what are the figures of speech in english literature

Figure of Speech

Figure of Speech Definition

What is a figure of speech? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A figure of speech is a literary device in which language is used in an unusual—or "figured"—way in order to produce a stylistic effect. Figures of speech can be broken into two main groups: figures of speech that play with the ordinary meaning of words (such as metaphor , simile , and hyperbole ), and figures of speech that play with the ordinary arrangement or pattern in which words are written (such as alliteration , ellipsis , and antithesis ).

Some additional key details about figures of speech:

• The ancient Greeks and Romans exhaustively listed, defined, and categorized figures of speech in order to better understand how to effectively use language. The names of most figures of speech derive from the original Greek or Latin.
• Figures of speech that play with the literal meaning of words are called tropes , while figures of speech that play with the order or pattern of words are called schemes .
• Figures of speech can take many forms. A figure of speech can involve a single word, a phrase, an omission of a word or phrase, a repetition of words or sounds, or specific sentence structures.

Figure of Speech Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce figure of speech: fig -yer of speech

Figures of Speech vs. Figurative Language

There's a lot of confusion about the difference between the terms "figures of speech" and " figurative language ." Most of the confusion stems from the fact that different people often use "figurative language" to mean slightly different things. The two most common (and most acceptable) definitions of figurative language are:

• Figurative language refers to any language that contains figures of speech. According to this definition, figurative language and figures of speech are not quite the same thing, but it's pretty darn close. The only difference is that figures of speech refer to each specific type of a figure of speech, while figurative language refers more generally to any language that contains any kind of figures of speech.
• Figurative language refers to words or expressions that have non-literal meanings : This definition associates figurative language only with the category of figures of speech called tropes (which are figures of speech that play with the literal meaning of words). So according to this definition, figurative language would be any language that contains tropes, but not language that contains the figures of speech called schemes.

You might encounter people using figurative speech to mean either of the above, and it's not really possible to say which is correct. But if you know about these two different ways of relating figurative language and figures of speech, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Figures of Speech, Tropes, and Schemes

The oldest and still most common way to organize figures of speech is to split them into two main groups: tropes and schemes.

• Tropes are figures of speech that involve a deviation from the expected and literal meaning of words.
• Schemes are figures of speech that involve a deviation from the typical mechanics of a sentence, such as the order, pattern, or arrangement of words.

The scheme/trope classification system is by no means the only way to organize figures of speech (if you're interested, you can find all sorts of different categorization methods for figures of speech here ). But it is the most common method, and is both simple and structured enough to help you understand figures of speech.

Generally, a trope uses comparison, association, or wordplay to play with the literal meaning of words or to layer another meaning on top of a word's literal meaning. Some of the most commonly used tropes are explained briefly below, though you can get even more detail on each from its specific LitCharts entry.

• Metaphor : A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unrelated things by stating that one thing is another thing, even though this isn't literally true. For example, if someone says "it's raining cats and dogs," this obviously doesn't literally mean what it says—it's a metaphor that makes a comparison between the weight of "cats and dogs" and heavy rain. Metaphors are tropes because their effect relies not on the mechanics of the sentence, but rather on the association created by the use of the phrase "cats and dogs" in a non-literal manner.
• Simile : A simile, like a metaphor, makes a comparison between two unrelated things. However, instead of stating that one thing is another thing (as in metaphor), a simile states that one thing is like another thing. To stick with cats and dogs, an example of a simile would be to say "they fought like cats and dogs."
• Oxymoron : An oxymoron pairs contradictory words in order to express new or complex meanings. In the phrase "parting is such sweet sorrow" from Romeo and Juliet , "sweet sorrow" is an oxymoron that captures the complex and simultaneous feelings of pain and pleasure associated with passionate love. Oxymorons are tropes because their effect comes from a combination of the two words that goes beyond the literal meanings of those words.
• Hyperbole : A hyperbole is an intentional exaggeration of the truth, used to emphasize the importance of something or to create a comic effect. An example of a hyperbole is to say that a backpack "weighs a ton." No backpack literally weighs a ton, but to say "my backpack weighs ten pounds" doesn't effectively communicate how burdensome a heavy backpack feels. Once again, this is a trope because its effect comes from understanding that the words mean something different from what they literally say.

Other Common Tropes

• Antanaclasis
• Onomatopoeia
• Personification
• Periphrasis
• Rhetorical Question

Schemes are mechanical—they're figures of speech that tinker with words, sounds, and structures (as opposed to meanings) in order to achieve an effect. Schemes can themselves be broken down in helpful ways that define the sort of tinkering they employ.

• Repetition: Repeating words, phrases, or even sounds in a particular way.
• Omission: Leaving out certain words or punctuation that would normally be expected.
• Changes of word order: Shifting around words or phrases in atypical ways.
• Balance: Creating sentences or phrases with equal parts, often through the use of identical grammatical structures.

Some of the most commonly used schemes are explained briefly below, though you can get even more detail on each from its specific LitCharts entry.

• Alliteration : In alliteration, the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “ B ob b rought the b ox of b ricks to the b asement.” Alliteration uses repetition to create a musical effect that helps phrases to stand out from the language around them.
• Assonance : A scheme in which vowel sounds repeat in nearby words, such as the "ee" sound in the proverb: "the squ ea ky wh ee l gets the gr ea se." Like alliteration, assonance uses repeated sounds to create a musical effect in which words echo one another—it's a scheme because this effect is achieved through repetition of words with certain sounds, not by playing with the meaning of words.
• Ellipsis : The deliberate omission of one or more words from a sentence because their meaning is already implied. In the example, "Should I call you, or you me?" the second clause uses ellipsis. While its implication is "or should you call me," the context of the sentence allows for the omission of "should" and "call." Ellipsis is a scheme because it involves an uncommon usage of language.
• Parallelism : The repetition of sentence structure for emphasis and balance. This can occur in a single sentence, such as "a penny saved is a penny earned," and it can also occur over the course of a speech, poem, or other text. Parallelism is a scheme because it creates emphasis through the mechanics of sentence structure, rather than by playing with the actual meanings of words.

Other Common Schemes

• Anadiplosis
• Antimetabole
• Brachylogia
• Epanalepsis
• Parenthesis
• Polysyndeton

Figure of Speech Examples

Figures of speech can make language more inventive, more beautiful, more rhythmic, more memorable, and more meaningful. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that figures of speech are plentiful in all sorts of written language. The examples below show a variety of different types of figures of speech. You can see many more examples of each type at their own specific LitChart entries.

Figures of Speech Examples in Literature

Literature is riddled with figures of speech because figures of speech make language colorful and complex.

Metaphor in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

On and on, now east now west, wound the poor thread that once had been our drive. Sometimes I thought it lost, but it appeared again, beneath a fallen tree perhaps, or struggling on the other side of a muddied ditch created by the winter rains.

In this quote from Rebecca , Daphne du Maurier refers to a washed-out road as "the poor thread." This is a metaphor —and a trope—because the writer indirectly compares the thread to the road and expects that readers will understand that "thread" is not used literally.

Parallelism in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

In the famous opening line of A Tale of Two Cities , Dickens uses parallelism —a scheme in which parts of a sentence repeat—in order to emphasize the contradictions of the time in which the book is set. Dickens has manipulated his sentence structure so that the parallel clauses emphasize the oppositional nature of his words ("it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"). The figure of speech doesn't play with the meaning of words, it emphasizes them through structure and repetition, which is why it is a scheme.

Alliteration in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"

In this manner, s electing it as the s ymbol of his wife's liability to s in, s orrow, d ecay, and d eath, Aylmer's s ombre imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object, causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty, whether of s oul or s ense, had given him delight.

This passage from " The Birthmark " uses alliteration to tie together all of the things that Georgiana's birthmark is supposed to symbolize. By using words that alliterate—"sin and sorrow" and "decay and death," for example—Hawthorne is making the reader feel that these ideas are connected, rather than simply stating that they are connected. Alliteration is a figure of speech—a scheme—because it uses the mechanics of language to emphasize meaning.

Verbal Irony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

For Brutus is an honorable man; So are they all, all honorable men,

This quote from Julius Caesar comes from Marc Antony's speech at Caesar's funeral. Antony needs to hold Brutus and his conspirators accountable for Caesar's death without contradicting the crowd's positive impression of Brutus, so Antony uses verbal irony to simultaneously please and trouble the crowd. On the surface, Antony says what the audience wants to hear (that Brutus is honorable), but it becomes clear over the course of his speech that he means the opposite of what he says (and over time he convinces the audience to believe this opposite meaning as well). This is a figure of speech (a trope) because it's based on a play on the meaning of Antony's words.

Figures of Speech Examples in Music

Figures of speech are also common in music. Schemes fit naturally with songs because both schemes and songs manipulate sound and rhythm to enhance the meanings of words. Music also uses many tropes, because using words that have meanings beyond their literal ones makes language more interesting, and it allows songwriters to create music that uses just a few words to imply a complex meaning.

Assonance and Metaphor in Rihanna's "Diamonds"

So sh ine br igh t ton igh t, you and I We're beautiful l i ke d i amonds in the sk y Eye to eye , so al i ve We're beautiful l i ke d i amonds in the sk y

Rihanna uses assonance when she repeats the " eye " sound throughout the chorus of "Diamonds." This make the words echo one another, which emphasizes the similarity between the singer, the person she's talking about, and the "diamonds in the sky" to which she's comparing them both. Assonance is a scheme because it's using the sound of words—not their meaning—to draw a parallel between different things.

Rihanna also uses the phrase "Diamonds in the sky" as a metaphor for stars. This is a trope—a phrase that means something other than what it literally says—as Rihanna obviously doesn't think that there are actually diamonds in the sky. This verse is a good example of how figures of speech can often work together and overlap. In this case, the metaphor that allows her to use "diamonds" instead of "stars" also fits into her use of assonance (because "stars" lacks the "eye" sound).

Personification in Green Day's "Good Riddance"

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

While the first line of this song uses "a fork stuck in the road" as a metaphor for a choice, the more arresting figure of speech at work here is the personification of time in the second line. By giving "time" human characteristics—the ability to grab a person and tell them where to go—Green Day is helping listeners to make sense of the power that time has over people. This is a trope because the line doesn't mean what it literally says; instead, it's asking listeners to make a comparison between the characteristics of time and the characteristics of a person.

Anastrophe in Public Enemy's "Fight the Power"

Straight up racist that sucker was Simple and plain

In the line "Straight up racist that sucker was," Public Enemy uses anastrophe (which is the inversion of typical word order) to preserve the rhythm of the verse. Instead of saying "That sucker was straight up racist," Public Enemy chooses an odd phrasing that has one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables— " ra cist that su cker was/ Sim ple and plain ." This way, the beat falls more regularly across those two lines, which allows the rapper to make his point (that Elvis was racist) without the flow sounding awkward. Since anastrophe manipulates the order of words in order to achieve a rhythmic effect, it's a scheme.

Why Do Writers Use Figures of Speech?

Figures of speech is a category that encompasses a broad variety of literary terms, so it's difficult to give one answer to this question. Writers use different figures of speech to achieve different effects.

Schemes (figures of speech that manipulate sound, syntax, and word order) can make language more beautiful, persuasive, or memorable. Writers can use schemes to draw attention to an important passage, to create a sound that mirrors (or contrasts with) the meaning of words, or to give language a rhythm that draws the reader in. As schemes tend to work through sound and rhythm, they generally produce a visceral effect, or an effect felt in the body—broadly speaking, schemes are more sensory than intellectual.

In contrast, writers use tropes to grab the reader intellectually by adding complexity or ambiguity to an otherwise simple word or phrase. Tropes can ask the reader to make a comparison between two unlike things, they can impose human qualities on nonhumans, and they can mean the opposite of what they say. Tropes engage the intellect because the reader has to be alert to the fact that tropes do not use language at face value—a trope never means what it literally says.

All figures of speech help a writer to communicate ideas that are difficult to say in words or that are more effectively communicated non-verbally. This could be by repeating harsh consonants to create a scary atmosphere, or by using a metaphor to impose the qualities of something concrete (say, a rose) onto something more difficult to define (say, love). In general, figures of speech attempt to bring out a reader's emotion and to capture their attention by making language more colorful, surprising, and complex.

Other Helpful Figure of Speech Resources

• Silva Rhetoricae on Figures of Speech : An excellent reference from BYU that explains the various ways that figures of speech have been categorized over history, including into schemes and tropes.
• Silva Rhetoricae on schemes and tropes :
• The Oxford Reference Page for Figure of Speech : A helpful definition of figures of speech in the context of the ancient study of rhetoric (did you know that the Roman rhetorician Quintillian defined "figure of speech" in 95 AD?)
• What Are Tropes in Language? Skip to the "Distinction Between Figures and Tropes" section and read to the end—full of informative and thought-provoking discussion about tropes.
• A YouTube video about tropes and schemes with pop culture examples.

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• Literary Terms
• Figures of Speech
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Figures of Speech

I. What are Figures of Speech?

A figure of speech is a word or phrase using figurative language—language that has other meaning than its normal definition. In other words, figures of speeches rely on implied or suggested meaning, rather than a dictionary definition.  We express and develop them through hundreds of different rhetorical techniques, from specific types like metaphors and similes , to more general forms like sarcasm and slang.

Figures of speech make up a huge portion of the English language, making it more creative, more expressive, and just more interesting! Many have been around for hundreds of years—some even thousands—and more are added to our language essentially every day. This article will focus on a few key forms of figures of speech, but remember, the types are nearly endless!

III. Types of Figure of Speech

There are countless figures of speech in every language, and they fall into hundreds of categories. Here, though, is a short list of some of the most common types of figure of speech:

A. Metaphor

Many common figures of speech are metaphors. That is, they use words in a manner other than their literal meaning. However, metaphors use figurative language to make comparisons between unrelated things or ideas. The “peak of her career,” for example, is a metaphor, since a career is not a literal mountain with a peak , but the metaphor represents the idea of arriving at the highest point of one’s career.

An idiom is a common phrase with a figurative meaning. Idioms are different from other figures of speech in that their figurative meanings are mostly known within a particular language, culture, or group of people. In fact, the English language alone has about 25,000 idioms. Some examples include “it’s raining cats and dogs” when it is raining hard, or “break a leg” when wishing someone good luck.

This sentence uses an idiom to make it more interesting:

There’s a supermarket and a pharmacy in the mall, so if we go there, we can kill two birds with one stone.

The idiom is a common way of saying that two tasks can be completed in the same amount of time or same place.

A proverb is a short, commonplace saying that is universally understood in today’s language and used to express general truths. “Don’t cry over spilt milk” is a popular example. Most proverbs employ metaphors (e.g. the proverb about milk isn’t  literally  about milk).

This example uses a proverb to emphasize the situation:

I know you think you’re going to sell all of those cookies, but don’t count your chickens before they hatch!

