Figure of

Speech
 Figure of Speech

A word or expression used not with its original meaning

but in an imaginative way to make a special effect.
Or
‘Figures of speech’ is a poetic tool. This beautifies the
poem. A poet or writer can involve all his or her
emotions in a composition with the help of ‘Figures of
Speech’.
 Simile :-It is a figure of speech comparing two unlike
things, often introduced with the word ‘like’ or ‘as’
Example-
• He fights like a lion.
• She swims as fast as a fish.
• He is as brave as a lion
• Her expression was as cold as ice
• Swim like a fish
• As light as a feather
• He is as brave as a lion.
• He was busy like a bee.
• I came like water, like wind I go.
• The lake was clear as crystal.
 Metaphor :- It is a figure of speech where we directly
compare. We don’t use ‘like’, ‘as’

• You are the apple of my eye.

• Ocean’s sound is music to my ear.
• Heart of gold.
• He is a night owl.
• Time is money.
• She’s a night owl.
• Chaos is a friend of mine.
• He is the light of my life!
 Hyperbole - Hyperbole is when you use words to
exaggerate what you mean or emphasise a point. It is used
to make something seem bigger or more important than it
is.
It is commonly used in marketing to grab attention.
Example :-
• I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
• I’m so tired I could sleep for a year.
• I had a ton of homework
• The line was a mile long.
I had to tell him a million times.
• It cost an arm and a leg.
 Oxymoron :- An Oxymoron is when two words are used together
in a sentence but they seem to be in contrast with each other.
Example :-
(1) Dark light (2) Living dead
(3) A little big (4) Alone together
• This is an open secret.
• Life is bitter sweet.
• He is a silent orator.
• He is an innocent criminal.
• The boy is regularly irregular.
• She was kindly cruel to the child.
• He is an honest thief.
• That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
 Alliteration - It is a series of words, which commence with
the same letter. Alliteration consists of the repetition of a
sound or of a letter at the beginning of two or more words.
Example :-
• Dirty dolphins dove across the ocean.
• Purple pandas painted portraits.
• Nick needed new notebooks.
• Sheep should shover in a shed.
• She sells sea shells on the sea shore.
• Busy buzzing, the bee behaved beautifully.
 Personification :- Personification is one of the types of figures of
speech that is used to allocate human characteristics to something
that is not human. It is generally assigning human attributes to
nonhuman things.

• I felt like the food kept calling me.

• The leaves waved in the wind.
• The snowflakes danced in the moonlight.
• Death lays his icy hands on kings.
• Truth sits upon the lips of a dying man.
• Authority forgets a dying king.
• Anxiety is sitting on his face.
• Everest is the king of mountains.
• Knowledge is proud that it knows so much.
 Onomatopoeia This is a figure of speech that is used to express a
sound. To be more precise, it involves the use of words that imitate
the sounds associated with the action or object referred to, i.e.,
hiss, clap, etc.
Example :-
• Water plops into pond.
• The buzzing bee flew over my head
• The stone hit the water with a splash
• Boom" (a firework explosion)
• "Tick-tock" (a clock)
• "Ding-dong" (a doorbell)
• "Buzz" (a bee)
• "Slam" (a door closing)
• "Splash" (water)
• "Gurgle" (liquid)
•Ding-Dong goes the bell.
•Tick-Tock goes the watch.
•The buzzing of the bees.
•The cat is mewing.
•The murmuring of innumerable bees.
•The lightening crashed.
•I heard the hissing of the snakes.
 Idiom :- An idiom is a turn of phrase that is unique to a language, culture, or
region. In these types of phrases, the literal meaning and figurative meaning are
different, so if you aren’t a native speaker or otherwise familiar with the phrase,
you probably won’t know what’s actually being expressed.
•It was a piece of cake. (It was easy.)
•Don’t let the cat out of the bag. (Don’t tell this secret.)
•Did I miss the boat? (Is it too late?)
•Break a leg: Used to wish someone good luck, especially before a performance, even
though it doesn't mean literally breaking a leg.
•It's raining cats and dogs: Means it's raining heavily, not literally raining animals.
•Spill the beans: Means to reveal a secret.
•Under the weather: Means feeling sick or unwell.
 Apostrophe: An Apostrophe is a direct address to the
dead, to the absent or to a personified object or idea.
Exclamation mark (!) is used mostly in this figure of
speech.
Examples:-
• O Death ! I cannot die.
• O Grave ! Where is the victory ?
• O Duty ! Stern daughter of the voice of God.
• Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are
 Paradox :-A paradox is a figure of speech where a
statement appears to contradict itself, but further reveals a
deeper truth or meaningful idea, often giving the listener
time to think more deeply.
Examples:

•The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.
•The only way to overcome death is to die.
•This is the beginning of the end.”