Figures of Speech
1. Simile – When a comparison is made between two things by using the word as/ like/as/such as is called as Simile.
e.g. – 1.Blue as the wing of halcyon wild.
2. Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green.
3. Tanaji fought like a lion.
2. Metaphor – A metaphor is an implied simile. Here it states that one thing is like another. Here one thing is called as another thing.
e.g. – 1. Life is a dream.
2. Camels are the ships of desert.
3. Ministers are the pillars of the state.
3. Personification- Here the human qualities are given to non human thing, abstract things or inanimate things.
e.g. – 1.The stars are dancing in the sky.
2. The wind howled in the night.
3. My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.
4. Apostrophe – an apostrophe is a direct address to the dead, to the abstract, to the absent and to a personified object.
e.g . 1. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. ( ...
2. O holy night! ...
3. Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief. ( ...
5. Antithesis – When two opposite ideas or terms or words are used in the line is called as antithesis.
"Man proposes, God disposes."
"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing."
"To err is human; to forgive divine."
6. Synecdoche - A part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part the it is called as synecdoche.
All the world’s bellies are fed by her.
All heads came together to solve the problem.
7. Repetition – when the word is repeated in the line or a line is repeated in the poem is called as repetition.
e.g. "And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
Time after time
Heart to heart
Boys will be boys
Hand in hand
Get ready; get set; go
Hour to hour
8. Alliteration – when the words starting with same sound are repeated in the line then it is called as Alliteration.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. ...
A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.
Black bug bit a big black bear. ...
9. Onomatopoeia – It means the formation of words that are like natural sounds. Here the words are used which expresses sound.
e.g. 1. The rustling of leaves
2. the yellow teeth twittering
3. The house tops clatter and clang.
10. Inversion – Here the word order is changed is changed to create the poetic effect.
E.g. 1. Never again will you do that.
2. Never a day had she missed her lessons.
3.Rarely have I eaten better food.
4.Hardly ever does he come to class on time.
5.Not until a frog develops lungs does it leave the water and live on the land.
11. Paradox – It means a statement seemingly absurd or self contradictory though possibly true. Paradox means using contrasting words to criticise or to tell the truth.
E.g . 1. Save money by spending it.
2. If I know one thing, it's that I know nothing.
3. This is the beginning of the end.
4. Deep down, you're really shallow.
5. I'm a compulsive liar.
6. "Men work together whether they work together or apart."
12. Transferred Epithet – Epithet means adjective and transfer means change the place. In this figure of speech an epithet is transferred from its proper word to another that is closely associated with it in the sentence.
E.g. 1. Who looked from thoughtful eyes….
2. she found eager eyes and eyed alert.
13. Hyperbole – Hyperbole is a statement in exaggeration. It is an overstatement or exaggerated statement.
E.g. 1. I've told you to clean your room a million times!
2. It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing hats and jackets.
3. I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
4. I have a million things to do today.
14. Climax – Here the words are arranged in an ascending order.
E.g. 1. The dancers dance, the musicians play
2. Land of birth, our faith, our pride.
3. She came, she saw and she won.
15. Anticlimax – Here the words are arranged in an descending order.
E.g. 1. She won, she saw, she came.
2. He lost his family, his house and his wealth in fire accident.
16. Tautology – Here the words with similar meaning are used in the same line.
E.g. 1. We have feet to scale and climb.
2. This is our heritage and heirloom.
17. Metonymy – Here to denote the thing or person a related thing of its is used.
E.g. 1. The case is on the bench.
2. I have read Shakespeare.
18. Rhetorical questions - Here the questions are used not for the sake of getting an answer to give the focus on the thing.
E.g. 1. Do you want to be a failure for the rest of your life?
2. Does a bear poop in the woods?
3. Can fish swim?
4.Can birds fly?
5.Do dogs bark?