Here, “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” means that you shouldn’t act like something has happened before it actually does.

A simile is a very common figure of speech that uses the words “like” and “as” to compare two things that are not related by definition. For example, “he is as tall as a mountain,” doesn’t mean he was actually 1,000 feet tall, it just means he was really tall.

This example uses a simile for comparison:

The internet is like a window to the world —you can learn about everything online!

The common phrase “window to the world” refers to a hypothetical window that lets you see the whole world from it. So, saying the internet is like a window to the world implies that it lets you see anything and everything.

E. Oxymoron

An oxymoron is when you use two words together that have contradictory meanings. Some common examples include s mall crowd, definitely possible, old news, little giant , and so on.

A metonym is a word or phrase that is used to represent something related to bigger meaning. For example, fleets are sometimes described as being “thirty sails strong,” meaning thirty (curiously, this metonym survives in some places, even when the ships in question are not sail-powered!) Similarly, the crew on board those ships may be described as “hands” rather than people.

Irony is when a word or phrase’s literal meaning is the opposite of its figurative meaning. Many times (but not always), irony is expressed with sarcasm (see Related Terms). For example, maybe you eat a really bad cookie, and then say “Wow, that was the best cookie I ever had”—of course, what you really mean is that it’s the worst cookie you ever had, but being ironic actually emphasizes just how bad it was!

IV. The Importance of Figures of Speech

In general, the purpose of a figure of speech is to lend texture and color to your writing. (This is itself a figure of speech, since figures of speech don’t actually change the colors or textures on the page!) For instance, metaphors allow you to add key details that make the writing more lively and relatable. Slang and verbal irony, on the other hand, make the writing seem much more informal and youthful (although they can have the opposite effect when misused!) Finally, other figures of speech, like idioms and proverbs, allows a writer to draw on a rich cultural tradition and express complex ideas in a short space.

V. Examples of Figures of Speech in Literature

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.” (William Shakespeare, As You Like It)

This is one of the most famous metaphors ever crafted in the English language. Shakespeare uses his extended metaphor to persuade the audience of the similarities between the stage and real life. But rather than making his play seem more like life, he suggests that life is more like a play. His metaphor calls attention to the performative, creative, and fictional aspects of human life.

“Our words are b ut crumbs that fall down from the feast o f the mind.” (Khalil Gibran, Sand & Foam )

Gibran’s timeless metaphor succeeds for a number of reasons. For one thing, it is not a cliché – had Gibran said “words are just the tip of the iceberg ,” he would have been making roughly the same point, but in a much more clichéd way. But the feast of the mind is a highly original metaphor. In addition, it’s a successful double metaphor. The crumbs and the feast are two parts of the same image, but they work together rather than being “mixed” (see How to Use Figures of Speech ).

“If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both.” (Russian Proverb)

Like many proverbs, this one draws on a simple metaphor of chasing rabbits. The rabbits can stand in for all sorts of objectives, from jobs to relationships, but the coded message is quite clear – focus your energy on a single objective, or you will likely fail. This literal statement, though, is quite dry and not terribly memorable, which shows the power of figures of speech.

VI. Examples of Figures of Speech in Pop Culture

The chorus to Sean Kingston’s Fire Burning contains a couple of figures of speech. First of all, there’s the word “shorty” used as a slang term (see Related Terms ) for a young woman. She may or may not be literally short, but the figure of speech applies either way (though it could easily be taken as belittling and derogatory). Second, Kingston sings the metaphor: “she’s fire, burning on the dance floor.” Hopefully this is a figure of speech and not a literal statement; otherwise, Kingston and everyone else in the club are in mortal danger!

“Oh, thanks! This is much better!” (Townspeople, South Park )

This is an example of irony. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, South Park satirized the government’s response to the disaster by writing about a similar disaster in South Park. In a bumbling effort to rescue people from the floods, the authorities accidentally spill oil on the flood waters and set it on fire, making the situation far more dangerous. In response, they ironically “thank” the people responsible—their meaning is obviously the opposite of their words!

Years of talks between Washington and Havana resulted in Obama’s historic visit to Cuba on March 21st. (Patreon 2016)

This is a common form of metonym in foreign policy and news media. The capital city of a country is used as a metonym for the national government. The talks, of course, are not literally between these two cities, but between the leaders and government officials of the two countries (US and Cuba).

VII. Related Terms

Literal and figurative language.

Language is generally divided into two categories: literal, and figurative. Literal language relies on the real definition of words and phrases, or their literal meanings. Figurative language, on the other hand, relies on implied meanings, which can be understood differently depending on the location or who is using it. For example, “the sky is blue” relies on the literal definition of the word “blue,” while “I am feeling blue” relies on the figurative definition. All figures of speech rely on the use of figurative language for their meaning.

Sarcasm is mocking or bitter language that we use to express different meaning than what we say; often the exact opposite. When your intended meaning is the opposite of the literal meaning, that’s irony (another type of figure of speech), which includes common phrases like “Oh, great…” when you really mean something is bad.

Slang is language that uses atypical words and phrases to express specific meanings. It varies greatly by region, demographic, and language—for example, you would find different slang in the U.S. and in the U.K. even though they are both English speaking countries. Likewise, teenagers and the elderly will use different slang terms, as would Spanish and English. Many slang terms are figures of speech. For example, “bro” could be used to describe a friend rather than an actual brother; this would be using the word as a figure of speech.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

figure of speech

What is a figure of speech definition, usage, and literary examples, figure of speech definition.

Figures of speech  (FIG-yurs of SPEEchuh) are words or phrases used in a non-literal sense for  rhetorical  effect. They are often constructed using literary devices such as  metaphor ,  simile ,  alliteration , metonymy, synecdoche, and personification. Figures of speech allow writers to apply familiar ideas and  imagery  to less familiar concepts, and they are widespread in written and spoken language.

Figure of Speech Categories

Figures of speech fall into two broad categories: tropes and scheme. These are  dozens of figures of speech  that fall into each category, so the following are a select few examples.

These are figures of speech that play with syntax, sound, and words. They often achieve their effects by utilizing repetition of words, phrases, or sounds; omission of words or punctuation; unexpected changes in word order; or paired identical grammatical structures.

• Alliteration : Repeating consonant sounds in a series of words
• Diacope: Repeating words or phrases, interrupted by one or two other words
• Homonyms: Identical words that have different meanings
• Sibilance: Repeating hissing sounds
• Asyndeton: Omitting conjunctions between related series of clauses
• Brachylogia: Omitting conjunctions between individual words
• Ellipsis: Omitting words without losing  context  or understanding
• Syncope: Omitting word or phrase parts

Changes in Word Order

• Anastrophe: Rearranging the subject, object and verb order in a phrase
• Apposition: Two phrases, often separated by commas, where the second defines the first
• Parenthesis: A rhetorical, qualifying phrase inserted into a sentence or passage
• Spoonerism: Switching syllables between two words

Paired Grammatical Structures

• Antithesis : Juxtaposing ideas
• Isocolon: Consecutive phrases of identical length in words or syllables
• Parallelism: Similar grammatical structure between two or more clauses
• Tricolon: Three consecutive phrases of identical length in words or syllables

These are figures of speech that deviate in some way from the literal meanings of words. They tend to include association or comparison to shift readers’ perceptions from words’ true definitions to a layered figurative meaning. They can be broken into five categories: reference, word play/puns, substitutions, overstatement/understatement, and inversion.

• Allegory : A narrative that is an indirect metaphor for a broader, real-world concept
• Allusion : An intertextual reference to another creative work
• Metaphor : A direct comparison between two unrelated things
• Personification: Attributing human characteristics to non-human entities

Word Play/Puns

• Innuendo: A phrase or  sentence  with a hidden (often salacious) meaning
• Malapropism: Confusing a word with a similar sounding one
• Paraprosdokian : An unexpected ending to a phrase
• Pun : Word play that makes use of a word’s multiple meanings

Substitutions

• Dysphemism: Using a harsh word or phrase to replace a gentler one
• Euphemism : Using a more agreeable word or phrase to replace an offensive one
• Metonymy: Replacing a word or term with something associated with it
• Synecdoche: Referring to a whole by its part(s) or vice versa

Overstatement/Understatement

• Grandiloquence: Speech that is pompous or grandiose
• Hyperbole : An emphatic exaggeration
• Litotes : Emphasizing a statement by negating its opposite
• Satire: Criticism of society through humorous means
• Irony : Conveying the opposite of a word’s literal meaning
• Oxymoron : Using contradictory words together
• Paradox: Using contradictory ideas to make a point
• Synesthesia: Using sensory-specific words to describe a different sense

Most Common Figures of Speech

The following are some of the most common figures of speech that appear in literature and other written forms.

• Alliteration :  This is a scheme that uses repetition of the same first consonant sound to create a musical effect. “Francine found France quite lovely” is an example of alliteration because of the repeating  f  sound in the words  Francine ,  found , and  France .
• Apostrophe:  With apostrophe, a speaker directly addresses an inanimate object, an abstract concept, or a person who is either imaginary or not present. John Donne use apostrophe in his poem “ Holy Sonnet: Death, be not proud ,” wherein he speaks directly to a personified idea of death.
• Chiasmus:  This is a scheme where the second half of an expression is balanced against the first half in a reversed order. “You should eat to live, not live to eat” is one example; it repeats the words  eat  and  live  but reverses the order the second time they occur.
• Euphemism:  This literary device takes a mild or indirect word or expression and replaces something harsh, unpleasant, or offensive with it. Saying someone  passed on  is a euphemism for  died ;  powder my nose  is a euphemism for  go to the bathroom .
• Hyperbole:  This is the use of exaggeration for emphasis or heightened effect. “If I don’t nap right now, I will die” is a hyperbolic statement; it conveys the experience of feeling tired, but readers understand the speaker won’t literally die.
• Irony:  This literary device occurs when words are used to convey the opposite of their meaning or when a situation seems directly contrary to what is expected. Famously, Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic” lists many situations she deems ironic when they aren’t ironic at all; thus, irony.
• Litotes:  This figure of speech refers to a type of understatement. It is used to negate a statement in a way that actually affirms it. For example, saying “That’s no small chunk of change” indicates that the sum in question is, in fact, large.
• Metaphor :  A form of trope, metaphors make an implicit comparison between two unrelated things. “Love is a battlefield” is metaphoric, as it implies the experience of being in love is the same as being on a battlefield.
• Onomatopoeia :  Words that are onomatopoeic evoke the sounds of the thing they are referring to.  Hiss ,  crash , and  tick tock  are all examples because they sound like what they are describing—the sound of a snake, thunder, and a clock, respectively.
• Oxymoron:  This literary device consists of contradictory words paired together. Although the words initially appear to negate each other, they make sense when joined.  Deafening silence  is an oxymoronic pair; the adjective  deafening  means “a volume so high that nothing can be heard over it,” and the noun  silence  means “without sound.” These words are incongruous, but together they mean an overbearing, noticeable absence of sound.
• Personification:  When greater qualities of animation are given to a non-human or inanimate object, that is personification. In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” fog is described as “The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes/The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes.” Here, Eliot is personifying the fog by giving it the attributes of a cat.
• Pun :  This is a humorous play on words, often using homonyms, homographs, or homophones. For example, “I’ve been to the dentist many times, so I know the drill” is a pun; it plays with the double meaning of the word  drill  as a tool of the dentistry trade and as a concept of something being routine.
• Simile :  Related to metaphors, similes are explicit comparisons made using the words  like  or  as . “Lucille’s dress was as red as a fire truck” makes an explicit comparison between the color of the dress and the color of a fire truck. This allows the reader to properly visualize what Lucille is wearing.
• Synecdoche:  This is a figure of speech wherein a part of something stands in for the whole thing. “All hands on deck” is a synecdoche because  hands  stands in for the whole crew of a ship.”

Figure of Speech and Figurative Language

People often use the terms  figurative language  and  figure of speech  interchangeably; however, they are not the same. Instead, figurative language is a broad category that contains figures of speech, as well as  imagery  and  sound devices .

Imagery adds additional aesthetic resonance to texts through the evocation of sensory details. Sound devices enhance the text through sonic means. These elements, in conjunction with figures of speech, give a deeper meaning to the language a writer uses in their work.

Why Figures of Speech Are Used

These literary devices emphasize, embellish, or clarify written or spoken language. They allow an audience to understand ideas through implied or suggested meaning, thus giving the language a more surprising, creative, and playful effect. Some figures of speech enhance imagery, while others allow writers to employ rich cultural traditions to express their ideas. Even further, other figures of speech allow writers to experiment with structure and sound to create specific effects. No matter which type is used, the expressive quality of figures of speech helps keep audiences engaged.

Examples of Figures of Speech in Literature

1. Hafizah Geter, “ Testimony ”

Geter begins her  poem :

Mr. President,

After they shot me they tackled my sister.

the sound of her knees hitting the sidewalk

made my stomach ache. It was a bad pain.

The poem is a  dramatic monologue  spoken by Tamir Rice, a 12-year old black child who was killed by police officers who mistook his toy gun for a real one. This poem uses apostrophe as the speaker, Tamir, talks directly to “Mr. President” (then president Barack Obama).

2. William Shakespeare,   Macbeth

In Act III, Scene iii., of this play, before King Duncan’s murder is discovered, Lennox and Macbeth converse:

LENNOX: The night has been unruly: where we lay,

Our chimneys were blown down: and, as they say,

Lamentings heard i’the air; strange screams of death,

And prophesying with accents terrible

Of fire combustion and confused events

New hatch’d to the woeful time: the obscure bird

Clamour’d the livelong night: some say, the earth

Was feverous and did shake.

MACBETH: ‘Twas a rough night.

LENNOX: My young remembrance cannot parallel

A fellow to it.

Pathetic fallacy is a type of trope. It occurs when human feelings and attributes are ascribed to nature. This figure of speech is used throughout this  Shakespearean  tragedy. In this particular scene, Lennox describes how terrible and strange the weather was on the evening of the murder. The way the wind and earth seem to embody the horror of King Duncan’s death is pathetic fallacy.

3. Karl Marx,   Das Kapital

In Part I (“Commodities and Money”) of Marx’s treatise on economics, philosophy, history, and political science, he claims:

In the pre-capitalist stages of society, commerce rules industry. In capitalist society, industry rules commerce.

These two sentences are an example of chiasmus. Here, “commerce” first rules “industry,” and then “industry” rules “commerce.” By reversing the order of these words/concepts, Marx employs chiasmus.

4. Toni Morrison,  Sula

The last line of Morrison’s novel is considered by some to be one of the best lines in fiction and nonfiction. The sentence describes protagonist Nel’s grief at the death of her childhood friend Sula:

It was a fine cry—loud and long—but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow.

This sentence is rich in alliteration: “loud and long” contain  L  sounds at the beginning, as well as the repetition of  c  and  s  sounds with  cry ,  circles ,  circles , and  sorrow . The latter is also an example of sibilance.

