Definitions and examples of basic figures of speech you must know in school

1. Figures of Speech
(Advanced)
Shruti Pal

2. What is the difference between LITERAL
and FIGURATIVE Language?
Literal Figurative
The actual,
dictionary meaning
of a word; language
that means what it
appears to mean.
Language that goes
beyond the normal
meaning of the
words used. Various
tools can be used to
make language
FIGURATIVE.

3. • A figure of speech is a rhetorical device that
achieves a special effect by using words in
distinctive ways. It makes language figurative.
• We use figures of speech everyday in our own
writing and conversations.
• It is a use of a word that diverges from its
normal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized
meaning.
Figures of Speech

4. When two or more words in a poem begin with the same letter or
sound it is termed as an alliteration. It is a series of words that begin with
the same consonant or sound alike.
Some examples are:
• You'll never use a bitter bit of butter.
• I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop.
• Hedgehogs hog the hedge.
• The terrible tiger tore the towel.
• Cat caught a crafty mouse.
• Busy bee
• Laughing lions laugh like jumping jaguars on top of talking trees.
• A peck of pickled peppers.
• Betty bought a bit of butter.
• Sheikh’s sheep is sick.
• Throw three tulips
• The dog did a dance.
Alliteration

5. Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a
few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable.
Some more examples are:
• The students chanted to raise the spirits of their team during the
match, “We will win, we will win.”
• O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells.
• The film was a waste of money, it was a waste of time and energy.
• They saw blood all around — blood on the passageways, blood on
the fields.
• The wrong person was appointed for the wrong job, following
the wrong procedure.
• If you think you can do it, you can do it.
• The judge commanded, “Order in the court, order in the court.”
• The president said, “Work, work, and work,” are the keys to success.
• The orator said, “Good morning to the old, good morning to the
young, good morning to each and every one present.”
Repetition

6. It is a direct comparison between two things different from each
other that have certain qualities in common.
Usually the comparison is made using like or as.
We can find simile examples in our daily speech, such as “He is as
slow as a snail.”
Some examples are:
• Our soldiers are as brave as lions.
• Her cheeks are red like a rose.
• He is as funny as a monkey.
• The water well was as dry as a bone.
• He is as cunning as a fox.
• Love is like a rosary that is full of mystery.
• Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong.
• Playing the piano is like a bird soaring in the sky.
• They fought like cats and dogs.
• He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.
• He is skinny like a toothpick.
Simile

7. It is an implied comparison between two unlike things that actually
have something important in common. It does not use “like” or “as”,
as used in a simile.
In simple English, when you portray a person, place, thing, or an action
as being something else, even though it is not actually that
“something else”.
Some examples are:
• Geeta is the rose in the family.
• Her mind is a sponge.
• Jasmeet is the dictionary of the group.
• Laughter is the best medicine.
• She is the apple of my eye.
• The words were music to his ears.
• Time is a thief.
• He has a heart of stone.
• John is a real pig when he eats.
• You are my sunshine.
• Words are daggers when spoken in anger.
Metaphor

8. It is an extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the
purpose of emphasis or heightened effect. We often use hyperbole in our
day to day speech.
Some more examples are:
• I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
• I have a million things to do.
• If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.
• I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet.
• Your suitcase weighs a ton!
• I will wait for youforever.
• Ram cried a river when his plant died.
• Romeo is willing to cross the ocean just to follow Juliet.
• I forget everything every time I see yousmile.
• My grandmother is so old that she personally knew
Shakespeare!
• My aunt is so fat that every time she turns around it's her
birthday.
Hyperbole

9. A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a
situation seem less important or serious than it is
Some examples are:
• I have to have this operation… It isn't very serious. I have this tiny
little tumor on the brain.
• I know a little about running a company. – comment by a successful
businessman.
• A small, short war that rarely extended throughout the galaxy
• Swimming with those starving sharks might be a bit unpleasant.
• Thomas Edison had a few ideas that he wanted to share with the
world– 1,093 of which would be granted U.S. patents
• Deserts are sometimes hot, dry, and sandy.
• The exam is easy for me. I just can’tanswer problems 1 to 5 in the last
page.
• It rained a bit more than usual. – Describing an area being flooded by
heavy rainfall.
• It was O.K. – Said by the student who got the highest score on the test.
• It is a bit nippy today. – Describing the temperature, which is 5 degrees
below freezing.
Understatement

10. Imagery is determined by descriptive language that appeals to the five
senses. Imagery is of five types:
Visual: when the language appeals to the senses such that the mind forms
images of the language used.
For example: The night was black as ever, but bright stars lit up the sky.
Auditory: Imagery that deals with sound and hearing.
For example: The clock tower chimed and broke the dead silence.
Olfactory: Imagery that represents a smell.
For example: The sweet smell of the perfume filled up my nostrils.
Gustatory: Imagery that represents a taste.
For example: The candy left a bitter sweet taste in her mouth.
Tactile: Imagery that represents touch.
For example: The grass tickled his skin and sweat cooled on his brow.
Imagery

12. Some examples are:
• The old man took the handful of dust, and sifted it through his
fingers.
• The starry night sky looked so beautiful that it begged him to linger,
but he reluctantly left for home.
• The fragrance of spring flowers made her joyful.
• The sound of a drum in the distance attracted him.
• The people traveled long distances to watch the sunset in the north.
• The stone fell with a splash in the lake.
• The sound of bat hitting the ball was pleasing to his ear.
• The chirping of birds heralded spring.
• The silence in the room was unnerving.
• He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee.
• The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric.
• There lay refuse heaps on their path that were so smelly that it
maddened them.
• The blind man touched the tree to learn if its skin was smooth or
rough.
• When he was on the way to work, he heard the muffled cry of a
woman.

