Figures of Speech
An
expression of language by which
the usual or literal meaning of a word is not employed such as simile,
metaphor, alliteration etc. There are many kinds of figures of speech some of
them are as follows:
Simile
·
A FIGURE OF SPEECH in which a comparison
is made between unlike or dissimilar objects using the words like or as.
For example
·
Friends are like parachutes. If they aren’t there the first time you need
them, chances are, and you won’t need them again.
·
Does this mean that I should jump out of
an airplane with my friend strapped to my back?
Absolutely not!
·
Friends are being compared to parachutes
using the word like. (friends =
parachutes)
·
Friends and parachutes are dissimilar and
unlike each other, yet we have found a way to relate and compare them.
More examples are as below
·
Richard fought like a lion.
·
The wave broke on the shore with a noise
like thunder.
·
As a ship is used for crossing the ocean,
so the camel is used for crossing the desert.
Metaphor (Implied Smile)
·
A FIGURE OF SPEECH in which a comparison
is drawn between two dissimilar or unlike things without the use of like or as.
For example
·
A good laugh is sunshine in a house.
·
Does this mean that a laugh is actually
light from the sun? Absolutely not!
·
A good laugh is being compared to sunshine
by saying that it is sunshine. (laugh
= sunshine)
·
A good laugh and sunshine are dissimilar
and unlike things being compared to each other.
More examples are as below.
·
The camel is the ship of the desert.
·
Life is a dream.
·
The news was a dagger to his heart.
·
Revenge is a kind of wild justice.
Personification
·
A FIGURE OF SPEECH in which animals,
ideas, or objects are given human characteristics or form or we can say that
applying human traits to animals and things or ideas. For example…
·
The tree bowed and waved to me in the
wind.
·
Does this mean a tree actually recognized
I was there and acknowledged me by taking a bow and waving to me? Absolutely not!
·
The tree is being given the human
characteristics or actions of waving and bowing. The tree is being personified. It now has character.
·
Again, unlike or dissimilar things are
being compared. (tree = person)
More examples are as below.
· The door protested to me as I entered in my room.
· My clock yells at me every morning.
· Laughter holding both her sides.
Hyperbole
·
A FIGURE OF SPEECH in which an
exaggeration or overstatement is made to illustrate a point. For example
·
Why, man, if the river were dry, I am able
to fill it with tears.
·
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!
And
·
Ten thousand suns light up this room.
·
Does this mean I could actually eat an
entire horse or that this room is blindingly bright from actual suns? Of course not!
·
A ridiculous image is being painted in our
minds to get the significance and importance of the point across.
Symbolism
·
A symbol has meaning in itself, but stands
for something else. However, a symbol is not what it symbolizes.
For example
·
A dove is a bird, but when used as a
symbol it represents peace. If the dove dies, peace does not die.
Irony
Irony is when one outcome is expected, but the
opposite occurs usually with a coincidental twist of events. For example
OR
Irony
is a mode of speech in which the real meaning is exactly that opposite of that
which is literally conveyed.
·
An earthquake occurring during an
earthquake drill
Alliteration
·
A repetition of initial consonant sounds.
For example
·
Education: The inculcation of the
incomprehensible into the indifferent by the incompetent.
·
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
Onomatopoeia
·
Words written like the sound they make.
·
The formation of a word from a sound associated with
what is name. for example……
·
cuckoo, sizzle, thunder, giggle, spark, etc )
Post a Comment