5. Oscar Wilde,   The Importance of Being Earnest

In Wilde’s play, the main characters John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff pose as men named Ernest, only for Jack to learn that his given name really is Ernest. He delivers the final line of the play:

On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being Earnest.

Jack/Ernest’s declaration is a homographic pun. It means both that he understands the importance of being Ernest (his real name), as well as the importance of being  earnest  (sincere).

6. Aimee Nezhukumatathil, “ On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance ”

In this poem, Nezhukumatathil describes the experience of one’s name being mispronounced by a teacher taking attendance:

everyone turns around to check out

your face, no need to flush red and warm.

Just picture all the eyes as if your classroom

is one big scallop with its dozens of icy blues

and you will remember that winter your family

took you to the China see and you sank

your face in it to gaze at baby clams and sea stars

She uses a simile, “Just picture all the eyes as if your classroom/is one big scallop with its dozens of icy blues,” to explicitly compare the staring kids to the dozens of eyes that a sea scallop has.

Further Resources on Figure of Speech

Thought Catalog has a wonderful list of  figures of speech used by Homer Simpson  in  The Simpsons.

Jamcampus published a  great list  of twenty examples of metaphors in popular songs.

This is an entertaining round up of  oxymorons .

SuperSummary's library of resources and content , such as " A Beginner's Guide to Literary Analysis " and " How to Write a Summary ."

Related Terms

• Figurative language

Figures of Speech: Definition and Types with Examples

A figure of speech is a word or phrase that is used in a non-literal sense to add emphasis or artistic effect. For example, if someone says “The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop,” they are using a figure of speech to exaggerate the silence in the room for emphasis.

Figures of speech are literary devices that are used to create a more imaginative and engaging way of speaking or writing. These literary devices are often used to create vivid images or to express complex ideas in a more concise and impactful way.

Some common examples of figures of speech include metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, and irony. These devices are often used in poetry and literature to add depth and meaning to the text.

Most Common Figures of Speech in English Grammar

There is no fixed number of figures of speech in English grammar. New figures of speech can be created and old ones can fall out of use, so the number is constantly changing. Additionally, different sources may classify figures of speech differently, so the number can vary depending on the criteria used. Some common figures of speech in English include:

In simple terms, a simile is a figure of speech that compares two things using the words “like” or “as.” It’s a way of describing something by saying it’s similar to something else.

Imagine you’re trying to describe how fast a cheetah runs. You could say, “The cheetah runs like lightning.” By using the word “like,” you’re comparing the cheetah’s speed to the speed of lightning. This is a simile because you’re saying the cheetah is similar to lightning in terms of speed.

Similes help make our language more interesting and descriptive. They can create vivid images in our minds and help us understand something better by relating it to something more familiar. For example, if you say, “Her smile is as bright as the sun,” you’re comparing the brightness of her smile to the brightness of the sun.

So, similes are like little tools that writers and speakers use to make their descriptions more engaging and imaginative. They allow us to compare things in a fun and creative way, using “like” or “as” to highlight the similarities between them.

Here are a few more examples of similes:

• “He is as brave as a lion.” This simile compares someone’s bravery to the courage of a lion, emphasizing their fearlessness.
• “Her voice was like music to my ears.” In this simile, the person’s voice is being compared to the pleasant and melodious nature of music.
• “The water shimmered like diamonds under the sunlight.” This simile compares the sparkling quality of water to the brilliance and shine of diamonds.
• “She ran as fast as a cheetah chasing its prey.” Here, the speed of the person running is likened to the incredible speed of a cheetah in pursuit of its prey.
• “His anger erupted like a volcano, spewing fiery words.” This simile compares the sudden and intense anger to the eruption of a volcano, highlighting the force and intensity of the emotions.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things by saying that one thing is another thing, even though they are not literally the same. It’s a way of describing something by using a word or phrase that is unrelated to the thing being described. Metaphors make our language more imaginative and creative.

Let’s look at an example to help explain it better. Imagine you want to describe a person who is very brave. You could say, “He is a lion.” Now, obviously, the person is not actually a lion. What you’re doing is using the word “lion” to describe his bravery. Lions are known for their courage and strength, so by calling him a lion, you’re saying that he has similar qualities.

Here are a few more examples to help you understand:

• “Her eyes are sparkling diamonds.” Here, the person’s eyes are being compared to diamonds to emphasize their brightness and beauty.
• “Time is money.” In this metaphor, time is compared to money to convey the idea that time, like money, is valuable and should be used wisely.
• “Life is a journey.” This metaphor suggests that life can be thought of as a journey, with ups and downs, detours, and destinations.
• “He has a heart of gold.” Here, someone’s kind and generous nature is being compared to a heart made of gold, emphasizing their good-heartedness.
• “The world is a stage.” This metaphor compares the world to a stage, suggesting that life is like a play with different roles and performances.

Metaphors help us see things in new and interesting ways. They add depth and layers of meaning to our language by comparing one thing to another. By using metaphors, we can express ourselves creatively and make our descriptions more engaging and imaginative.

Personification

Personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities or attributes to non-human things or abstract concepts. It’s a way of making something (that is not alive or human) seem like it has human characteristics or abilities.

Let’s suppose you’re describing a storm. Instead of just saying, “The storm was loud and powerful,” you could use personification and say, “The storm roared and unleashed its fury.” By using the word “roared” and attributing the ability to unleash fury to the storm, you’re giving it human-like qualities of sound and emotions.

Personification helps us create a more vivid and relatable image in our minds. It helps us understand and connect with things that are not human by making them seem more familiar.

• “The flowers danced in the breeze.” Here, the flowers are given the human quality of dancing, even though flowers cannot literally dance.
• “The sun smiled down on us.” This personification gives the sun the human ability to smile, adding a sense of warmth and happiness to the description.
• “The leaves whispered secrets to each other.” By attributing the action of whispering secrets to leaves, this personification creates a sense of intimacy and secrecy among the leaves.
• “The car coughed and sputtered before finally starting.” The act of coughing and sputtering is typically associated with humans, but here it is attributed to a car, giving it human-like qualities.
• “Time flies .” This personification suggests that time moves quickly, just like a bird or an insect in flight.

Personification helps make our language more colorful and imaginative. By giving non-human things human qualities, we can relate to them better and create more engaging and memorable descriptions.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a literary technique that involves the repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of closely connected words or stressed syllables. It’s a way of creating a rhythmic and musical effect in writing or speech.

To understand alliteration, let’s look at an example. Suppose you want to describe a rainy day and you say, “The raindrops danced delicately on the roof.” The repetition of the “d” sound in “raindrops,” “danced,” and “delicately” is an example of alliteration. It adds a pleasing and melodic quality to the sentence.

• “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” This famous tongue twister is a playful example of alliteration, with the repeated “p” sound.
• “She sells seashells by the seashore.” In this phrase, the repeated “s” sound creates a smooth and flowing rhythm.
• “A big brown bear bounced on the bed.” The repeated “b” sound in this sentence adds emphasis and creates a strong beat.
• “Misty mountains majestically rise.” Here, the repeated “m” sound captures the sense of grandeur and adds a musical quality.
• “Silent as a shadow, he slipped through the night.” The repeated “s” sound in this sentence creates a sense of stealth and smoothness.

Alliteration is like a musical instrument in writing. It helps create a pleasing and rhythmic effect, making the language more memorable and engaging. It adds a touch of playfulness, emphasis, and sometimes even a sense of sound effects to the words.

Assonance is a literary device that involves the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. It’s a technique used to create a musical or melodic effect in writing or speech.

To understand assonance, let’s look at an example. Imagine you want to describe a serene lake, and you say, “The serene scene of the lake.” The repetition of the long “ee” sound in “serene,” “scene,” and “lake” is an example of assonance. It creates a soothing and harmonious quality in the sentence.

• “I feel the heat as I read.” In this sentence, the repeated “ee” sound in “feel,” “heat,” and “read” creates a flowing and musical effect.
• “The cat sat on the mat.” Here, the repeated short “a” sound in “cat,” “sat,” and “mat” adds a rhythmic quality to the sentence.
• “Hear the mellow wedding bells.” The repeated long “e” sound in “hear,” “mellow,” and “bells” creates a soft and melodic tone.
• “The owl howled at the moon.” In this example, the repeated long “o” sound in “owl” and “howled” adds emphasis and creates a haunting effect.
• “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” This famous phrase from the musical “My Fair Lady” demonstrates assonance with the repeated long “a” sound.

Assonance helps create a musical and lyrical quality in writing. It adds a pleasing and melodic effect, making the language more memorable and engaging. Assonance, along with other sound devices like alliteration and rhyme, can enhance the overall beauty and rhythm of a piece of writing or speech.

Consonance is a literary device that involves the repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words, specifically in the middle or at the end of words. It is a technique used to create a harmonious and musical effect in writing or speech.

To understand consonance, let’s look at an example. Imagine you want to describe the sound of the waves, and you say, “The waves crashed and splashed.” The repeated “sh” sound in “crashed” and “splashed” is an example of consonance. It creates a soothing and rhythmic quality in the sentence.

• “Mike likes his bike.” In this sentence, the repeated “k” sound in “Mike,” “likes,” and “bike” adds a crisp and sharp quality to the sentence.
• “Pitter-patter, raindrops scatter.” The repeated “t” and “r” sounds in this phrase create a sense of lightness and quick movement.
• “She sells seashells by the seashore.” Here, the repeated “s” and “sh” sounds add a soft and smooth rhythm to the sentence.
• “The whisper of the wind.” In this example, the repeated “w” sound in “whisper” and “wind” creates a gentle and airy effect.
• “A sweet tweet from a little bird.” The repeated “t” sound in “sweet,” “tweet,” and “little” adds emphasis and creates a playful tone.

Consonance helps create a musical and harmonious quality in writing. It adds a pleasing and rhythmic effect, making the language more memorable and engaging. Consonance, along with other sound devices like alliteration and rhyme, can enhance the overall beauty and rhythm of a piece of writing or speech.

Anaphora is a literary device that involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. It’s a technique used to add emphasis and create a powerful effect in writing or speech.

To understand anaphora, let’s look at an example. Imagine you want to inspire a group of people, and you say, “We will fight for justice. We will fight for equality. We will fight for a better future.” In this example, the repetition of the phrase “We will fight” at the beginning of each sentence is anaphora. It creates a sense of determination and reinforces the message.

• “I have a dream that one day… I have a dream that one day…” In Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, the repetition of the phrase “I have a dream” at the beginning of multiple sentences emphasizes the vision and hope.
• “Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is selfless.” The repetition of the word “love” at the beginning of each sentence highlights different aspects of love.
• “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” In this phrase, the repetition of “let it snow” creates a sense of longing or excitement for snowfall.
• “I came, I saw, I conquered.” This famous quote from Julius Caesar demonstrates anaphora with the repetition of “I” at the beginning of each phrase, emphasizing the speaker’s actions.

Anaphora helps create a strong and memorable effect in writing or speech. By repeating words or phrases, it adds emphasis, rhythm, and power to the message being conveyed. Anaphora can be used to inspire, persuade, or create a sense of unity by reinforcing key ideas or themes.

An apostrophe is a figure of speech that involves addressing or speaking to someone or something that is not present or cannot respond as if they were present and able to listen. It’s a way of giving human-like qualities or directly addressing an absent person, an inanimate object, or even an abstract concept.

To understand apostrophe, let’s look at an example. Imagine you’re looking at a beautiful sunset, and you say, “Oh, Sun, your golden rays embrace the world.” In this sentence, you are directly addressing the Sun as if it can hear you and feel its rays. This is an example of apostrophe.

• “O, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is speaking to Romeo, who is not physically present. She is expressing her longing for him.
• “O, Death, be not proud.” In John Donne’s poem “Death, be not proud,” the poet directly addresses death and challenges its power.
• “Ocean, you mighty force, swallow my sorrows.” Here, the speaker is speaking to the ocean, personifying it as a powerful entity capable of engulfing their sorrows.
• “Hello, old friend, how I’ve missed you.” This is an example of addressing an absent friend, expressing the speaker’s sentiment of longing or nostalgia.

Apostrophe allows writers and speakers to give life and voice to non-living things or absent individuals. It adds emotional depth, expresses intense feelings, and helps create a sense of connection with the subject being addressed. Apostrophe is a powerful tool to convey emotions, explore ideas, and create a dramatic effect in literature and poetry.

Hyperbole is a figure of speech that involves exaggeration or overstatement for emphasis or dramatic effect. It’s a way of making something sound much bigger, greater, or more extreme than it actually is.

To understand hyperbole, let’s look at an example. Imagine you’re really hungry, and you say, “I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!” Now, of course, you don’t actually mean that you could eat an entire horse. By using hyperbole, you’re exaggerating your hunger to emphasize just how strong it is.

• “I’ve told you a million times!” Here, the speaker is exaggerating the number of times they have told someone something to emphasize their frustration.
• “This suitcase weighs a ton!” The speaker is exaggerating the weight of the suitcase to emphasize how heavy it feels.
• “I’m as old as the hills.” This hyperbole suggests that the speaker is very old, even though they may not be that old in reality.
• “She cried an ocean of tears.” This exaggeration emphasizes the intensity and amount of tears shed by the person.
• “I have a million things to do today.” The speaker is exaggerating the number of tasks they need to accomplish to emphasize a busy schedule.

Hyperbole helps create emphasis, adds humor, and makes a point more memorable. By using extreme exaggeration, writers and speakers can draw attention to a particular aspect or evoke strong emotions in their audience. It adds a touch of excitement and playfulness to the language.

Litotes is a figure of speech that involves expressing an idea by using understatement or negation to convey the opposite meaning. It’s a way of making a point by stating something in a negative or ironic way, rather than directly affirming it.

To understand litotes, let’s look at an example. Suppose someone asks you if you enjoyed a movie that you absolutely loved, and you respond, “Oh, it wasn’t bad.” By using litotes, you’re downplaying your true enthusiasm and expressing it indirectly. The negative statement of “wasn’t bad” actually means that you really enjoyed the movie.

• “She’s not unfamiliar with the topic.” This litotes suggests that the person is actually quite knowledgeable about the topic.
• “He’s not the friendliest person.” This understatement implies that the person is not very friendly at all.
• “It’s not a bad view from here.” This litotes implies that the view is actually quite good or impressive.
• “She’s no ordinary singer.” This statement suggests that the person is an exceptional or extraordinary singer.
• “He’s not unfamiliar with trouble.” This litotes implies that the person is frequently involved in troublesome situations.

Litotes allows writers and speakers to make a point indirectly by using a form of understatement or negation. It adds a layer of subtlety, irony, or modesty to the language, and can be used to downplay or highlight certain qualities or situations. Litotes adds depth and nuance to expressions and can be an effective way to make a statement more memorable.

