Figures of Speech
Departure from the ordinary form of
expression greater effect
Simile:
Comparison made between two objects of different kind which have ___
At least one thing in common.
Like
As
So
Examples:
The Assyrians came down like a wolf on the fold
The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree
Metaphor
Implied Simile
Does not state that one thing is like the other but takes for granted
The camel is the ship of the desert.
Life is a dream
The news was a dagger to his heart
Personification
Inanimate objects & abstract notions are spoken
as having life and intelligence
1.In Saxon strength that abbey frowned.
2.Laughter holding both her sides.
3.Death lays his icy hand on kings.
4.Pride goes forth on horseback ,grand and gay but cometh
back on foot and begs its way.
Assonance
This figure of speech is similar to alliteration, because it also
involves repetition of sounds. But this time it’s vowel sounds
that are being repeated. Assonance creates internal rhyming
within phrases or sentences by repeating vowel sounds that
are the same. example:
“On a proud round cloud in white high night”
“Fire at the private eye hired to pry in my business”
Anaphora
Anaphora is not just the repetition of letters and sounds but whole words can
be repeated to create different effects. Anaphora is the deliberate repetition of
a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or
paragraphs.It is used a lot in poetry, but also in speeches, to stir up emotions.
Winston Churchill’s famous speech:
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall
fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills”
Martin Luther King also used anaphora in his iconic I Have a Dream speech
e.g
I have a dream … let freedom ring…
Apostrophe
Hyperbole
A statement is made emphatic by overstatement
E.g
1.Here’s the smell of blood still;all the perfumes of Arabia
will not sweeten this little man
2.Why,man ,if the rivers were dry ,I am unable to fill it
with tears.
Euphemism
Description of disagreeable thing by an agreeable
name.
E.g
1. He has fallen asleep ( i.e he is dead )
2. You are telling me a fairy tale ( i.e a lie )
Antithesis
A striking opposition or contrast of word of sentiments is made in the same
sentence .It is employed to secure emphasis
for example
1.Man proposes God disposes
2.Not that I loved Caesar less but I loved Rome more.
3.Give every man thy ear but few thy word
4.Speech is silver but silence is Golden
5.To err is human to forgive divine
6.Many are called but few are chosen
7.He had his JEST and they had his estate
Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing
Epigram
Epigram is a brief pointed saying frequently introducing
antithetical ideas which excite surprise and arrest attention.
Examples:
1) The child is the father of the man.
2) A man can’t be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
3) Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
4) In the midst of the life we are in death.
5) Art lies in concealing art.
6) He makes no friends who makes no foe.
7)Know then thyself ,presume not God to scan.
The proper study of mankind is man .
8)The fool doth think he is wise,but the wise man
knows himself to be a fool.
Irony
Irony is a mode of speech in which the real meaning is exactly
the opposite of that which is literally conveyed
Example :
1)No doubt you are the people ,but wisdom will die with you .
2) Here under leave of Brutus and the rest
For Brutus is an honorable man
(Words of Antony at Caesar’s funeral who was killed by Brutus and
conspirators.
Paradox
Paradox: It is a self-contradictory sentence
which seems false but can make sense when it
is observed.
For example, failure leads to success.
Personification
irons
Personification
Oxymoron
Simile
