figure of speech

• Figures of speech are literary devices used in a distinctive way to produce a rhetorical or creative effect
• Figures of speech are used extensively in both literature and everyday language to convey meanings beyond the literal sense of the words
• Simile:

  • An indirect comparison using "as", "like", or "such as"
  • Example: She danced like a leaf in the wind, His temper was as explosive as a volcano
• Metaphor:

  • A direct comparison without using "as", "like", or "such as"
  • Example: The classroom was a battlefield during the debate, Hope is a beacon in the night
• Personification:

  • Giving human qualities to non-human entities
  • Example: The wind sang through the meadow, The old car groaned as it started
• Apostrophe:

  • Addressing someone absent, non-human, or an abstract idea directly
  • Example: Fortune, how you change with time!, Moon, guide me through my darkest hour
• Allusion:

  • A brief reference to a well-known person, event, or object in history or literature
  • Example: He has the Midas touch in business, Their love story was quite the Romeo and Juliet
• Hyperbole:

  • An exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally
  • Example: I've told you a thousand times!, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse
• Litotes:

  • An understatement for emphasis, often using double negatives
  • Example: He's not unlike his father, Winning the lottery wouldn't be a bad thing
• Metonymy:

  • Using a closely related object or concept as a substitute for the actual thing
  • Example: The crown will find an heir (Crown representing royalty), The pen is mightier than the sword (Pen representing writing, sword representing military force)
• Synecdoche:

  • A part of something represents the whole, or vice versa
  • Example: The world needs more hands (Hands representing people), He bought a beautiful set of wheels (Wheels representing a car)
• Paradox:

  • A statement that contradicts itself but contains a plausible kernel of truth
  • Example: Less is more, I must be cruel to be kind
• Oxymoron:

  • A phrase that combines two contradictory terms
  • Example: Bitter sweet, Living death