Euphemism is a figure of speech that involves using mild or indirect words or phrases to replace harsh, blunt, or sensitive terms. It’s a way of softening or sugar-coating the language to convey a potentially uncomfortable or offensive idea in a more polite or socially acceptable manner.

To understand euphemism, let’s look at an example. Suppose someone is talking about a person who passed away, and instead of saying “he died,” they say “he passed away.” By using euphemism, they’re choosing a gentler phrase to talk about the sensitive topic of death.

• “She’s in a better place now.” This euphemism is often used to refer to someone who has died, suggesting that they are in a peaceful or happier state.
• “He’s let go from his job.” This euphemism is used to soften the idea of being fired or terminated from employment.
• “I’m under the weather.” This phrase is a euphemism for saying that you’re feeling sick or unwell.
• “She’s expecting.” This euphemism is used to indicate that someone is pregnant.
• “He’s a little challenged in that area.” This euphemism is used to avoid directly saying that someone is lacking in a particular skill or ability.

Euphemisms help us navigate sensitive or potentially offensive topics by using more polite or less harsh language. They allow us to convey ideas with a touch of diplomacy, respect, or cultural sensitivity. Euphemisms are widely used in social settings, formal contexts, or when discussing delicate matters. They provide a way to discuss difficult subjects while maintaining politeness and decorum.

Antithesis is a figure of speech that involves contrasting or juxtaposing two opposing ideas, words, or phrases within a sentence or paragraph. It’s a way of highlighting the stark contrast between two things to create a powerful effect or emphasize a point.

To understand antithesis, let’s look at an example. Suppose you want to describe a character who is both kind and cruel, and you say, “She was both the epitome of kindness and the embodiment of cruelty.” In this sentence, the contrasting ideas of kindness and cruelty are placed side by side, creating an antithesis. It emphasizes the stark opposition between the two qualities.

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” In this famous line from Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” the contrast between the best and worst of times emphasizes the extreme nature of the era being described.
• “Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.” This antithesis juxtaposes the idealized notion of love with the practical reality of marriage.
• “Give me liberty or give me death.” This well-known phrase by Patrick Henry highlights the choice between freedom and death, creating a powerful antithesis.
• “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” This antithesis contrasts the fallibility of human nature with the divine quality of forgiveness.

Antithesis allows writers and speakers to highlight the stark opposition between two contrasting ideas, emphasizing their differences and creating a strong impact. By placing contrasting words or phrases side by side, antithesis adds emphasis, drama, and clarity to the language. It can be used to convey deeper meaning, create memorable statements, or draw attention to the stark contrast between concepts.

A paradox is a figure of speech that involves a statement or situation that appears to be contradictory or absurd, but upon closer examination, reveals a deeper truth or logic. It’s a way of presenting a seemingly illogical or contradictory idea to provoke deeper thinking and contemplation.

To understand paradox, let’s look at an example. Imagine someone says, “I can resist anything except temptation.” At first, it may seem contradictory because resisting implies not giving in to something, while temptation suggests a strong desire to indulge. However, the paradox reveals the human struggle and the irony that resisting temptation can be particularly challenging.

• “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” This paradox highlights the idea that as knowledge increases, awareness of one’s own ignorance also grows.
• “I’m nobody.” This paradoxical statement suggests that by claiming to be nobody, one may actually be asserting their individuality or unique perspective.
• “This is the beginning of the end.” This paradox captures the contradictory notion that an ending can also mark the start of something new.
• “You have to be cruel to be kind.” This paradox suggests that sometimes, an act of apparent cruelty can actually be a kind or compassionate action in the long run.

Paradoxes challenge our thinking by presenting ideas that seem contradictory on the surface but contain a deeper truth or insight. They engage our minds, provoke reflection, and encourage us to question assumptions and explore complexities. Paradoxes can be found in literature, philosophy, and everyday language, and they help us grapple with the complexities of life and the inherent contradictions within our world.

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two contradictory or opposite terms to create a new meaning or concept. It’s a way of expressing a paradoxical idea by placing contrasting words side by side.

To understand an oxymoron, let’s look at an example. Imagine someone says, “bittersweet.” The term “bitter” and “sweet” are opposites, as bitterness and sweetness are contradictory tastes. However, when used together as an oxymoron, “bittersweet” creates a unique meaning that expresses a complex blend of both positive and negative emotions.

• “Jumbo shrimp.” The word “jumbo” suggests something large, while “shrimp” refers to something small. Together, they create an oxymoron that plays on the contrasting sizes.
• “Living dead.” This oxymoron combines the idea of being alive (“living”) with the notion of being deceased (“dead”).
• “Deafening silence.” The word “deafening” suggests a loud and overwhelming sound, while “silence” refers to the absence of sound. This oxymoron creates a powerful image of a silence that is so profound it becomes almost overwhelming.
• “Cruel kindness.” This oxymoron combines the contrasting ideas of cruelty and kindness, suggesting a kind act that may have an unintended negative impact.

Oxymorons add depth, complexity, and intrigue to language. By combining contradictory terms, they create a vivid and memorable effect. Oxymorons often capture the nuances and complexities of human experiences by highlighting the coexistence of opposing elements. They challenge our expectations, provoke thought, and provide a fresh perspective on familiar concepts.

An epigram is a short and witty statement or verse that expresses a clever or insightful idea. It’s a concise and memorable way of conveying a thought, often with a touch of humor or irony.

To understand an epigram, let’s look at an example. Imagine someone saying, “I can resist everything except temptation.” This short statement by Oscar Wilde captures a clever twist on the idea of resisting temptation, highlighting the humorous struggle many people face.

• “In youth, we learn; in age, we understand.” This epigram by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach captures the idea that as we grow older, we gain wisdom and a deeper understanding of life.
• “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” This epigram by Alexander Pope highlights the idea that having limited knowledge on a subject can be more harmful than having no knowledge at all.
• “I can resist everything but temptation.” This playful epigram by Oscar Wilde adds a humorous twist by emphasizing the difficulty of resisting temptation.
• “Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.” This epigram plays on the idea that sometimes, unconventional or unexpected approaches can yield surprising results.

Epigrams are often used to encapsulate a complex idea concisely and cleverly. They provide a memorable way to express a thought, provoke thought, or offer a fresh perspective on a subject. Epigrams are commonly found in literature, speeches, and everyday conversations. They add a touch of wit, humor, and insight to the language, making them a powerful and engaging form of expression.

Irony is a figure of speech that involves the use of words or expressions to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. It is a way of using language to express a contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.

To understand irony, let’s look at an example. Imagine it’s raining heavily outside, and someone looks out the window and says, “What a beautiful day!” Here, the statement is ironic because the speaker’s words directly contradict the reality of the rainy weather.

There are three main types of irony:

• Verbal irony: This involves saying one thing but meaning the opposite. For example: “Oh, that’s just great. Now we’re really in trouble.” (said sarcastically when something goes wrong)
• Dramatic irony: This occurs when the audience or reader knows something that the characters in a story or play do not. For example: In the play “Romeo and Juliet,” the audience knows that Juliet is not really dead, but Romeo does not, and he kills himself in despair.
• Situational irony: This involves a situation in which the outcome is the opposite of what was expected or intended.
• A fire station burns down. This is an example of situational irony because it’s unexpected and contrary to what one would normally expect to happen.
• A dentist with bad teeth. This is an example of verbal irony because it’s a contradiction between what is said (a dentist is someone who takes care of teeth) and the situation (the dentist has bad teeth).
• A person saying “I love waking up early” when they’re known for always sleeping in. This is an example of irony because their words contradict their actions or reputation.
• A person saying “Great job!” sarcastically when someone makes a mistake. This is an example of dramatic irony because the person’s words convey the opposite of what they truly mean.

Irony adds depth and complexity to language by highlighting contradictions or unexpected outcomes. It can be used to convey humor, make a point, or create a sense of surprise. Irony often relies on context or an understanding of the situation to appreciate the contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs. It’s a powerful tool in literature, comedy, and everyday communication.

A pun is a figure of speech that involves the use of words that have multiple meanings or that sound similar to create a humorous or clever effect. It is a play on words that relies on the use of words that have more than one meaning or that sound similar to create a humorous or clever effect.

To understand a pun, let’s look at an example. Imagine someone says, “I used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough dough.” In this pun, the word “dough” has a double meaning. It can refer to the bread-making ingredient, but it is also used colloquially to mean money. The pun cleverly plays on this dual meaning to create a humorous effect.

• “I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down!” This pun relies on the double meaning of “put down” as both physically placing something down and losing interest in a book.
• “I used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough bread. It wasn’t my knead.” This pun plays on the words “bread” and “knead,” using a word that sounds similar to “need” to create a humorous effect.
• “I’m glad I know sign language; it’s pretty handy.” This pun relies on the double meaning of “handy” as both having practical skills and being physically helpful.
• “Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!” This pun uses the word “outstanding” to play on the idea of the scarecrow being exceptional in his field (the field where crops grow).

Puns are a form of wordplay that adds humor, cleverness, and wit to language. They rely on the multiple meanings, homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings), or wordplay to create a humorous or clever effect. Puns can be found in jokes, advertising slogans, literature, and everyday conversations. They’re a playful and entertaining way to engage with language and tickle our funny bones.

Metonymy is a figure of speech that involves using a word or phrase to represent something closely associated with it, but not actually part of it. It’s a way of referring to something by mentioning another word or phrase that is related to it.

To understand metonymy, let’s look at an example. Imagine someone says, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Here, the word “pen” is used to represent writing or communication, while the word “sword” symbolizes warfare or violence. The phrase suggests that the power of words and ideas (represented by the pen) can be more influential than physical force (represented by the sword).

• “The crown” refers to a king or queen. In this case, the word “crown” is used to represent the power and authority associated with royalty.
• “The White House issued a statement.” Here, “White House” is used to represent the government or the President of the United States, as the White House is closely associated with political decision-making.
• “Let me give you a hand.” In this expression, “hand” is used to represent assistance or help, indicating a willingness to support or lend a hand.
• “The press” refers to journalists or the media. Here, the word “press” is used to represent the industry or people involved in news reporting.

Metonymy allows us to use a word or phrase closely related to something to represent or refer to it. It adds depth, symbolism, and economy to language by using associations to convey meaning. Metonymy is commonly used in literature, poetry, speeches, and everyday conversations. It provides a way to express ideas concisely and indirectly, while still being understood within the context.

Synecdoche is a figure of speech that involves using a part of something to represent the whole or using the whole to represent a part. It’s a way of referring to something by mentioning a related, but distinct, part or whole.

To understand synecdoche, let’s look at an example. Imagine someone says, “All hands on deck!” Here, the word “hands” is used to represent the whole person or the entire crew on a ship. By referring to a part (hands), the speaker is actually referring to the larger group (the crew).

• “Nice wheels!” Here, the word “wheels” is used to refer to a car. The wheels are just a part of the car, but they represent the whole vehicle.
• “The law” refers to the police or legal system. In this case, the word “law” is used to represent the entire system of rules and law enforcement.
• “He’s a hired gun.” Here, the phrase “hired gun” is used to represent a person who is hired to carry out a specific task or job. The term “gun” refers to the person as a whole.

Synecdoche allows us to use a specific part or whole to represent something larger or smaller, creating a figurative meaning. It adds richness and depth to language by using associations and connections. Synecdoche can be found in literature, poetry, speeches, and everyday conversations. It provides a way to convey meaning in a concise and evocative manner by using familiar relationships between parts and wholes.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech that involves using words that imitate or mimic the sound associated with the object or action they describe. It’s a way of creating a connection between the word and the sound it represents, making the text more vivid and engaging for the reader or listener.

To understand onomatopoeia, let’s look at some examples. Imagine the sound of a clock ticking, and someone says, “tick-tock.” Here, the word “tick-tock” imitates the actual sound made by the clock, creating an onomatopoeic effect.

• “Buzz” represents the sound of a bee flying around.
• “Boom” imitates the sound of an explosion.
• “Hiss” imitates the sound a snake makes.
• “Splash” imitates the sound of something falling into water.

Onomatopoeic words add a sense of realism, sensory experience, and sound imagery to writing. They allow readers to imagine or hear the sounds being described more vividly. Onomatopoeia is commonly used in literature, poetry, comic books, and children’s stories. By using words that imitate sounds, writers and speakers can bring their descriptions to life and engage the senses of their audience.

Classification of Figures of Speech

Figures of speech can be classified into various categories based on the different ways they manipulate language. Here are some common classifications of figures of speech:

• Simile: Comparing two things using “like” or “as” (e.g., “She sings like an angel”).
• Metaphor: Describing something by equating it with another unrelated thing (e.g., “He’s a shining star”).
• Metonymy: Using a word or phrase to represent something closely associated with it (e.g., “The pen is mightier than the sword”).
• Synecdoche: Using a part to represent the whole or vice versa (e.g., “All hands on deck”).
• Hyperbole: Exaggerating or overstating for emphasis or effect (e.g., “I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse”).
• Litotes: Understating or expressing something by negating its opposite (e.g., “She’s not unkind”).
• Alliteration: Repeating the same sound or letter at the beginning of closely connected words (e.g., “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”).
• Assonance: Repetition of similar vowel sounds within words (e.g., “fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese”).
• Apostrophe: Directly addressing an absent person or an abstract idea as if it were present (e.g., “O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?”).
• Irony: Expressing something contrary to the intended meaning for humorous or dramatic effect (e.g., “The teacher said the test was easy, but it was actually very difficult”).
• Oxymoron: Combining two contradictory terms to create a new meaning (e.g., “bittersweet” or “jumbo shrimp”).
• Anaphora: Repeating the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences (e.g., “I have a dream… I have a dream…”).
• Epiphora or Epistrophe: Repeating the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences (e.g., “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child”).

These are just a few examples of how figures of speech can be classified. Note that some figures of speech may fall into multiple categories, and there can be variations and subcategories within each classification.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of using figures of speech.

Figures of speech serve various purposes in communication. They add depth, creativity, and vividness to language, making it more engaging, memorable, and expressive. They help convey complex ideas, evoke emotions, create imagery, and enhance the overall impact of the message being communicated.

How do figures of speech enhance writing and speaking?

Figures of speech enhance writing and speaking by adding rhetorical devices and literary techniques that make the language more interesting and impactful. They capture the attention of the audience, evoke emotions, paint vivid pictures, and create a lasting impression. They make communication more persuasive, memorable, and engaging.

Can figures of speech be used in everyday conversations?

Absolutely! Figures of speech are not limited to formal writing or literature. They can be used in everyday conversations to make your speech more colorful, expressive, and engaging. Whether it’s using a simile to describe something, employing a metaphor to convey meaning, or utilizing a witty pun, figures of speech can add flair to your everyday communication.

How can one improve their use of figures of speech?

