. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory? 3. O God, God 4. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and
let me die. Romeo and Juliet (V, iii, 169-170). 5. "Roll on, thou dark
and deep blue Ocean -- roll!
èFigures Based on Contrast or
Difference
èOxymoron
An oxymoron (plural oxymora or oxymorons)
is a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be
contradictory. Oxymora appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent
errors (such as "ground pilot") and literary oxymorons crafted to
reveal a paradox.
Examples:
1. Serious
joke 2.Sweet sorrow 3. Dark light 4.Living dead 5. Crazy wisdom 6.Mournful
optimist
èAntithesis
Antithesis
literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas
are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
Examples:
1. Give every
man thy ear, but few thy voice.
2. Man
proposes, God disposes.
3. Love is an
ideal thing, marriage a real thing.
4. Speech is
silver, but silence is gold.
5. Patience
is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.
6. Money is
the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness.
7. You are
easy on the eyes, but hard on the heart.
èEpigram
An epigram refers
to a concise, witty, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical
statement. The origin of the word epigram is Greek, from epigraphein.
Examples:
1.
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws."
(Tacitus)
2. "I am
not young enough to know everything." (Oscar Wilde)
3. "Arguments
are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing." (Oscar
Wilde)
4. "I
can resist everything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde
5. "Mankind must
put an end to war, or war will put and end to mankind." - John F. Kennedy
6. "No
one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend." (Groucho
Marx)
èPun
The pun,
also called paronomasia, is a form of word play that suggests
two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of
similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect.
Examples:
1. A horse is
a very stable animal.
2. Two silk
worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
3. On the
surface of things whales are always blowing it.
4. I saw a
saw that could not saw
5. Is life
worth living? It depends on the liver.
èFigures depending on Construction
èClimax
In rhetoric,
a climax is a figure of speech in which words, phrases, or
clauses are arranged in order of increasing importance.
Examples:
1. There are
three things that will endure: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these
is love.
2. I think
we've reached a point of great decision, not just for our nation, not only for
all humanity, but for life upon the earth.
3. ...Lost,
vaded, broken, dead within an hour.
4. Let a man
acknowledge his obligations to himself, his family, his country, and his God.
5. He is
uncomplicated, upright, strict, austere and inspirational.
èAnticlimax
Anticlimax refers to
a figure of speech in which statements gradually descend in order of
importance. Unlike climax, anticlimax is the arrangement of a series of
words, phrases, or clauses in order of decreasing importance.
Examples:
1. The plane
that Joanna was planning to board from Singapore
2. The fire
burnt Peter's house down and he lost his cell phone.
3. Yesterday
I had good sleep but I have to meet my brother today.
4. The
enemies had conquered about three fourth of the Empire and the Emperor realized
he didn't have his breakfast.
5. He lost
his family, his car and his cell phone.
èFigures Based on Association
èMetonymy
Metonymy is
a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its
own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning with
that thing or concept.
Examples:
1. We must
wait to hear from the crown until we make any further decisions.
2. The cup is
quite tasty.
3. The White
House will be announcing the decision around noon today.
4. The suits
were at meeting.
5. Let me
give you a hand.
èSynecdoche
A synecdoche is a figure
of speech in which a
term for a part of something refers to the whole of something, or vice versa.
Examples:
1. The ship
was lost with all hands. (sailors)
2. His
parents bought him a new set of wheels. (new car)
3. He has
many mouths to feed. (to look after many)
4. Give us
our daily bread.
5. He hurled
the barbed weapon at the whale. (Harpoon)
è Transferred
epithet
Hypallage or transferred epithet is
a literary device that can be described as an abnormal, unexpected
change of two segments in a sentence.
Examples:
2. Male entrance. (the entrance does not have
gender)
3. A careless remark left her crying in the dark. (the
remark is not careless -- the person who said it was)
4. It is a
sad world.
5.He received
a mortal wound.
èHyperbole
Hyperbole is
the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical
device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings
or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally.
Examples:
1. I am so
hungry I could eat a horse.
2. I’ve told
you a million times
3. If I can’t
buy that new game, I will die.
4. Her brain
is the size of a pea.
5. He is
older than the hills.
èFigures based on Indirect Expression
èEuphemism
A euphemism is
a generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that
may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant.Some euphemisms are
intended to amuse; while others use bland, inoffensive, and often misleading
terms for things the user wishes to dissimulate or downplay.
Examples:
1. You are
becoming a little thin on top (bald).
2. Our
teacher is in the family way (pregnant).
3. He is
always tired and emotional (drunk).
4. We do not
hire mentally challenged (stupid) people.
5. He is a
special child (disabled or retarded).
èIrony
Irony
in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or
event characterized by an incongruity, or contrast, between what the
expectations of a situation are and what is really the case, with a third
element, that defines that what is really the case is ironic because of the
situation that led to it.
Examples:
1. One of the
identical twins says to the other, "You're ugly!"
2. I saw a
fish drowning.
3. Many things
can be preserved in alcohol. Dignity is not one of them.
4. Never
argue with a fool. People might not know the difference.
5. The water
vendor died of thirst!
èLitotes
In rhetoric, litotes
is a figure of speech in which understatement is employed
for rhetoric effect,[2] principally via double negatives.
Examples:
1. The ice
cream was not too bad.
2. Your
comments on politics are not useless.
3. New York
4. Your
apartment is not unclean.
5. You are
not doing badly at all.
è Rhetorical question
A rhetorical
question is a figure of speech in the form of
a question that is asked in order to make a
point.[1] The question, a rhetorical device, is posed not to
elicit a specific answer, but rather to encourage the listener to consider a
message or viewpoint.
Examples:
1. Is the
pope catholic? 2. Can we do better next time? 3. Do liars lie?
4. You didn't
possibly think I would say yes to that did you? 5. Is there anyone smarter than
me?
èFigures Based on Sound
èOnomatopoeia
An onomatopoeia is
a word that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the
source of the sound that it describes.
Examples:
1. The
buzzing bee flew away. 2. The sack fell into the river with a splash. 3. The books fell
on the table with a loud thump. 4. He looked at the roaring sky. 5. The
rustling leaves kept me awake.
èAlliteration
Alliteration is
the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the
beginning of words or in stressed syllables of a phrase.
Examples:
1. Alice
2. Becky’s
beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for Billy.
3. Carrie's
cat clawed her couch, creating chaos.
4. Dan’s dog
dove deep in the dam, drinking dirty water as he dove.
5. Eric’s
eagle eats eggs, enjoying each episode of eating.
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