Figures of
Speech
Figures of Speech
• A figure of speech, also known as a rhetorical figure or figurative
language, is a form of expression that deviates from the
expected, normal use of words or phrases to demonstrate an
idea or add weight to an opinion.
• It is used to create deeper meaning in a work of prose or poetry,
figures of speech are considered literary devices.
• Figures of speech are connotative presentations of words to
produce a literary effect.
• Figures of speech are powerful tools that writers use to express
new ideas and craft persuasive arguments.
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Kind
Definition
Example
Figures of Comparison
Simile
A figurative
Life is like a game.
comparison with
the use of as or like
Metaphor
A figurative
Life is a game.
comparison without
the use of as or like
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Figures of Contrast
Oxymoron
Paradox
Irony
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Placing side by side Blinding darkness
of two contrasting
words
A seemingly selfThe more you hate,
contradictory
the more you love.
statement which can
be proven to be true.
A statement of one
You’re so lovely
idea, the opposite of today; you look like a
which is meant
Christmas tree.
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Figures of Representation/Reference
Metonymy
A figurative representation of The subject pay taxes to the
one thing for another
Crown (for King or Queen).
Synecdoche
A figurative representation of I feed seven mouths (for
a part for a whole or of a
persons).
whole for a part.
Personification
A figurative attribution of
The flowers are dancing
personal or human qualities under the smiling sun.
to things that are not human
Apostrophe
A direct address to an
inanimate object, a dead
person (as if living), an
absent person, or an idea
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Car, please get me to work
today!
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Juliet stood stoically like a tree, with her eyes swarming
into a stream of tears.
Figures of Sound
Alliteration
Repetition of the initial
letter or sound in a
succession of words
Pedro Parerno picked a
pack of pad paper.
Onomatopoeia
Use of a word to
indicate a sound
In the field, birds chirp,
cows moo, dogs bark,
cat’s meow, snakes hiss.
Assonance
Repetition of the vowel Haste makes waste.
sound (not necessarily
the initial sound) in a
succession of words
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Other Figures
Hyperbole
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An
The orphaned
exaggeration or child cried an
overstatement ocean of tears.
for literary
effect
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