Improving the use of figures of speech involves developing a strong grasp of different types of figures of speech and their appropriate usage. Reading widely, exploring various literary works, and studying examples of figures of speech can enhance your understanding and help you recognize their applications in different contexts. Regular practice and experimentation in writing and speaking can also improve your ability to incorporate figures of speech effectively.

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Figure of Speech

Definition of figure of speech.

A figure of speech is a phrase or word having different meanings than its literal meanings. It conveys meaning by identifying or comparing one thing to another, which has connotation or meaning familiar to the audience . That is why it is helpful in creating vivid rhetorical effect.

Types of figures of Speech

There are many types of figures of speech. Here are a few of them with detailed descriptions:

Personification

It occurs when a writer gives human traits to non-human or inanimate objects. It is similar to metaphors and similes that also use comparison between two objects. For instance,

“Hadn’t she felt it in every touch of the sunshine, as its golden finger-tips pressed her lids open and wound their way through her hair?”

(“ The Mother’s Recompense ” by Edith Wharton)

In the above lines, the speaker is personifying sunshine as it has finger tips that wound their way into her hair. This is trait of using finger-tips in hair is a human one.

Understatement and Hyperbole

These two figures of speech are opposite to each other. Hyperbole uses extreme exaggeration . It exaggerates to lay emphasis on a certain quality or feature. It stirs up emotions among the readers, these emotions could be about happiness, romance , inspiration, laughter or sadness.

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street.” ( “As I Walked Out One Evening” by W.H. Auden)

In this poem , Auden has used hyperbole to stress on how long his love his beloved would last. Just imagine when China and Africa would meet and can river jump up over the mountains? How salmon can be intelligent enough so that it could sing and evolve enough and walk the streets?

Whereas understatement uses less than whatever is intended, such as,

“You killed my family. And I don’t like that kind of thing.”

( “The Chosen One” by Boon Collins and Rob Schneider)

In this line, the speaker is using an understatement because someone has killed his family and he is just taking it very normal like nothing serious has happened.

It is a type of comparison between things or objects by using “as” or “like.” See the following example:

My heart is like a singing bird Whose nest is in a water’d shoot; My heart is like an apple-tree My heart is like a rainbow shell…

( “A Birthday” by Christina Rossetti)

Rossetti has used simile thrice in this part of the poem , comparing her heart to a “singing bird”, “an apple-tree”, and a rainbow shell.” The poet makes comparison of heart to a happy bird in a nest, an apple tree full with fruits and a beautiful shell in the sea, full of peace and joy.

Metaphor is comparing two unlike objects or things, which may have some common qualities.

Presentiment – is that long shadow – on the lawn – Indicative that Suns go down – The notice to the startled Grass That Darkness – is about to pass –

( “Presentiment is that long shadow on the lawn” by Emily Dickinson)

In this example, Dickinson presents presentiment as a shadow. Presentiment actually means anxiety or foreboding, which she calls a shadow. In fact, she makes compares it with shadow to provide a better description of anxiety that could creep up in a person’s life and cause fear.

Pun is the manipulation of words that have more than one meanings. It brings humor in an expression.

Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will, And Will to boot, and Will in overplus;

( “ Sonnet 135” by William Shakespeare)

See the use of odd grammar rule, which is the capitalization of word “Will.” Usually in the middle of a line or sentence, writers capitalize a name. Here it is the first name of Shakespeare. It means he has created pun of his own name.

Function of Figure of Speech

Figure of speech is not only used to embellish the language, but also cause a moment of excitement when reading. It is used equally in writing as well as in speech. It, in fact, provides emphasis, clarity or freshness to expression. Clarity, however, may sometimes suffer because a figure of speech introduces double meanings such as connotative and denotative meanings. It also strengthens the creative expression and description along with making the language more graphic, pointed and vivid.

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• Figures Of Speech

Figures of Speech - Definition, Types and Usage with Examples

Are you as busy as a bee? Why not take some time off your busy schedule to learn how you can make your speech and writing sound and look extraordinary and engaging? There are many ways to make your language creative and interesting. One of the most effective ways to do it is to use figurative language. In this article, you will be introduced to what figures of speech are, their meaning and definition, the different types of figures of speech and how to use them effectively in sentences with examples.

Table of Contents

Definition of a Figure of Speech

Classification of figures of speech.

• How to Use a Figure of Speech in a Sentence? – Points to Remember

Examples of Figures of Speech

Frequently asked questions on figures of speech in english, what irs a figure of speech.

A figure of speech is an expression used to make a greater effect on your reader or listener. It includes making comparisons, contrasts, associations, exaggerations and constructions. It also gives a much clearer picture of what you are trying to convey.

Let us take a look at how different dictionaries define a figure of speech to have a much better idea of what it is.

A figure of speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a word or phrase used in a different way from its usual meaning in order to create a particular mental picture or effect.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “an expression that uses words to mean something different from their ordinary meaning.” According to the Collins Dictionary, a figure of speech is “an expression or word that is used with a metaphorical rather than a literal meaning.”

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “ a form of expression (such as a simile or metaphor) used to convey meaning or heighten effect often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning or connotation familiar to the reader or listener.” According to the Macmillan Dictionary, a figure of speech is defined as “an expression in which the words are used figuratively, not in their normal literal meaning.”

Figures of Speech in English Grammar

In English grammar , there are around fifteen to twenty figures of speech. However, there are a few of them which are used more often than the others. Let us look at the most commonly used figures of speech.

• Personification
• Alliteration
• Transferred Epithet

How to Use a Figure of Speech in English? – Points to Remember

You now know that a figure of speech can make your language look and sound a lot more poetical, interesting and flamboyant. However, the challenge is not about learning the different figures of speech but knowing when, where and how to use them. You cannot use it anywhere you like. Only if it is used right and where they are appropriate and necessary, will it make your language better.

Figures of speech are not meant to provide information literally, so it is not suggested that you use figurative language in professional presentations and writings like essays. Since they do not convey literal meanings, it is very important that you learn how each figure of speech can be used. What is more important is knowing what it would mean when used in a particular part of a sentence. So, the most significant point that you have to keep in mind when using figures of speech is to employ them only if they give you the desired effect and meaning.

The figures of speech can be categorized into types based on their functions when used in sentences. Accordingly, the main categories are composed of ones that:

• Show a Relationship or Resemblance
• Show Phonetic Resemblances and Representing Sounds
• Show Emphasis or Unimportance

Showing a Relationship or Resemblance

This category includes figures of speech which are designed to make comparisons to show a relationship or some resemblances. Similes, metaphors, personification, euphemism, metonymy and synecdoche are the figures of speech used for this purpose.

Showing Phonetic Resemblances and Representing Sounds

This category of figures of speech include alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia. The first two figures of speech are used to create an effect by using similar sounding words or words starting with the same consonant and vowel sounds, whereas onomatopoeia includes words that are used to represent sounds.

Showing Emphasis or Unimportance

The figures of speech belonging to this category are used to provide emphasis or show how important or unimportant something is. Hyperbole, antithesis, oxymoron, irony and litotes are figures of speech that can be used for this purpose.

Here are a few examples of the different figures of speech in English grammar.

• Simile – Rachel is as bright as the sun.
• Metaphor – The whole world is a stage.
• Personification – The wind whispered in my ears.
• Apostrophe – O William, you should be living now to see all this.
• Alliteration – Sally sold some seashells.
• Assonance – I seem to like your little green trees.
• Hyperbole – I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
• Oxymoron – Euthanizing their sick pet dog was considered as an act of kind cruelty.
• Epigram – The child is the father of man.
• Irony – A fire station burned down yesterday.
• Pun – Life depends upon the liver.
• Metonymy – The Bench decided that the man is guilty.
• Synecdoche – We need more hands to help us move this cupboard.
• Transferred Epithet – She had a sleepless night.

What is a figure of speech?

What is the definition of a figure of speech.

A figure of speech, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a word or phrase used in a different way from its usual meaning in order to create a particular mental picture or effect.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “an expression that uses words to mean something different from their ordinary meaning.” According to the Collins Dictionary, a figure of speech is “an expression or word that is used with a metaphorical rather than a literal meaning.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a figure of speech as “ a form of expression (such as a simile or metaphor) used to convey meaning or heighten effect often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning or connotation familiar to the reader or listener.” According to the Macmillan Dictionary, a figure of speech is defined as “an expression in which the words are used figuratively, not in their normal literal meaning.”

What are the different figures of speech in English?

Here is a list of the different figures of speech in English.

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70 Figures of Speech and Their Meanings

We shouldn’t go straight to the said 70 figures of speech, and their meaning, without knowing what a figure of speech is.

What are figures of speech?

A figure of speech are words or phrases that implicate an intentional digression from the ordinary use of language, to enrich a literary work.

You are more likely to discover one, or more new figures of speech, here. As stated in the title, there are over 60 figures of speech present in this article.

I’m convinced that some of these figures will be new to you. The reason is that this article comprises both common and uncommon figures, as a result of my broad research. 

Before we go further, please do note that the examples given in this post, will not touch all of the provided figures of speech.

However, you will get their various meanings. 

 1. Metaphor 

 3. Personification

 5. Sarcasm

 6. Apostrophe

 7. Antithesis

 8. Hyperbole

 9. Paradox

10. Litotes 

11. Meiosis

12. Epigram

13. Euphemism

14. Antinomasia

15. Metonymy

16. Synecdoche 

17. Alliteration

18. Assonance

19. Onomatopoeia

20. Anthropomorphism

21. Consonance

25. Anti-Climax

26. Chiasmus

28. Metaphrase

29. Syllepsis

30. Hendiadys

31. Paraleipsis

32. Prolepsis

33. Asyron 

34. Cataphora 

35. Ellipsis

36. Dysphemism 

37. Merism 

38. Oxymoron

40. Accismus 

41. Paronomasia

42. Anapotodon 

43. Hyperbation

44. Accumulatio

45. Acutezza 

46. Acoloutha

47. Tricolon 

49. Syndeton 

50. Proverb 

51. Sentetia 

52. Parrhesia

53. Cacophony

54. Brevitas

55. Bomphiologia 

56. Aureaction 

57. Antaclasis

58. Exemplum 

59. Hyperbaton 

60. Heterosis 

61. Innuendo

63. Paroemion 

64. Merismos

65. Isocolon

66. Homophone 

67. Exergasia

69. Correctio

70. Autoclesis 

70 Figures Of Speech And Their Meanings

• METAPHOR : 

One of the most commonly used figures of speech is a metaphor. If you have not heard about it before, then you may not be able to recollect that you have used it before. Certainly, you must have used the figure of speech, Metaphor before, either consciously or unconsciously.

Definition : Precisely, Metaphor is a direct comparison of two things. 

In other words, a Metaphor could be referred to as an identity assigned to one subject by way of another.

In metaphor, one thing is been compared to another, without the use of as or like. 

Two perfect examples of Metaphor are given below:

 1.  Wizkid is our Drake.

 2.  Musa is a Tiger on the Battlefield.

In the examples above, you will notice a direct comparison of two subjects in each of the sentences, without the use of as or like. 

For instance, in the first example, we get to know that the only foreign singer that we can compare Wizkid with, is Drake. This should make you know that they have some things in common. 

Simile, as a figure of speech, helps to draw parallel, or comparison between two similar or dissimilar subjects. The comparison is done, with the use of ‘as’ or ‘like.’

Definition : The comparison of two things, with the use of ‘as,’ ‘like,’ as ‘though,’ ‘as if.’

Some examples of Simile are:

1. Ronaldo plays like Messi on the field.

2. My poem is as lengthy as your poem.

3. He acts as if he’s a novice. 

For a better understanding of Simile, let’s take a look at the poem below:-

      Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

      How I wonder what you are

      Up above the world so high

      Like a diamond in the sky

Do you observe the use of Simile, as a figure of speech in the poem? If No, then I guess you didn’t read it carefully.

The use of Simile in the poem can be found in the last line, where the word ‘like’ has been used for a direct comparison between the Star and a Diamond.

• PERSONIFICATION :

Even when we omit the word comparison, in the definition of Personification, we still can’t take away the similarity between them, Personification and Metaphor, away. 

Definition: It’s the act of attaching Human features to inanimate objects.

Whenever you attach the feature of a Human being to a non-living thing, you have to practice this figure of speech. 

A common feature between Metaphor and Personification is comparison. Although, it may not be seen in Personification, most times.

Some examples of the use of personification are:

 1. The weather is harsh.

 2. My pen is angry.

 3. The cloud is pregnant.

 4. The sun is smiling at me.

 5. The moon sees me.

For goodness sake, none of the objects above can do the things they were said to have done. 

Note that Personification is not used to tell lies. One of its functions is to beautify a literary work.

For instance, when your poem begins with the sentence:

‘I never thought my pen was gonna smile again.’ 

It will help to bring out a sharp picture of your expression. 

One is said to be ironic, when he or she says or writes one thing, but means something different.

Definition: Hence, Irony is an expression that means something opposite. 

In other words, it entails the difference between what we say and what we mean. 

We use this, to say something when in reality, we mean to say the opposite. 

This is also, one of the most commonly used figures of speech. It’s so common, that even uneducated people use it. 

For Example:

 1. The best way to avoid drinking, is to keep bad company.

 2. Dangote is so poor, that he became the richest man in Africa. 

 3. Anthony Joshua is so lazy, that he has four belts at a time. 

Read Also : The concept of literary irony  

Sarcasm is a better way to use Irony. Sarcasm is liable to wound the feeling of a character in a play/novel. 

Definition: An advanced form of verb Irony, with a scornful comment, or remark. 

 1. When something bad happens to you, and someone says, ‘This is exactly what you need!’

 2. After a long day of work, a man returns home, and says, ‘I have been working hard for years, for us to be this poor.’ 

 3. When someone steps on your shoe and you say; ‘very good, keep up the good work.’

• APOSTROPHE :

This is one of the craziest figures of speech you can employ in your literary works. 

Oftentimes, the use of an apostrophe in a play will help you get your audience touched\moved. 

Definition: Talking to someone or something that can not hear you, as if they are listening to you. 

For example:

 1. Death, where have you taken John to? 

 2. Speaking to your child who is not at home, ‘Peter, don’t stay late outside.’ 

In most cases, especially in a drama. People who lost their loved ones, use this figure of speech, to show how lost they are. 

• ANTITHESIS : 

This figure of speech is like a proverb, in the sense that wisdom is often hidden in it, with the use of opposing words/ideas. 

Definition : It’s a figure of speech, where two opposite words or ideas in the same sentence, contrast each other. 

Antithesis unlike Oxymoron, and some other figure of speech, is used to lay emphasis. 

 1.  United we stand, departed we fall. 

 2.  Many are called, but few are chosen. 

 3. Money is the root of all evil, and poverty is the fruit of all goodness.

• HYPERBOLE :

This figure of speech makes something smaller sound bigger. Hyperbole could also be referred to as exaggeration. It should be clearer to you, now, that you know it’s an exaggeration. Just that!

