Figures of

Speech
Mr. Aristotle C. Rustia
Figures of Speech
Words used in their original
meanings are used literally, while
words used in extended meanings
for the purpose of making
comparison or calling up pictures in
the reader’s or listener’s mind are
used figuratively.
a colorful garden – literal sense
a colorful life – figurative sense
SIMILE

 A comparison between two unlike objects

with the use of as and like

 She dealt her pretty words like blades.

 Our days run as fast as does the sun.
 The captain is like a dog when he barks
his orders.
METAPHOR

 An implied comparison between two

things seemingly quite different
 It has a similar purpose as the
simile.
 The inside world of an Oriental is a
deep well, dark and mysterious. In
its depths one can find priceless
gems or poisonous snakes.
PERSONIFICATION

 Is the giving of human

attributes to ideas or
inanimate objects

 The wind blew and sighed and

whispered its message of
revolution.
IRONY

 Means the reverse of what the

person really says

 He was called “Pretty Boy,” he

had cauliflower ear, beetling
brows, small bloodshot eyes, a
flattened nose, and badly
scarred cheeks.
HYPERBOLE

 Is the use of deliberate

exaggeration

 His hands dangled a mile away.

 I’m so mad. I could burst.
UNDERSTATEMENT

 Is deliberate minimizing

 We are not rich. We own only a

hundred hectares of land.
LITOTES

 Is a special form of understatement

where a positive is expressed by a
negative statement

 She was not unfamiliar with the area.

 I wouldn’t be unhappy if I inherited a
million dollars.
APOSTROPHE

 Is the addressing the absence

of imaginary person

 “O Wind! If winter comes, can

spring be far behind?”
ASSONANCE

 Is the repetition of internal vowels in

successive words

 The rain in Spain falls mainly on the

plains.
ALLITERATION

 Is the repetition of successive words

of the same letter or sound

 “When to the session of sweet silent

thoughts”
CONSONANCE

 Refers to the repetitive sounds

produced by consonants within a
sentence or phrase

 She ate seven sandwiches on a

sunny Sunday.
ALLITERATION VS.
CONSONANCE
 Alliteration is a special case of
consonance where the repetition
occurs on the stressed parts of the
words, whereas consonance is the
repetition of consonant words
adjacent or closely connected
words.
ONOMATOPOEIA
is defined as a word, which imitates the
natural sounds of a thing. It creates a
sound effect that mimics the thing
described, making the description more
expressive and interesting.

 The buzzing bee flew away.

 The sack fell into the river with a splash.
 The books fell on the table with a loud
thump.
 He looked at the roaring sky.
 The rustling leaves kept me awake.
METONYMY

 Is a figure of speech
substitutes something
closely associated with a
thing for the thing itself

 The torch has been passed

on to a new generation.
SYNECDOCHE

 Is putting a part for the whole

or vice versa

 An eye for an eye; a tooth for a

tooth.
 All hands to the deck.
 Two heads are better than one.
MERISM

 Is a figure of speech by which something is

referred to by a conventional phrase that
enumerates several of its constituents or traits

 Hook, line, and sinker – to swallow completely

 High and low – to look for something everywhere
 Lock, stock, and barrel – refers to whole of any
object
 Flesh and bone – referring to body
 Sun, sea and sand, referring to holiday destination
 Young and old – describing the population
ANTONOMASIA (epithet)

 Is a literary term in which a descriptive phrase

replaces a person’s name

 The great chef has arrived.

 Aristotle – The Philosopher

 William Shakespeare – The Bard
 Michael Jackson – King of Pop
ALLUSION
is a brief and indirect reference to a person,
place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary
or political significance. It does not describe in
detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is
just a passing comment and the writer expects
the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot
the allusion and grasp its importance in a text

 “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a

reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate lover
of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.
 The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of
crimes. – This is an allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s
origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
 “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a biblical
allusion to the “garden of God” in the Book of Genesis.
 “Hey! Guess who the new Newton of our school is?” –
“Newton”, means a genius student, alludes to a famous
scientist Isaac Newton.
OXYMORON
 Is a figure of speech in which two
opposite ideas or concepts are
joined to create an effect

 Peace force, little giant, original

copy, beautiful nightmare, free
market, jumbo shrimp, student
teacher
ANTITHESIS
 Is the juxtaposition of sharply contrasting
ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases,
or grammatical structures

 Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.

