ST. MARK COLLEGE of baliuag, Bulacan, inc.
JP. Rizal St. Sta. Barbara, Baliuag Bulacan
Email:
[email protected] | Tel. No. 305-5264
Name: ___________________________
Grade and Section: _________________
Module #: 17 ENGLISH 8
Date: ______________________________
Figurative Language (Parte of Speech)
Here are 35 types of figures of speech, categorized for easier understanding:
Comparisons and Associations:
1. Simile: A comparison using "like" or "as."
Example: "Her voice was like velvet."
2. Metaphor: A direct comparison, stating one thing is another.
Example: "He is a lion in battle."
3. Personification: Giving human qualities to non-human things.
Example: "The wind whispered secrets."
4. Metonymy: Using a related word to represent something else.
Example: "The crown" to represent the monarchy.
5. Synecdoche: Using a part to represent the whole.
Example: "Wheels" to represent a car.
6. Allegory: A story with a symbolic meaning, often representing a moral or
political message.
Example: The story of "The Tortoise and the Hare" is often seen as an
allegory for slow and steady perseverance.
Emphasis and Exaggeration:
1. Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis or humor.
Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
2. Understatement: Downplaying the significance of something.
Example: "I'm a little tired after running a marathon."
3. Litotes: Expressing something by negating its opposite.
Example: "He's not the sharpest tool in the shed" (meaning he's not very
intelligent).
Wordplay and Sound Devices:
1. Oxymoron: Contradictory terms used together.
Example: "Deafening silence."
2. Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
3. Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds within words.
Example: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."
4. Onomatopoeia: Words imitating sounds.
Example: "The buzzing of bees."
5. Pun: A play on words using similar-sounding words.
Example: "I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!"
Irony and Humor:
1. Irony: A contrast between expectation and reality.
Example: A fire station burning down.
2. Sarcasm: Irony used to mock or convey negativity.
Example: "That's just great," said the student after failing the test.
3. Verbal Irony: Saying the opposite of what is meant.
Example: "Nice weather, isn't it?" (said on a rainy day).
4. Situational Irony: When the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what
is expected.
Example: A thief getting caught by a security camera.
5. Dramatic Irony: When the audience knows something that a character in a
story doesn't.
Example: In a horror movie, the audience knows the monster is hiding in the
closet, but the character doesn't.
Structure and Repetition:
1. Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
clauses.
Example: "I have a dream... I have a dream... I have a dream."
2. Epizeuxis: Repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis.
Example: "No, no, no! I won't do it!"
3. Chiasmus: Two phrases with reversed grammatical structure.
Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for
your country."
4. Antithesis: Contrasting ideas expressed in parallel structure.
Example: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
5. Parallelism: Use of similar grammatical structures to emphasize ideas.
Example: "We came, we saw, we conquered."
Other Devices:
1. Apostrophe: Addressing an absent person or thing.
Example: "O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?"
2. Euphemism: A polite way of saying something unpleasant.
Example: "Passed away" instead of "died."
3. Cliché: An overused phrase.
Example: "Time flies when you're having fun."
4. Proverb: A short, well-known saying expressing a common truth or belief.
Example: "A stitch in time saves nine."
5. Aphorism: A concise statement of a general truth or observation.
Example: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do."
6. Paradox: A statement that seems contradictory yet may be true.
Example: "This statement is false."
7. Zeugma: A word applies to two or more words in a sentence but has
different meanings.
Example: "He lost his keys and his temper."
8. Asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between words or phrases.
Example: "I came, I saw, I conquered."
9. Polysyndeton: Use of many conjunctions for emphasis.
Example: "And the rain fell, and the wind blew, and the thunder roared."
10.Syntactic Inversion: Reversing the usual word order in a sentence.
Example: "Yoda, wise he is."
11.Rhetorical Question: A question asked for effect, not to be answered.
Example: "Is the sky blue?"
These are just a starting point. The use of figures of speech is boundless, adding
depth, beauty, and effectiveness to language.