Definition: Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration. 

 1. I will die for you, If you give me your heart.

 2. Austin can empty River Jordan if he’s thirsty. 

It is impossible to do any of the things said in the examples above. In the first example, a man who wants to win the mind of a lady is promising to ‘die for her,’ if she can give him, ‘her heart.’ In reality, none of them can do any of the two things said. 

River Jordan is a very mighty river. Yet, we were told that one person’s stomach can have it all. Very impossible!

You will never get the interpretation of a paradox when you don’t pay full attention to the sentence. 

Definition: Paradox is a figure of speech, that hides the truth, from cursory lookers.

A paradox is a self-contradictory statement, who’s meaning is not noticeable.

Hence, only people who pay attention to paradoxical statements will get to know the hidden truth…

For Example, it’s paradoxical to say that:

 1. Attack is the best form of defense.

 2. I must be cruel to be kind.

You can’t defend yourself, without attacking your attacker. But because of the difference in these words, someone who does not pay attention to the sentence will see no meaning in it. 

Litotes is the opposite of Hyperbole. Rather than exaggerating, litotes understates the quality of something.

Definition : It’s a figure of speech, that negatively puts positive remarks.

Whenever your statement underrates someone or something,  you should be sure that you have to use Litotes. 

It’s also the adoption of litotes, when you make a positive sentence, negatively. 

Some examples of the use of Litotes are:

 1. Instead of saying someone is looking beautiful, you say, ‘Princess, you are not bad.’

 2. It’s no laughing matter.  

3. I must multiply them, and they shall not be few. 

Simply put, Meiosis is the synonyms [used instead] of Litotes. It could also be referred to as Litotes. 

This figure of speech is more like Paradox, Proverb, and Antithesis. A common feature Epigram has with a proverb, is the length of its words.

Definition: Epigram is a witty saying that employs both Antithesis and paradox, to convey its meaning in a contradictory manner. 

Some examples are:

 1. He who laughs last, laughs best.

 2. The child is the father of the man.

The examples above could also be a perfect example of Paradox and Antithesis. The second sentence may be difficult for you to explain. It means that when the father of the child is old, the child is the one who will take care of him. 

• EUPHEMISM :

You have euphemized, when you don’t call a bad thing, by its proper name. 

Definition: The use of a less offensive word, in substitute for an offensive\harsh word. 

 1. Grandpa has kicked the bucket. [Instead of saying she died.]

 2. Janet has been put in the family way. [Instead of saying that Janet is Pregnant.]

• ANTINOMASIA :

Antinomasia is a figure of speech derived from a Greek word, ‘Onoma,’ which means ‘a name.’ 

Definition : Antinomasia, is the replacement of a title, for a name.

In this figure of speech, somebody’s office or fame is given to another person, in the same office or fame. Sometimes, the name of well-known people is attached to other people of the corresponding status name. 

 1. Wole Soyinka is the African Shakespeare. 

 2. Kano, is the Mecca of Nigerian Muslims.

It’s more like the use of Synonyms in the English Language. 

Definition : The practice of exchanging an original word with a word related to it. 

 1. ‘Washington, D.C. ‘ in place of The United States Government.

• SYNECDOCHE :

In Synecdoche, we use a part or unit of something, to refer to the whole. 

Definition : it’s a figure of speech, that uses a part of something to refer to the whole of it.

 1. Weary feet in the walk of life.

 2. I need more hands to complete the work.

• ALLITERATION :

Alliteration is otherwise known as a beginning rhyme.

Definition : The repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of each line in a verse/stanza of a poem.

 1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.

 2. Sing a song of sixpence. 

• ASSONANCE :

Assonance is the opposite of Alliteration.

Definition: The repetition of the same vowel sounds in a line. 

Some examples of Assonance are:

 1. Hole, Goal, Role

 2. Tall loud and laugh aloud. 

• ONOMATOPOEIA :

It is easy to suggest the meaning of an Onomatopeic word, with the way it sounds. The figure of speech could also be referred to as echoic verse. 

Definition : The use of words, whose sounds help to insinuate the meaning. 

 1. Tick, tack says the clock. 

 2. The enemy’s uprising has been crunched.

• ANTHROPOMORPHISM :

Meaning : The act of giving human qualities to a non-living thing. 

If you have been reading through, from the very beginning of this article, can you recall to yourself, a figure of speech similar to this? 

Well… Personification is another figure of speech, that does the same thing Anthropomorphism does.

I will provide an example for this element, should you have forgotten. 

 1.  Rain beats me yesterday. 

• CONSONANCE :

Consonance is synonymous with Alliteration.  They both have ‘consonant sounds repetition,’ in common.

Definition: It is the agreement of consonant sounds, at the middle or the end of a line. 

 1. Don’t let the pets bite you.

Pun has the function of causing laughter in a situation. 

Definition : Pun, otherwise known as wordplay, is a comical play on words. 

For Instance:

 1. Better late than be late.

Definition : Bathos, is the act of changing suddenly, from something impressive to something foolish. 

 1. Better to be a king in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

 2. It’s better to be poor in the United States than to be poor in Nigeria. 

This common sentence:

 1. I came, I saw, and I conquered.

…Is a typical example of climax.

Hence, Climax is the organization of ideas, in an uprising/ascending format. 

It simply means, putting down an idea, from the minor to the major point. Just as you can see in the example above.

• ANTI-CLIMAX :

Yeah, it is the antonym of Climax. Instead of putting ideas in ascending order, we make them in descending order, here. 

 1. I bought a house, a bike, and a pair of shoes. 

Definition : The way of having a contrast, by the reversal of clauses. 

 1. Dangerous cult kills, killing is a dangerous cult. 

 2. Don’t pray to live, live to pray.

To eulogize means to praise.

Wole Soyinka is the world’s best English professor he’s an idol.

• METAPHRASE :

Definition : The act of changing a verse into prose, or prose into a verse. 

• SYLLEPSIS :

In Syllepsis, a word is used in two different senses, in the same sentence. 

 1. Sometimes, he takes tea, sometimes bread. 

In the example above, ‘he takes,’ works in two senses, for the tea and the bread. 

• HENDIADYS :

In Hendiadys, a single idea is illustrated by two words that are connected by a conjunction. 

 1. This article is good medicine and a solution for the identification of figures of speech.

• PARALEIPSIS :

Definition : The act of concentrating on a subject by pretending to disregard it. 

For instance, ‘I will not speak of his death.’

• PROLEPSIS :

In this figure of speech, one considers things that are yet to happen, as if they have passed.

For Instance, when a student studying hard for an examination says;

‘Having studied hard, I have got A’s in all my courses.

Acyron, is just like Irony. It’s the act of using a word, opposite to what you meant.

• CATAPHORA : 

In literature, Cataphora is the practice of using a word, to refer to the word/idea you are yet to use. 

It’s the omission of words that would make the sentence denotative.

• DYSPHEMISM :

Definition : Replacing a simple word, with a stronger one.

Definition : Merism is the combination of words for meaning beyond the usual mixture.

Definition: The side by side use of opposite words to create a sharp contrast, to catch the attention of the reader. 

For instance:

1. What a sweet sorrow?

2. Emeka cried joyfully.

An allusion is a casual reference to a figure or an event.

• PARONOMASIA :

It’s a synonym of pun. Hence, Paronomasia means playing on words. 

• ANAPOTODON :

Definition : Omitting clause for a deliberate effect.

• HYPERBATION :

Definition : Separating words that are supposed to be together.

• ACCUMULATIO :

Definition : Drawing points, into a powerful conclusion. 

Definition : Acutezza is the adoption of wordplay.

• ACOLOUTHA :

Simply put, Acoloutha is a literary term that means a mutual alteration of words.

Meaning : Tricolon is three elements improving power. 

Definition : Putting a word in the middle of another. 

Syndeton, in literature, is the use of conjunction words.

A proverb is a short witty saying that has a pearl of unquestionable wisdom.

•   SENTETIA :

Definition : Quoting wisdom to establish the fact.

• PARRHESIA :

Parrhesia may be defined as the boldness in a person’s speech. 

• CACOPHONY :

Meaning : A harsh combination of words.

Definition : A concise utterance.

• BOMPHIOLOGIA :

Bomphiologia is a boastful speech.

• AUREACTION :

The use of flamboyant words for impression purposes.

• ANTACLASIS :

Antaclasis is a common type of Pun. In Antaclasis, a word is repeated twice, to give a new meaning to the second occurrence.

1. Your argument is sound, nothing but sound.

It’s the use of examples, either imaginary or real.

• ECPHONESIS : It’s a short exclamation.
• HETEROSIS :

Meaning : It means changing the form of a verb.

Meaning : Innuendo is a devious allusion. It is a way to refer to something or someone without necessarily spelling it out; you pass intended messages in a way that listeners do the proper interpretation job. 

Definition : Recounting sounds at the end of words in a line.

• PAROEMION :

The over usage of Alliteration. 

• MERISMOS : 

Merimos is a complete illustration, or whereabouts. Wiktionary defined it as, “A metonymic term to describe a type of synecdoche in which two parts of a thing, perhaps contrasting or complementary parts, are made to stand for the whole.”

• ISOCOLON : 

Isocolon, phrases with multiple similarities.

• HOMOPHONE :

Definition : Different words that sound the same.

Here & Hear

Year & Ear 

Gun & Gone.

• EXERGASIA : 

Rewording a point in different words. 

Compression of two vowels into a longer sound. 

• CORRECTIO : 

Correction to reverse meaning. Just like what the figure appears to be.

• AUTOCLESIS : 

Bringing up an idea by hesitating to discuss it. The concept of autoclesis is not far from that of innuendo. 

Definition : Linking one word to two or more words, but appropriate to just one of the words.

For Example: 

 1. Janet took her purse, and her leave.

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The Top 20 Figures of Speech

Illustration by Hugo Lin. ThoughtCo.

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A figure of speech is a rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in a distinctive way. Though there are hundreds of figures of speech, but here we'll focus on 20 top examples.

You'll probably remember many of these terms from your English classes. Figurative language is often associated with literature and poetry in particular. Whether we're conscious of it or not, we use figures of speech every day in our own writing and conversations.

For example, common expressions such as "falling in love," "racking our brains," and "climbing the ladder of success" are all metaphors—the most pervasive figure of all. Likewise, we rely on similes when making explicit comparisons ("light as a feather") and hyperbole to emphasize a point ("I'm starving!").

Did You Know?

Figures of speech are also known as figures of rhetoric, figures of style, rhetorical figures, figurative language, and  schemes .

Watch Now: Common Figures of Speech Explained

Why use figures of speech.

Using original figures of speech or figurative language in our writing is a way to convey meanings in fresh, unexpected ways. They can help our readers understand and stay interested in what we have to say, and they also foster creativity and depth. Whether it's a vivid metaphor, a clever simile, or a thought-provoking paradox, these tools not only enhance clarity but also add layers of richness to our expression.

Top 20 Figures of Speech

Alliteration.

The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.

Example: Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong day. 

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

Example: As Abraham Lincoln said, "Folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

Directly addressing a nonexistent person or an inanimate object as though it were a living being.

Example: "Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need you to," Bert sighed.

Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

Example: How now, brown cow?

A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.

Example: The famous chef said people should live to eat, not eat to live.

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

Example: "We're teaching our toddler how to go potty," Bob said.

An extravagant statement , the use of exaggerated terms for emphasis or heightened effect.

Example: I have a ton of things to do when I get home.

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.

Example: "Oh, I love spending big bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny pincher.

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

Example: A million dollars is no small chunk of change.

An implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in common.

Example: "All the world's a stage."

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.

Example: "That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman," the manager said angrily.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

Example: The clap of thunder went bang and scared my poor dog.

A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

Example:  "He popped the jumbo shrimp in his mouth."

A statement that appears to contradict itself.

Example: "This is the beginning of the end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.

Personification

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.

Example: That kitchen knife will take a bite out of your hand if you don't handle it safely.

​ A play on words , sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Example: Jessie looked up from her breakfast and said, "A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat."

A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.

Example: Roberto was white as a sheet after he walked out of the horror movie.

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.

Example: Tina is learning her ABCs in preschool.

Understatement

A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.

Example: "You could say Babe Ruth was a decent ballplayer," the reporter said with a wink.

More Figures of Speech Examples

There are hundreds of different figures of speech you can use to bolster your writing, many of them with overlapping or highly similar meanings. Like a paradox, for example, an oxymoron involves an apparent contradiction. However, a paradox presents a statement that seemingly contradicts itself ("If you wish to preserve your secret, wrap it up in frankness"), while an oxymoron squeezes contradictory terms together ("deafening silence"). If you're interested in exploring more distinctions among similar figures of speech, you can find additional examples here .

• 100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons
• Brief Introductions to Common Figures of Speech
• Figure of Speech: Definition and Examples
• AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
• Figure of Thought in Rhetoric
• Paradox in English Grammar
• 20 Figures of Speech That We Never Heard About in School
• Hyperbole: Definition and Examples
• How Figurative Language Is Used Every Day
• What Is a Verbal Paradox?
• Figures of Speech: The Apostrophe as a Literary Device
• Valentine's Day Language: Learning Idioms, Metaphors, and Similes
• Figurative vs. Literal Language
• Scheme (Rhetoric): Definition and Examples
• Simile Definition and Examples
• Transferred Epithet Definition and Examples

Figurative Language

Figurative language definition.

Figurative language uses figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive, and impactful.

Figures of speech such as metaphors , similes, and allusions go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give readers new insights. On the other hand, alliterations, imageries, or onomatopoeias are figurative devices that appeal to the senses of the readers.