 Man proposes, God disposes.
 Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.
 Speech is silver, but silence is gold.
 Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.
 Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the
fruit of all goodness.
 You are easy on the eyes, but hard on the
heart.
CHIASMUS
is a rhetorical device in which two or
more clauses are balanced against each
other by the reversal of their structures in
order to produce an artistic effect.

 “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool

You.”
 “Love as if you would one day hate,
and hate as if you would one day love.
 “Bad men live that they may eat and
drink,
whereas good men eat and drink that
they may live.”
ANTITHESIS VS. CHIASMUS
 Antithesis is also a two-part
structure, and it can look very
different with chiasmus. But
there is one very important
difference: in a chiasmus, the
order of the relation of the
ideas is inverted; in antithesis,
the ideas are replaced with
their opposites.
PARADOX
is a statement that appears to be
self-contradictory or silly but may
include a latent truth. It is also used
to illustrate an opinion or statement
contrary to accepted traditional ideas.
It is often used to make a reader think
over an idea in innovative way.

 Your enemy’s friend is your enemy.

 I am nobody.
 “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the
young.”
 Truth is honey which is bitter.
 “I can resist anything but temptation.”
ANAPHORA

 Is a technique where several

phrases begin with the same
word or words

I came, I saw, I conquered.

 My life is my purpose. My life is
my goal. My life is my
inspiration.
CATAPHORA

 A figure of speech or literary device

in which pronoun or pro-verb used
initially in a sentence refers to an
expression or subject which is used
afterward.

 After she was assigned a number,

the girl walked toward the sidelines
of basketball court.
EPIPHORA
also known as epistrophe, is a stylistic device
in which a word or a phrase is repeated at the
end of successive clauses. Examples of
epiphora are not only found in literary pieces.
Debates and persuasive writings are also rich
with epiphora examples.

 “Hourly joys be still upon you! Juno sings her blessings on you.
. . . Scarcity and want shall shun you, Ceres’ blessing so is
on you.”

 “Fie, fie, thou shamest thy shape, thy love, thy wit,
Which, like a userer, abound’st in all,
And uses none in that true sense indeed
Which should bedeck thy shape, thy love, thy wit.”
EUPHEMISM

 The substitution of an
inoffensive term for one
considered offensively explicit

 Passed away - died

 Going to the other side – death
 Fight - misunderstanding
DYSPHEMISM

 Refersto the use of harsh,

more offensive word instead of
one considered less harsh

 Snailmail – postal mail

 Faggot – homosexual
 Nutcase – mental illness
ELLIPSIS

 Refers to the omission of a word or words

 It refers to the constructions in which words
are left out a sentence but the sentence can
still be understood.
 “No, I wouldn’t say he was exactly …but there
was something queer …there was something
uncanny about him. I’ll tell you my opinion…”

- the speaker is hesitating and trying to come up with

his opinion.
TAUTOLOGY
is a repetitive use of phrases or words
which have similar meanings.

 “Your acting is completely devoid of

emotion.”
 “Repeat that again” and “reiterate
again”
 “Shout It Out Loud!”
 “This is like déjà vu all over again.”
CLIMAX

 Refers to a figure of speech in which

words, phrases, or clauses are
arranged in order of increasing
importance.

 There are three things that will

endure: faith, hope, and love. But the
greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
ANTICLIMAX

 Refersto figures of speech in

which statements gradually
descend in order of
importance.

 Sheis a great writer, a mother,

and a good humorist.
ALLEGORY
 is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles
are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. It
can be employed in prose and poetry to tell a story, with a
purpose of teaching or explaining an idea or a principle.
The objective of its use is to teach some kind of a moral.
 Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is an allegory that
uses animals on a farm to describe the overthrow of the
last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, and the Communist Revolution
of Russia before WW I. The actions of the animals on the
farm are used to expose the greed and corruption of the
revolution. It also describes how powerful people can
change the ideology of a society. One of the cardinal rules
on the farm is this:
 “All animals are equal but a few are more equal than
others.”