Figure of Speech ExamplesA figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal meaning. It can be ametaphor or simile that is designed to further explain a concept. Or, it can be a different way of pronouncing a word or phrase such as with alliteration to give further meaning or a different sound.

Examples of Figures of SpeechUsing AlliterationAlliteration is the repetition of beginning sounds. Examples are:

Sally sells seashells. Walter wondered where Winnie was. Blue baby bonnets Nick needed notebooks. Fred fried frogs.

Using AnaphoraAnaphora is a technique where several phrases or verses begin with the same word or words. Examples are:

I came, I saw, I conquered - Julius Caesar Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition! King John - William Shakespeare We laughed, we loved, we sang With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, -

Abraham Lincoln We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. - Winston Churchill

Using AssonanceAssonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together. Examples are:

A - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore (Poe) E - Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee (Coleridge) I - From what I’ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire (Frost) O - Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn (Wordsworth) U - Uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (Poe)

Using a EuphemismEuphemism is a word or phrase that replaces a word or phrase to make it more polite or pleasant. Examples are:

A little thin on top instead of bald Homeless instead of bum

Letting him go instead of fired him Passed away instead of died Put to sleep instead of euthanize

Using HyperboleHyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Examples are:

I’ve told you a hundred times It cost a billion dollars I could do this forever She is older than dirt Everybody knows that

Using IronyIrony is using words where the meaning is the opposite of their usual meaning. Examples are:

After begging for a cat and finally getting one, she found out she was allergic.

A traffic cop gets suspended for not paying his parking tickets. The Titanic was said to be unsinkable. Dramatic irony is knowing the killer is hiding in a closet in a scary movie. Naming a Chihuahua Brutus

Using MetaphorMetaphor compares two unlike things or ideas. Examples are:

Heart of stone Time is money The world is a stage She is a night owl He is an ogre

Using OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it is describing. Examples are:

Whoosh Splat Buzz Click Oink

Using OxymoronOxymoron is two contradictory terms used together. Examples are:

Peace force Kosher ham Jumbo shrimp

Small crowd Free market

Using PersonificationPersonification is giving human qualities to non-living things or ideas. Examples are:

The flowers nodded Snowflakes danced Thunder grumbled Fog crept in The wind howled

Using SimileSimile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as." Examples are:

As slippery as an eel Like peas in a pod As blind as a bat Eats like a pig As wise as an owl

Using SynecdocheSynecdoche is when a part represents the whole or the whole is represented by a part. Examples are:

Wheels - a car The police - one policeman Plastic - credit cards Coke - any cola drink Army - a soldier

Using UnderstatementUnderstatement is when something is said to make something appear less important or less serious. Examples are:

It's just a scratch - referring to a large dent It is sometimes dry and sandy - referring to the driest desert in the world The weather is a little cooler today - referring to sub-zero temperatures I won’t say it was delicious - referring to terrible food The tsunami caused some damage - referring to a huge tsunamiThese examples of figures of speech were selected to show a wide variety of types of words. 

10 Basic Figures of Speech - An Easy Guide

By Rakesh Ramubhai Patel    |     Submitted On November 07, 2008

   

The use of figure of speech in creative writing gives ideas or sentiments a unique perspective. It involves a deviation from the more commonly used form of word order or sentence construction. Writers usually employ such figures of speech embellish their composition.

This article is attempted to throw light on various figures of speech that will help you realize how you can craft your writing to meet your expectations.

1. Simile It is a specific comparison made by means words such as "like" or "as" between two kinds of objects. "Reason is to faith as the eye to the telescope", an example of simile.

2. Metaphor It uses a word or phrase denoting one kind of idea in place of other word or phrase in order to suggest a likeness between the two.

3. Anticlimax It involves a series of ideas that suddenly diminish in importance at the end of a sentence or passage. It is used to bring satirical effect.

4. Antithesis It is a juxtaposition of two words, phrases, clauses, or sentences contrasted in meaning to offer emphasis to contrasting ideas. "To err is human, to forgive divine", is a fine example of antithesis.