Figurative language can appear in multiple forms with the use of different literary and rhetorical devices . According to Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia, the definition of figurative language has five different forms:

• Understatement or Emphasis
• Relationship or Resemblance
• Figures of Sound
• Verbal Games

Types of Figurative Language

The term figurative language covers a wide range of literary devices and techniques, a few of which include:

Personification

• Onomatopoeia

Alliteration

• Understatement

Short Examples of Figurative Language

• His friend is as black as coal.
• He has learned gymnastics, and is as agile as a monkey.
• When attacked in his home, he will fight like a caged tiger.
• Can you dance like a monkey?
• Even when he was told everything, he was acting like a donkey.
• My Friend is a Shakespeare when in English class.
• He was a roaring lion in anger, though now he is silent.
• They seem like jackals when running in fear.
• Kisses are roses in the spring .
• This world is a sea of anonymous faces.
• The house stood half-demolished and abandoned.
• He left with his haunted and spell-bound face.
• He did not like the odorless and colorless shape of water.
• His friend was looking at spooky glissando twangs.
• Zigzag fissures in the land made him look for snakes .
• The light on the site did not let him see the sight.
• He heard the sound of the fire, like wire striking the air.
• This artificial stream is going to flow to the downtown of the town.
• Please set the kite right.
• Might of the fright seems greater than the actual fear.
• He lets the pink ball fall with a tall man.
• They have not learned how to catch the cat.
• Get a seat with a treat in our local hall.
• Calling the cow an ox is like putting the cart before the horse.
• He saw the pink kite floating past the tall trees .
• He is dying with his untrustworthy belief.
• Sharply blunt razor cannot do anything to you.
• Kindly cruel treatment made him flabbergasted.
• Please, watch with closed eyes and you will see the heaven.
• Creatively dull person cannot do anything in his life.
• The Pentagon is located in Washington in the United States.
• The Hollywood is a home of English movies.
• 10 Downing Street is located in London .
• Buckingham Palace is world’s oldest symbol of democracy.
• The White House.
• He does not know how to behave with the special people.
• He is looking at his own grey hair and his agility.
• They saw a fleet of fifty.
• At this time, he owns nine head of cattle.
• The new generation is addicted to the use of plastic money.

Examples of Figurative Language from Literature

Example #1: the base stealer (by robert francis).

Poised between going on and back, pulled Both ways taut like a tight-rope walker, Now bouncing tiptoe like a dropped ball, Or a kid skipping rope, come on, come on! … Taunts them, hovers like an ecstatic bird, He’s only flirting, crowd him, crowd him,

The similes and word choice of this poem makes it a masterpiece. The poet use similes between the lines to depict his scattered thoughts before taking action, and makes comparison as, “ like a tight-rope ,” “ like a dropped ball ,” and “ hovers like an ecstatic bird .”

Example #2: I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings (By Maya Angelou)

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied The caged bird sings with a fearful trill … And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom.

The entire poem is rich with metaphor as a bird in a cage represents a group of people who are oppressed and cannot get freedom. The cage represents physical barriers, fear, addiction, or society; while the song of the bird represents true self yearning for something greater in life.

Example #3: She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms (By Emily Dickinson)

She sweeps with many-colored Brooms And leaves the Shreds behind Oh Housewife in the Evening West Come back, and dust the Pond!

Dickinson uses personification of a housewife to describe the sunset in the very first line of this poem. She is using a sweeping housewife who does her daily work, likewise the rays of the setting sun sweep away beneath the horizon.

Example #4: The Raven (By Edgar Allen Poe)

O nce upon a midnight dreary w hile I pondered w eak and w eary ; r are and r adiant maiden; And the s ilken s ad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain … D eep into that d arkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, D oubting, d reaming d reams no mortal ever d ared to d ream before.

Poe uses alliteration by repeating the /w/ sound to emphasize the weariness of the narrator , and then /r/ and /s/ sounds in the second and third lines respectively. In the last two lines, the /d/ sound highlights the narrator’s hopelessness.

Example #5: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (By Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks Had I from old and young ! Instead of the cross , the Albatross About my neck was hung.

In these lines, the albatross symbolizes a big mistake, or a burden of sin, just like the cross on which Christ was crucified. Therefore, all people on the ship agreed to slay that bird.

Example #6: The Bluest Eyes (By Toni Morrison)

Personification, consonance, and simile.

She ran down the street, the green knee socks making her legs look like wild dandelion of stems that had somehow lost their heads. The weight of her remark stunned us.

This excerpt uses different devices that make language figurative. There is a good use of simile , “legs look like wild dandelion;” and personification, “lost their heads;” and use of consonance in “stunned us,” where the /s/ is a consonant sound.

Example #7: The Week of Diana (By Maya Angelou)

Metaphor, consonance, personification.

“The dark lantern of world sadness has cast its shadow upon the land. We stumble into our misery on leaden feet.”

in just these two lines, Maya Angelou has used a metaphor of the dark lantern, consonance of the /s/ sounds, and personification of misery.

Example #8: The Negro Speaks of River (By Langston Hughes)

Consonance, simile.

“I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

This prince of the Harlem Renaissance has beautifully used a different type of consonance with the /l/ sound and a simile of “my soul.”

Example #9: Musée des Beaux Arts (By W. H. Auden)

Personification, consonance.

That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy W. H. Auden life and the torturer’s horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.

W. H. Auden has used a personification of the “dreadful martyrdom,” and consonances of “some untidy spot,” with the /s/ sound, and “dogs go on with their doggy life,” with the /d/ and /g/ sounds.

Function of Figurative Language

The primary function of figurative language is to force readers to imagine what a writer wants to express. Figurative language is not meant to convey literal meanings, and often it compares one concept with another in order to make the first concept easier to understand. However, it links the two ideas or concepts with the goal of influencing the audience to understand the link, even if it does not exist.

Poets and prose writers use this technique to bring out emotions and help their readers form images in their minds. Thus, figurative language is a useful way of conveying an idea that readers cannot understand otherwise, due to its complex and abstract nature. In addition, it helps in analyzing a literary text.

Related posts:

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Figures Of Speech Examples In Literature | 10 Examples from Famous Literary Work

Figures of speech add color, depth and emotion to literature. Writers around the world employ these linguistic devices to create vivid and impactful imagery, convey complex ideas and evoke strong feelings in their readers. Metaphors and similes, for example, enable writers to draw comparisons between two things, often enhancing the reader’s understanding or emotional connection to the subject matter. A metaphor describes one thing as if it were another, whereas a simile uses “like” or “as” to make a comparison. Consider William Shakespeare’s famous metaphor from “As You Like It”: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Here, the world is likened to a theatrical stage, emphasizing the performative nature of human existence.

Personification, another figure of speech, involves attributing human qualities or characteristics to non-human entities. By doing so, the writers breathe life into their descriptions, which invites readers to relate to inanimate objects or abstract concepts on a more personal level. For example, in Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” Death is personified as a courteous gentleman who kindly takes the speaker on a carriage ride.

Famous Writers Who Used Figures of Speech in Their Works

Here are some famous writers known for their adept use of figures of speech in literature:

• William Shakespeare
• Jane Austen
• Charles Dickens
• Maya Angelou
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Langston Hughes
• Emily Dickinson
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Virginia Woolf

Figures Of Speech Examples In Literature

“romeo and juliet” by shakespeare.

Romeo uses a metaphor to describe Juliet:

“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”

Here Romeo metaphorically compares Juliet to the sun saying that her beauty shines as brightly as the rising sun coming over the eastern horizon. He uses this metaphor to express Juliet’s radiance and her power to banish the “darkness” of his life in the same way the sun dispels the night with its light. The metaphor poetically conveys deep passion and admiration through this implicit comparison of the woman Romeo loves to the most brilliant object in the sky.

Through this vivid figure of speech that equates Juliet with the majestic sun, Shakespeare employs imagination and artistry to draw up a far more evocative and resonant image than using plain literal language to describe a beautiful woman. This demonstrates the power of figurative techniques to elevate both meaning and emotive impact for readers.

“Hope” by Emily Dickinson

She uses a metaphor to describe hope:

“And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.”

Here Dickinson metaphorically portrays hope as a small bird that sings sweetest in difficult gusts of wind and weather. She suggests that hope enables us to survive even the most battering storms and trials of life. Through using this extended bird metaphor, she captures the fragile yet resilient nature of hope and its power to uplift the human spirit amid adversity.

“Macbeth” by Shakespeare

Macbeth uses a simile to indicate his burning ambition:

“I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself And falls on the other.”

He compares his unrelenting political aspiration to a horse that leaps so aggressively that it overjumps and crashes down, injuring itself due to excess momentum. The simile conveys reckless passion and unchecked yearning through the vivid imagery of a rider-less horse trying to launch itself beyond its limits out of pure impulse.

So both these examples use creative figurative techniques to imaginatively communicate deeper emotional and philosophical meanings. The artful metaphors and similes make the expressions far more compelling than matter-of-fact statements could achieve.

“Beloved” by Toni Morrison

“She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.”

The given text contains an example of a metaphor. The speaker describes someone as “a friend of my mind,” portraying a deep, intimate connection that goes beyond mere acquaintance. The metaphorical language conveys the profound impact this person has on the speaker by gathering and organizing their fragmented thoughts and emotions. The metaphor helps to illustrate the extent of the relationship, which emphasizes the role of this person in providing support, understanding, and emotional harmony to the speaker.

“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.”

Dickens uses hyperbole to describe the idea that every person is a puzzle to those around them as “a profound secret” and “mystery” to convey that we can never truly know anyone completely. The exaggeration highlights each person’s essential inner unknowability.

These excerpts showcase how different rhetorical techniques can craft resonant metaphors, emphasize poignant themes, and creatively communicate perspectives on the human experience through figurative language.

“The Color Purple” by Alice Walker

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.”

Walker uses personification to ascribe the very human characteristic of getting angry to God. The speaker suggests that not paying attention to the color purple in a field could upset God, imbuing the color with human-like emotions and reactions. This personification gives the color a sense of importance and reverence, emphasizing the idea that the beauty of nature should be appreciated and not overlooked. By attributing feelings to a non-human element, the speaker adds depth and significance to the act of noticing and acknowledging the beauty in the world around us.

“The Odyssey” by Homer

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.”

Here Homer addresses the Muse, the goddess of inspiration, as he begins recounting Odysseus’ long journey back home after the Trojan War. Personifying the creative spirit as a divine being was characteristic in ancient epic poetry traditions, but also serves to emphasize the demanding creative endeavor the narrator is embarking upon.

So personification and ascribing very human traits to non-human subjects creatively brings to life abstract concepts in order to highlight deeper truths about the world and human experience. The figures of speech make the expressions more imaginative, compelling, and meaningful.

“Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place…”

The provided text is an example of hyperbole. The speaker exaggerates by stating that the ranch workers are “the loneliest guys in the world,” emphasizing the profound sense of isolation and disconnection experienced by these men. The hyperbole serves to underscore the extent of their alienation and emphasize the emotional impact of their isolation, shedding light on the deep loneliness and lack of belonging they feel.

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou

“You may write me down in history, With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt, But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”

Angelou utilizes an extended metaphor of “dust” rising up after being trodden down to symbolize resilience in the face of oppression. By linking her ability to transcend racism and marginalization to the inevitability of dust particles regaining airborne form even when crushed into the dirt, her spirit and dignity become as certain to elevation as a law of physics through this figurative comparison.

In both cases, skilled manipulation of rhetorical techniques layers richer dimensions of meaning and emotion into the text to creatively convey the authors’ messages and perspectives with more depth, artistry and persuasive impact on readers.

“Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf

“the shell had burst, and the pearl had rolled out of it.”

Here, the figure of speech metaphor has been employed. The phrase “the shell had burst, and the pearl had rolled out of it” uses metaphorical language to compare the emergence of something precious and valuable to the act of a pearl rolling out of its shell. The metaphor emphasizes the significance and beauty of this emergence, suggesting that it is akin to the unveiling of a hidden treasure. This comparison adds richness to the description, creating a vivid image of something valuable coming to light.

• Types of Figurative Language
• Importance of Figures of Speech

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Top 20 Figures of Speech with Definitions and Examples

As an English learner, you probably would have heard of metaphor, personification, or simile. These are the most common types of figures of speech in English. Figures of speech play a significant role in English speaking and writing . You don’t necessarily use all types of figures of speech on a daily basis, but they act as a powerful tool in writing. In this article, we’ll go over the top 20 figures of speech that you need to know to improve your overall English language skills.

What is a Figure of Speech?

A figure of speech is a way of using language that goes beyond its literal meaning to convey a more vivid or imaginative expression. It involves the use of words or phrases in a non-literal sense to create a specific effect or emphasize a point. Figures of speech add color, creativity, and depth to language, making communication more interesting and engaging.

Importance of Figures of Speech

Figures of speech make language more interesting and expressive. They help convey emotions, create mental images, and emphasize ideas. By using metaphors, similes, and other figures of speech, speakers and writers can make their communication more vivid and memorable. These tools also add creativity to literature, contribute to cultural expressions, and play a role in humor. Overall, figures of speech enhance communication by making it more engaging, impactful, and versatile.

List of 20 Figures of Speech with Definitions and Examples

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things using the words “like” or “as” to highlight a shared characteristic. It helps create vivid and imaginative descriptions.

Example: As brave as a lion.

Explanation: Emphasizes the person’s courage by likening it to the well-known bravery of a lion.

2. Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that implies a comparison between two unrelated things, suggesting that they share common characteristics without using “like” or “as.” It is a way of describing one thing as if it were another to create a deeper understanding or evoke a specific image.

Example: Time is a thief.

Explanation: Time is compared to a thief to convey the idea that it steals moments or experiences.

3. Personification

Personification is a figure of speech in which human attributes or qualities are given to non-human entities or objects. It involves treating something non-human as if it has human-like characteristics.

Example: The wind whispered through the trees.

Explanation: Personifies the wind by attributing the human quality of whispering to it.

4. Hyperbole

A hyperbole is a figure of speech that involves exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. It is used to emphasize a point, create emphasis, or add dramatic effect.

Example: I’ve told you a million times to clean your room

Explanation: The exaggeration of a million times emphasizes the speaker’s frustration or annoyance. The person didn’t actually say it a million times.

5. Alliteration

Alliteration is a series of words in a sentence or phrase that share the same initial consonant sound. It is often used to create rhythm, emphasize a particular sound, or make language more memorable.

Example: Sally sells seashells by the seashore

Explanation: The repetition of the “s” sound adds a musical quality to the sentence.

6. Assonance

Assonance is where the repetition of vowel sounds occurs within nearby words in a sentence or phrase. It is used for musicality, emphasis, or to create a specific mood.

Example: Hear the mellow wedding bells

Explanation: The repetition of the long “e” sound enhances the melodic quality of the expression.

Irony is a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between appearances and reality. It often involves a twist or contradiction that may be humorous, thought-provoking, or even tragic. An example of irony is situational irony, where a fire station burns down; this situation is ironic because a place dedicated to preventing fires becomes the victim of one.

8. Oxymoron

An oxymoron combines contradictory or opposing words to create a paradoxical effect. It is used to convey complexity, irony, or a unique perspective.

Example: jumbo shrimp

Explanation: The juxtaposition of “jumbo” and “shrimp” creates a contrasting and somewhat humorous image.

9. Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech where words imitate the natural sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. These words are often used to evoke a sensory experience and bring a vivid quality to language.

Example: buzz

Explanation: The word itself imitates the sound of a buzzing bee.

10. Euphemism

A euphemism is a mild or indirect expression used to replace a harsh or blunt phrase that might be considered impolite, offensive, or too direct. It is often employed to soften the impact of sensitive or uncomfortable topics.

Example: Using “passed away” instead of “died” to refer to someone’s death

Explanation: “Passed away” is considered more gentle and considerate than “died.”

