Figure of Speech

 

What are the figures of speech?

A figure of speech is a deviation from the ordinary use of words in order to increase their effectiveness.

Basically, it is a figurative language that may consist of a single word or phrase.It may be a simile, a metaphor or personification to convey the meaning other than the literal meaning.

Types of figures of Speech

The figures of speech list is over a hundred but some commonly used types are given along with examples.

We will cover such figures of speech as:
– SIMILE
– METAPHOR
– PERSONIFICATION
– METONYMY
and about 20 others

1. SIMILE

In simile two unlike things are explicitly compared. For example, “She is like a fairy”. A simile is introduced by words such as like, so, as etc.

2. METAPHOR

It is an informal or implied simile in which words like, as, so are omitted. For example, “He is like a lion (Simile) “and “He is a lion (metaphor)”. In the following examples, metaphors are underlined

3 PERSONIFICATION

Personification is an attribution of personal nature, intelligence or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions. For example, in some phrases we use, the furious storm, the thirsty ground, and the pitiless cold. Some other examples are:

Little sorrows sit and weep. (Boccaccio)

The dish ran away with the spoon. (Blake)

4 METONYMY

Metonymy is meant for a change of name. It is a substitute of the thing names for the thing meant. Following examples will clarify the concept.

The pen is mightier than the sword.

From the cradle to the grave. = from childhood to death.

I have never read Milton. = the works of Milton.

5. APOSTROPHE

It is a direct address to some inanimate thing or some abstract idea as if it were living person or some absent person as if it were present. Example, “Boy’s mother loved him very much.”

6. HYPERBOLE

Hyperbole is a statement made emphatic by overstatement. For example, “Virtues as the sands of the shore.”

7. SYNECDOCHE

Synecdoche is the understanding of one thing by means of another. Here, a part is used to designate the whole or the whole to designate a part. For example, “I have the Viceroy, love the man.”, and “All hands (crew) at work.”

8. TRANSFERRED EPITHETS

In transferred epithets, the qualifying objective is transferred from a person to a thing as in phrases. For example, “sleepless night”, “sunburn mirth”, and “melodious plain”.

There are many more figure of speeches in English....