5. Climax It is an arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences in the order of their significance. The least powerful comes first and the others. "It is an outrage to bind a Roman citizen; it is a crime to scourge him; it is almost parricide to kill him; but to crucify him-what shall I say of this?" This particular example rightly tells what climax means.

6. Conceit It is an elaborate and often extravagant metaphor. It makes an analogy between totally dissimilar things. The term originally means concept or idea. Conceits were widely used in the 17th-century metaphysical poetry. In "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", John Donne uses it where the image of the joined arms of a pair of compasses is used to demonstrate the attachment of a pair of lovers; even when one makes s move, the two are attached closely being one.

7. Euphemism It involves substitution of an inoffensive term or phrase for one that has coarse or sordid unpleasant associations, for instance in the use of words like "toilet" for "lavatory", and "pass away" for "die".

8. Hyperbole It is a form of inordinate exaggeration. It means a person or thing is portrayed as being better or worse than the actual one. For example, "Dr. Jonathan drank his tea in oceans".

9. Irony It is humorous or lightly sarcastic mode of speech. Words are used here to convey a meaning contrary to their literal meaning.

10. Personification It involves representation of inanimate or abstract ideas as living beings. The sentence, "Necessity is the mother of invention" can help you make out this idea better.

The close study of these figures of speech will help you understand the sense of crafting your ideas and imagination in creating fine piece of literature, poetry or other mode of writing.

Rakesh Patel is Assistant Professor (GES Class-II) & Head, Dept. of English at Govt. Arts and Commerce College, Ahwa-Dangs, Gujarat. A corpus of creative writings and research papers have appeared in some leading journals and magazines of India and abroad finds his efficiency in writing on various topics like English literature, and education.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rakesh_Ramubhai_Patel

Figure of Speech

The Figure of Speech is departure from the ordinary form of expression, or the ordinary course of ideas in order to produce a greater effect. 

Figure-of-Speech may be classified as under: 

1. Those based on resemblance 

• Simile • Metaphor • Personification • Apostrophe 

2. Those based on Contrast: 

• Antithesis • Epigram 

3. Those based on Association: 

• Metonymy • Synecdoche 

4. Thos depending on Construction: 

• Climax • Anticlimax 

Let us see one by one. 

SIMILE: 

In Simile, a comparison is made between two object of different kinds which have at least one point in common. 

The Simile is introduced by the word ‘as…as’. 

Examples: 

• As active as quicksilver • As afraid as a grasshopper • As ageless as the sun • As agile as a cat • As agile as a monkey • As alert as a bird • As alike as two peas • As alone as a leper • As alone as Crusoe 

• As ambitious as the devil 

This Figure-of-Speech is widely used by us in our writings. 

NOTE: 

SIMILES

METAPHOR: 

A Metaphor is an implied Simile. It does not, like a Simile, state that one thing is like another or acts as another, but takes that for granted and proceeds as if two things were one. 

Thus when we say, ‘He fought as fiercely as a lion’, it is Simile. 

But when we say, ‘He was a lion in the fight’, it is Metaphor. 

Examples: 

• The camel is the ship of the desert. • Life is a dream. • The news was a dragger to his heart. • Revenge is a kind of wild justice. 

NOTE: 

Every SIMILE can be compressed into a METAPHOR, and Every METAPHOR can be expanded into a SIMILE. 

Examples: 

• Richard fought as fiercely as a loin. (Simile) • Richard was a lion in the fight. (Metaphor) 

• The waves thundered on the shore. (Metaphor) • The waves broke on the shore with noise like a thunder. 

This Figure-of-Speech is also widely used by us in our writings. 

PERSONIFICATION: 

In Personification, inanimate objects and abstract notions are spoken of as having life and intelligence. 

Examples: 

• Death lays its icy hands on King. • Pride goes forth on horseback, grand and gay. • Laughter is holding her both sides. 

APOSTROPHE: 

An Apostrophe is a direct address to the dead, to the absent, or to a personified object or idea. This figure is a special form of Personification. 