13. It is the use of words that imitate the sounds of nature or the sounds
associated with the objects or actions they refer to. It creates a sound
effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more
expressive and interesting.
Some more examples are:
• The ringing of the phone annoys the croc.
• Tick-tock-tick-tock, the mouse went upthe clock.
• Bang! Bang! Bang!
• Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.
• The books fell on the table with a loud thump.
• The bird’s chirp filled the empty night air.
• Bang! went the pistol, Crash! went the window Ouch! went the son
of a gun.
• Both bees and buzzers buzz.
• The firecracker made a loud ka-boom!
• The snake hissed.
Onomatopoeia

14. A figure of speech in which an animal or a non living object or ideas
are given human qualities or abilities.
Some examples are:
• Opportunity was knocking at her door.
• Look at my car. She is beautiful, isn’t she?
• The wind whispered through dry grass.
• The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.
• Time and tide wait for none.
• The fire swallowed the entire forest.
• Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered.
• The wind stood up and gave a shout.
• The sun greeted me this morning.
• The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
• The old house appeared sad.
• The first rays of morning tiptoed through the meadow.
Personification

15. Enjambment means moving over from one line to another without a
terminating punctuation mark. It can be defined as a thought or sense,
phrase or clause, in a line of poetry that does not come to an end at the
line break, but moves over to the next line without a major pause or
syntactical break.
Some examples are:
• Autumn showing off colors slowly
Letting the splendid colors
Flow softly to earth below.
• Lovely nature has something to offer
you; so inhale the fresh air
And, beautifully, learn by deciding where to go.
• When rain drops are
Exposed to sunlight, even
Colorless become vibrant.
• Longer days have come,
Cuckoos are here with joyous
Shades of dark green arise!
• Cold morning time
Ice crystals reflect the rays
Of blazing sunrise.
Enjambment

16. Poetic license is the freedom to depart from the facts of a matter or
from the conventional rules of language when speaking or writing in
order to create an effect.
Some examples are:
• They all the day did lie (Rime of the ancient mariner)
• Come nymph demure, with mantle blue (ode to evening)
• Use odd contractions such as "ne'er" for "never"
• Shortened forms of words such as "'tween" for between
• Make up words as in Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem "Jabberwocky.“
• Imma buy you a drank
Imma take you home with me
I got money in the bank
• Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.
• And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
Over the land, and over the sea;—
Please take me a ride! O do!’
• And would probably give me the roo-
Matiz!’ said the Kangaroo.
• He gave her a rose red
Poetic License

17. A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear
side by side. A common oxymoron phrase consists of an
adjective proceeded by a noun having contrasting meaning.
Some examples are:
• A yawn may be defined as a silent yell.
• O miserable abundance, O beggarly riches!
• That building is a little bit big and pretty ugly.
• There was a love-hate relationship between the two neighboring
states.
• The professor was giving a lecture on virtual reality.
• The channel was repeating the old news again and again Open
secret
• Deafeningsilence
• Tragic comedy
• Original copy
• Seriouslyfunny
• Cruel kindness
• Living death
• Awfully pretty
• Foolish wisdom
Oxymoron

18. It is a play on words, sometimes of different senses of the same word
and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words. Puns
are used to create a humorous effect. There are graphic puns which
combine language and art for a humorous effect.
Some examples are:
• When it rains, it pours.
• The two pianists had a good marriage. They were always in a chord.
• What is the difference between a conductor and a teacher? The
conductor minds the train and a teacher trains the mind.
• A happy life depends on theliver.
• Atheism is a non-prophetinstitution.
• Why do we have still troops in Germany? T
o keep
the Russians in Czech.
Pun

19. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving
them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. The
same action or gesture can take up more than one meaning.
“A chain,” for example, may stand for “union” as well as “imprisonment”
Some examples are:
• The dove is a symbol of peace.
• A red rose, or the color red, stands for love or romance.
• Black is a symbol that represents evil or death.
• A ladder may stand as a symbol for a connection between heaven and
earth.
• A broken mirror may symbolize separation or loss.
• David stopped his car at the red signal.
• Rebels raised a white flag to negotiate.
• He gave a red rose to his wife on Valentine Day.
• He, after a long time, saw a silver lining in the shape of the arrival
of his brother.
• Indian Hindu brides traditionally wear red.
• He was disappointed when the mirror broke.
Symbolism

20. A deliberate repetition of the same word or group of words at the
beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
Some examples are:
• All the people were moving in the same direction; all the
people were thinking about the same thing; and all the
people were discussing the same topic
• The young writer was given the award for his best
seller. The young writer was excited to get the award, and
he decided to celebrate the occasion in a fitting manner.
• Tell them to be good, tell them to follow their elders,
and tell them to mind their manners
• Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better
and better.
• My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my
inspiration.
• Who is to blame, who is to look to, who is to turn to, in a
tough situation like this
• Everything looked dark and bleak, everything
looked gloomy, and everything was under a blanket of mist
Anaphora