Figure of Speech Definition

A figure of speech is a literary device in which language is used in an unusual—or

"figured"—way in order to produce a stylistic effect. Figures of speech can be broken
into two main groups: figures of speech that play with the ordinary meaning of words
(such as metaphor, simile, and hyperbole), and figures of speech that play with the
ordinary arrangement or pattern in which words are written (such as alliteration,
ellipsis, and antithesis).
Examples of Figures of Speech
Here are an examples of the figures of speech
A. SIMILE
B. METAPHOR
C. PERSONA
D. HYPERBOLE
E. IRONY

HYPERBOLE
Hyperbole in the Greek language translates to ‘excess’. And that is what it does, it
exaggerates. We use hyperboles to emphasize the importance or overstate something.
This exaggerates claims and statements are never meant to be taken at their literal
meaning. They are used to create a strong and lasting impression. A hyperbole is an
intentional exaggeration of the truth, used to emphasize the importance of something
or to create a comic effect.
Example for HYPERBOLE
1. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse
2. My feet are killing me
3. That plane ride took forever
4. This is the best book ever written
5. I love you to the moon and back
6. The pen is mightier than the sword
7. I've told you this 20,000 times
8. Cry me a river
SIMILE
A simile is a figure of speech that uses comparison. In a simile, we use two specific
words “like” and “as” to compare two unlikely things, that actually have nothing in
common. This is done to bring out the dramatic nature of the prose and invoke vivid
images and comparisons. It is one of the most common forms of a figure of speech and
is used in everything from day-to-day talk to poems. A simile, like a metaphor, makes a
comparison between two unrelated things. However, instead of stating that one thing is
another thing (as in metaphor), a simile states that one thing is like another thing.
Example for SIMILE:
1. They fought like cats and dogs.
2. Rachel is as bright as the sun.
3. quite like a mouse
4. as tall as a mountain
5. as strong as an ox
6. precious like an angel

METAPHOR
A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison, but in a way different
from a simile. It makes the comparison as if it was literally true. In other words, it can be
said that a metaphor is an implied comparison.

A metaphor and a simile are quite similar actually. A metaphor also uses compares to
things that are in no way similar. It does so to bring out the symbolism. A metaphor is a
word or phrase used to show its similarity to another thing. It helps to explain an idea,
but if you take a metaphor at its literal meaning it will sound absurd.
Example for METAPHOR:
1. The whole world is a stage.
2. love is a battlefield
3. Alex is a chicken
4. My mom has a heart of gold.
5. My friend’s sister, Sharon, is a night owl.
PERSONA
Another very interesting figure of speech is personification. In this, we personify or
represent a non-human entity as human. We give an inanimate object or an intangible
idea of some human qualities such as emotions, or gestures or even speech. this is
done to portray the object as alive and help the listener or reader paint a vivid picture. It
is a figure of speech that is used to attribute human characteristics to something that is
not human. It can also be used to personify an abstract quality.
Example for PERSONA:
1. Emily Dickinson, in her poem, Because I could not stop for death, writes,
“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.”
2. In his poem, Magdalen Walks, Oscar Wilde personifies the plane and the pine-
tree.
“And the plane to the pine-tree is whispering some tale of love
Till it rustles with laughter and tosses its mantle of green,”
3. In her poem, Mirror, Sylvia Plath personifies the mirror as if it is giving a
monologue.
“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful,”
4. In the play, Every Man in His Humour, Ben Jonson makes use of personification
to create an effect in the minds of his readers. There are multiple examples of
personification in the play.
“It is my want speaks, not myself”
“Your honesty? dame, it flies too lightly from you”

5. “Blow winds and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!”

“But yet I call you servile ministers”
The above examples of personification are from the famous play, King Lear by
WIlliam Shakespeare.
IRONY
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different
from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition, don't worry—it is. Irony
is a broad term that encompasses three different types of irony, each with their own
specific definition: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Most of the time
when people use the word irony, they're actually referring to one of these specific types
of irony.
Examples of Irony from Movies and TV Series
To make learning irony a little more fun, here are a few examples of irony in some of
the most-watched movies and TV series. Check out the examples below and try to
analyse if you were able to see the irony in it when you watched the movie/TV series.
1. In the movie Maleficent, you see Aurora going back to find Maleficent, the witch
who cursed her when she was born, and developing a loving relationship with
her. She, however, leaves her to go see her father and ends up in the dungeon
pricking her finger on the needle and falling to eternal sleep, thereby fulfilling the
curse. The whole time, the audience knows about all this and all of these events
can be said to bring the effect of dramatic irony in the movie.
2. Snow White is seen taking the apple that would put her into a deep sleep as the
Wicked Stepmother had cursed in the movie, ‘Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs’. It is an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows all along
that the apple was the cursed apple and what it would do to Snow White.
3. In ‘Aladdin’, the title character is given an opportunity to make three wishes and
he is found wishing to be a prince and have all the riches in the world in order to
marry Jasmine, the princess. However, his wish turns out to be ironic because
the princess does not seem to be in any way attracted to him because of the
riches and does not want to marry him.
4. In ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’, the TV Series, Rachel is seen quitting her job as a waitress as
she was fed up of serving coffee. Once she quits, she is so sure she does not
have to serve coffee ever again. It becomes ironic when she gets a job in a field
of her liking and all she has to do is serve coffee.
5. “O my love, my wife! Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, Hath had
no power yet upon thy beauty.” (‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare)
ALLITERATION
Alliteration is a literary technique derived from Latin, meaning “letters of the alphabet.”
It occurs when two or more words are linked that share the same first consonant
sound, such as “fish fry.”
Example for ALLITERATION:
1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
2. The slithering snake silently slid away.
3. Dunkin’ Donuts.
4. Whispery winds wailed in the night.
5. She sells seashells by the seashore.

ONOMATOPIA
An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the noise it describes. The spelling and
pronunciation of that word is directly influenced by the sound it defines in real life. All
onomatopoeia words describe specific sounds.
Example for ONOMATOPIA:
1. The bees buzzed in the garden.
2. The car engine roared to life.
3. The door creaked open.
4. The plates fell with a crash.
5. The snake hissed as it slithered away.

CONSONANCE
Consonance is the repetition of similar sounds – or consonants (non-vowels) – in
language. Consonance is used by writers to communicate rhythm, mood, and flow.
Alliteration is a subtype of consonance that requires the similar sounds be placed at
the beginning of closely connected words.
Example for CONSONANCE:
1. The lumpy, bumpy road.
2. The breeze blew, the white foam flew.
3. Mike likes his new bike.
4. The slick black rock stood firm.
5. It will creep and beep while you sleep.
ASSONANCE
Assonance is a figure of speech that is characterised by the use of words having
similar vowel sounds consecutively. It can be said to be a variation of alliteration.
Example for ASSONANCE:
1. The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains.
2. The low moon hooted.
3. He seems the least beat.
4. The early bird catches the worm.
5. I made my way to the lake.