Examples: 

• Milton! You should not be living at this hour. • Friend! I know not which way I must look for comfort. • Roll on! Thou deep and dark blue Ocean, roll. • Death! Where is thy sting? O Grave! Where is thy victory? 

This Figure-of-Speech is also widely used by us in our writings. 

HYPERBOLE: 

In Hyperbole, a statement is made emphatic by overstatement. 

Examples: 

• Why, man, if the river is dry, I am able to fill it with tears. • Hmalet! You have not cleft my heart in twain. 

EUPHEMISM: 

Euphemism consists in the description of a disagreeable thing by an agreeable name. 

Examples: 

• You are telling me a fairy tale. (You are telling me lies) • He is gone to heaven. (He is dead) 

This Figure-of-Speech is also widely used by us in our writings. 

ANTITHESIS: 

In Antithesis, a striking opposition or contrast of words or sentiments is made in the same sentence. It is employed to secure emphasis. 

Examples: 

• Man proposes, but God disposes. • Not that I loved Caesar less, but I loved Rome more. • Speech is silver, but Silence is Gold. • Many are called, but few are chosen. 

• To err is human, but to forgive on divine. 

OXYMORON: 

Oxymoron is special type of Antithesis, whereby two contradictory qualities are predicted at once of the same thing. 

Examples: 

• She accepted it as the kind cruelty of surgeon’s knife. • His honor rooted in dishonor stood. • Faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. • So innocent arch, so cunningly simple. 

Oxymorons

EPIGRAM: 

An Epigram is a brief pointed saying frequently introducing antithetical ideas which excite surprise and arrest attention. 

Examples: 

• The child is the father of the man. • Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. • In the midst of life, we are in death. • Art lies in concealing art. • He makes no friend who never made a foe. • A man can not be too careful in the choice of his enemies. • The proper study of mankind is man. 

IRONY: 

Irony is made of speech in which the real meaning is exactly the opposite of that which is literally conveyed. 

Examples: 

• No doubts but you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 

This Figure-of-Speech is also widely used by us in our writings. 

10 types of figure of speech?

EDIT

Answered by The Community

1. Simile

It is a specific comparison made by means words such as "like" or "as" between two kinds of objects. "Reason is to faith as the eye to the telescope", an example of simile. 2. MetaphorIt uses a word or phrase denoting one kind of idea in place of other word or phrase in order to suggest a likeness between the two.3. AnticlimaxIt involves a series of ideas that suddenly diminish in importance at the end of a sentence or passage. It is used to bring satirical effect.4. AntithesisIt is a juxtaposition of two words, phrases, clauses, or sentences contrasted in meaning to offer emphasis to contrasting ideas. "To err is human, to forgive divine", is a fine example of antithesis.5. ClimaxIt is an arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences in the order of their significance. The least powerful comes first and the others. "It is an outrage to bind a Roman citizen; it is a crime to scourge him; it is almost parricide to kill him; but to crucify him-what shall I say of this?" This particular example rightly tells what climax means.6. ConceitIt is an elaborate and often extravagant metaphor. It makes an analogy between totally dissimilar things. The term originally means concept or idea. Conceits were widely used in the 17th-century metaphysical poetry. In "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", John Donne uses it where the image of the joined arms of a pair of compasses is used to demonstrate the attachment of a pair of lovers; even when one makes s move, the two are attached closely being one.7. EuphemismIt involves substitution of an inoffensive term or phrase for one that has coarse or sordid unpleasant associations, for instance in the use of words like "toilet" for "lavatory", and "pass away" for "die".8. HyperboleIt is a form of inordinate exaggeration. It means a person or thing is

portrayed as being better or worse than the actual one. For example, "Dr. Jonathan drank his tea in oceans".9. IronyIt is humorous or lightly sarcastic mode of speech. Words are used here to convey a meaning contrary to their literal meaning.10. Personification

It involves representation of inanimate or abstract ideas as living beings. The sentence, "Necessity is the mother of invention" can help you make out this idea better.

ILOVEYOU KAYA MO YAN -REINY G!