As a figure of speech, a cliché refers to an expression, idea, or phrase that has been so overused that it has lost its originality and impact. It involves using a predictable or stereotyped phrase that may lack creativity.

Example: Saying “quiet as a mouse” to describe silence is a cliché

Explanation: The phrase is often used and has become a common expression.

12. Allusion

An allusion involves referencing a well-known person, place, event, or work of art within a conversation, text, or speech. It allows the speaker or writer to convey complex ideas or emotions by drawing on the associations and meanings attached to the referenced element.

Example: Saying someone has “the Midas touch.”

Explanation: It is an allusion to the mythical King Midas, known for turning everything he touched into gold, suggesting a person’s ability to turn things successful or prosperous.

13. Anaphora

Anaphora is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. It is used for emphasis, rhythm, and to create a powerful impact.

Example: Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech

Explanation: He repeatedly begins sentences with “I have a dream” to highlight and reinforce his vision for a better future.

14. Chiasmus

Chiasmus is a figure of speech where the order of words or phrases in one clause is reversed in the following clause. This creates a balanced and often symmetrical structure, adding emphasis and style to the expression.

Example: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Explanation: The order of the terms is reversed in the second part, creating a memorable and impactful rhetorical structure.

15. Litotes

Litotes is a figure of speech that uses double negatives or understatement to emphasize an idea by negating its opposite.

Example: Not bad

Explanation: Conveys that something is good but in a subtle or understated manner.

16. Paradox

A paradox is a statement or situation that appears self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality, it illustrates a deeper truth or logic, often highlighting the complexities and nuances of a concept.

Example: Less is more

Explanation: The apparent contradiction suggests that simplicity or having less can sometimes be more effective or valuable.

17. Epistrophe

Epistrophe is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive clauses or sentences. It is used to create emphasis, rhythmic effect, and a memorable expression.

Example: Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”

Explanation: “…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people…” The repetition of “people” occurs at the end of each phrase for emphasis.

18. Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole, or vice versa. It involves substituting a specific attribute or component for the entire entity.

Example: All hands on deck

Explanation: This means that everyone (the hands) is needed to help, representing the entire person.

19. Antithesis

Antithesis is a figure of speech that involves the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas or words within parallel grammatical structures. It is used to emphasize the stark contrast between two opposing elements.

Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities

Explanation: The contrasting ideas of “best” and “worst” highlight the dual nature of the time period described.

20. Apostrophe

Apostrophe, as a figure of speech, is when a speaker addresses an absent or imaginary person, a non-living object, or an abstract concept as if it were present and capable of responding. It often involves a strong emotional expression.

Example: Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” when Mark Antony says, “O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,”

Explanation: Addresses the lifeless body of Caesar as if it could hear and respond.

FAQs About Figures of Speech

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about figures of speech in English.

What are the 12 main figures of speech?

The 12 main figures of speech include simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, euphemism, oxymoron, allusion, chiasmus, and litotes.

What are the 10 types of figure of speech and their meaning?

The 10 types of figures of speech and their meanings are:

• Simile: Comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as.”
• Metaphor: Implies a resemblance between unrelated things without using “like” or “as.”
• Personification: Giving human characteristics to non-human entities.
• Hyperbole: Exaggerating statements for emphasis or effect.
• Onomatopoeia: Words imitating natural sounds.
• Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words.
• Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words.
• Euphemism: Substituting a milder or indirect expression for a harsh or blunt one.
• Oxymoron: Combining contradictory terms to create a paradoxical effect.
• Allusion: Referencing a well-known person, place, event, or work of art.

What are 5 examples of personification?

Here are 5 examples of personification:

• The sun smiled down on the beach.
• The wind whispered through the trees.
• Time flies when you’re having fun.
• The flowers danced in the breeze.
• The alarm clock screamed at me to wake up.

How many figures of speech are there in total?

According to Professor Rober Diyanni, “rhetoricians have catalogues more than 250 different figures of speech.” However, there are mainly 10-20 figures of speech there are commonly used.

Is my shoes are killing me a hyperbole?

“My shoes are killing me” is hyperbole because it is an exaggerated statement meant to convey extreme discomfort, not to be taken literally.

What are some examples of hyperbole?

Here are 5 examples of hyperbole:

• I have a million things to do.
• It’s raining cats and dogs.
• This suitcase weighs a ton.
• I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
• The queue at the amusement park is a mile long.

Is idiom a figure of speech?

Yes, an idiom is a type of figure of speech. Idioms are expressions whose meanings cannot be inferred from the literal interpretation of their individual words.

More English Resources

If you want to learn more about the English language, check out the following topics.

• Choose your Own Adventure ESL Writing Activity
• Sequence Words: Meaning and Examples in English
• American English Idioms and Phrases to Learn
• 100 Common English Questions and How to Answer Them
• Parts of Speech Activities ESL | Adverbs, Articles, Nouns, Verbs

Figures of Speech: Join the Conversation

Which figure of speech interests you the most? Choose one and try creating an example yourself. When you’re done, share yours in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.

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• Figure of Speech

A figure of speech is a deviation from the ordinary use of words in order to increase their effectiveness. It is also known as a rhetorical figure too because it produces a rhetorical effect. It deviates a statement from its real meaning or common usage to create a new required effect. It usually emphasises, embellishes, or clarifies language in both written and oral form. We can see its usage in literature too. We can even see it in advertisements, posters, slogans, newspapers, magazines, cartoons, etc. 

Figure of speech can easily catch eyes and highlight the purpose of use. It is designed to make a comparison and create a dramatic factor while writing or speaking. 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. It is usually classified as different schemes. The ordinary sequence or pattern of words is known as a scheme. We usually perform basic four operations as below to create the required effect:

The addition is also known as repetition, expansion, or superabundance.

An omission is also known as subtraction, abridgement or lack.

Transposition is also known as transferring.

Permutation is also known as switching, interchange, substitution, or transmutation.

We can see many varieties in figures of speech because its prime aim is to use language to create the desired effect. For example, the usage of expressions like the mouth of a river, round and round, the eye of a needle, nasty place, a stream of abuse, money talks, butterflies in the stomach, painful pride, etc. We can see it in literature, poems, movies, speeches, etc. Therefore, in this article, the importance of figure of speech along with its various types with examples will be discussed.

Importance of Figure of Speech

It enhances the beauty of the writing. It makes the sentence deeper and leaves the reader with a sense of wonder. It brings life to the words used by the writer. The figure of Speech not only shows the writer's intent but also his purpose in using such language. 

It adds flavour to the writing and makes it so much more enjoyable for the reader.

There are five major categories of figures of speech as below:

Figures of resemblance : It is also known as the figure of relationship. It is made up of simile, metaphor, or kenning.

Figures of emphasis : It is also known as a figure of an understatement. It is made up of hyperbole. 

Figures of sound : It uses alliteration.

Verbal games : It is also known as gymnastics. It includes puns.

Errors : It is created of malapropism and usually generated because of blunder.

Types of Figure Of Speech

Simile - In a simile, two things which are completely unlocked are compared with each other. A simile is introduced by words such as like, so, as etc.

Examples - 

The flower is as pretty as a picture.

He is as sober as a judge.

The floor was as slippery as an eel.

They looked like peas in a pod.

He eats like a pig.

Metaphor - When you compare two unlike or different things or ideas, it is known as a metaphor. It is an informal or implied simile in which the words ‘like’ ‘as’ are avoided. For example, He is like a Giant - Simile and He is a Giant - Metaphor. 

You are the apple of my eye.

Ocean’s sound is music to my ear.

Heart of gold.

He is a night owl.

Time is money.

Personification - In Personification, non-living things,  abstract ideas or qualities are mentioned as humans or living things.

Angry clouds surrounded the island.

Earth was thirsty for water.

The flowers talked to them in the garden.

The wind howled that night.

The snowflakes danced at night.

Apostrophe - In this figure of speech, the writer mentions the absent or inanimate objects as alive and writes about them.

“O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are”

“Walter, remember when the world was young and all the girls knew Walter's name? Walter, isn't it a shame the way our little world has changed.”

Oxymoron - An Oxymoron is when two words are used together in a sentence but they seem to be in contrast with each other. An oxymoron is a figure of speech that willingly uses two differing ideas. This contradiction creates a paradoxical image in the reader or listener's mind that creates a new concept or meaning for the whole.

Life is bittersweet.

They knew they could feel the joyful sadness on his arrival.

Sweet sorrow.

Peace force.

Free market.

Hyperbole - Hyperbole is when you use words to exaggerate what you mean or emphasize a point. It is used to make something seem bigger or more important than it actually is.

Example - 

It has been ages since I have had a proper meal.

Usain Bolt runs faster than the wind.

I could do this forever.

She’s older than this world.

Everybody knows me.

Pun - A pun is generally used in plays where one word has two different meanings. It is used to create humour. Humorous use of words of different meanings or the words of the same sound but different meanings is known as Pun.

A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two-tired.

Where do you find giant snails? On the ends of the giants' fingers.

Alliteration - It is a series of words, which commence with the same letter. Alliteration consists of the repetition of a sound or of a letter at the beginning of two or more words.

For Example -

Dirty dolphins dove across the ocean.

Purple pandas painted portraits. 

She sells seashells.

Nick needed new notebooks.

Fred fried frogs’ legs on Friday.

Onomatopoeia - It is the figure of speech where the word is used to describe a sound. When we explain any action by putting the sounds into language, it is known as onomatopoeia. It is generally used in fiction or in nursery rhymes, for eg- Old Macdonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O. Words like whoosh, splat, buzz, oink, click, etc., are used to create this effect. 

I could hear the leaves rustling and the wind howling. 

Bam! He hit the truck at the speed of 80 kmph.

 Anaphora - When many phrases or verses start with the same word, it is known as anaphora.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

We shall not stop. We shall go on and on. We shall move forward.

Assonance - When we use repetition of vowel sounds, it is known as assonance. 

Euphemism - It is known as a euphemism when we replace blunt, offensive, or harsh terms with soft, mild, vague, or indirect terms.

Using letting you go instead of firing

Using a little thin on top instead of getting bald

Using  passed away instead of killed or died

Using stick to the truth instead of calling someone a liar

Irony - If you use terms that contrast with what you say and what you do, it is known as irony. It’s like a difference between what is said and what is meant.

A traffic cop got a ticket for parking in a no-parking zone.

The Titanic was said to be unsinkable but got sunk on its first trip.

When the viewer knows who the killer is in the movie, but the actor doesn’t know that.

Synecdoche - If a part is represented by a whole or a whole is represented by a part, it is known as synecdoche.

Colgate – any toothpaste

Wheels – a car

Employed people – workers

The traffic – many vehicles 

Understatement - When you try to say or show something of no importance or less importance.

Referring a big wound to just a scratch

Saying it little dry instead of desert

Referring big destruction to just an accident

FAQs on Figure of Speech

1. Does the figure of speech make writing interesting?

Yes. Figure of speech adds expression, emphasises the writing and adds clarity to it. Well-researched and detailed content on the figures of speech can be found on the website of Vedantu. It can be downloaded for free in PDF format from both the website and the mobile application of Vedantu.

2. Name five most used figures of speech.

Some of the most common figure of speech are:

Personification

You can access good articles on this topic from the website of Vedantu and its mobile application.

Literary Devices & Figures of Speech 101 (+ PDF)

FIGURES OF SPEECH AND OTHER LITERARY TERMS

This post contains hundreds of literary devices, figures of speech and other literary terms.

Are literary devices the same as figures of speech? The simple answer is yes and no. These two terms are similar and different at the same time. Here is a post that explains in detail the differences and similarities between a figure of speech and a literary device.

Figures of Speech or Literary devices refer to the use of language in ways that are unusual or unique.

These expressions are different from the way we ordinarily use language.

A: Ordinary Usage:

I fell asleep at 10:00 pm.

B: Special/Unusual:

Sleep visited me at 10:00 pm.

‘B’ therefore contains a figure of speech. Can you name it? It is called Personification.

Speakers and writers use figures of speech or literary devices to make the ideas they want to put across more striking and effective.

Definitions and Examples of Literary Devices

Now you can go through a collection of some of the most popular literary devices and figures of speech that you will encounter in most Literature tests for high school students.

For each literary device or figure of speech, you will find a brief definition followed by a few examples.

The list also contains examples and illustrations of less-known literary devices and figures of speech in English Literature. By the time you finish reading this post, you will be able to download your free PDF copy for offline use at any time.

Finally, remember that this collection is a mixture of both literary devices and figures of speech. There is more to learn about these two terms in this tutorial.

1. Metaphor

DEFINITION:  A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a direct comparison is made between two unlike things without the use of ‘like’ or ‘as’

EXAMPLES 1: Stony eyes. 2. The memory of my blood

3. The necklaces of laughter 4. Beyond the snow of yesterday

5. Days sparkling with ever-new joys

  S etting is the place, time or atmosphere within which a story or play occurs.

Example: One major setting of Second Class Citizen, a novel by Buchi Emecheta is Lagos in Nigeria.

P lot refers to the sequence of causes and effects of events in a novel or play.

Top 5 Parts of Narrative Structure

IRONY (VERBAL IRONY) : An irony occurs when there is a difference between what is said and what is meant. Example: 1. My enemies shall continue to prosper.

Definition: A ballad is a poem that tells a story of adventure, of romance, or a hero. It is suitable for singing and usually has stanzas of four lines with a rhyme on the second and fourth lines.

The owl and the cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat

They took some honey and plenty of money

Wrapped in a five-pound note

The owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar

“O lovely cat! O cat my love

What a beautiful Cat you are

You are You are

What a beautiful Cat you are!”

A satire is a literary work which reveals, ridicules and criticizes bad things in society to reform it for the better.

i. A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe

ii. The Beautiful Ones are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah

iii. Animal Farm by George Orwell

iv. Money Galore by Amu Djoleto

v. Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe

RHYTHM:  Rhythm is the musical movement of the lines of poetry found in its metre, stress pattern, punctuation and rhyme.

SONNET: Sonnet poem of fourteen lines usually with a predetermined rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, and gg. The first eight lines of a Sonnet are called Octave  and the last six lines, Sestet . Where the last two lines rhyme, they are called a Couplet.

9. Didactic Literature

DIDACTIC LITERATURE:  Didactic Literature refers to any work of art that teaches a moral lesson.

10. Alliteration

ALLITERATION:  Alliteration is the repetition of similar initial consonants in a work of art.

i. The cane cracked on the caked khaki.

ii. Stand silent

iii. Bitter bile

iv. Drawn drips

11. Epilogue

EPILOGUE:  Epilogue is the final statement (coming at the end) in a work of art.

12. Prologue

PROLOGUE:  A prologue is an introductory statement (coming at the beginning) in a work of art. In drama, the prologue is usually played by a CHORUS.

13. Romance

ROMANCE: A romance is a work of art filled with intense feelings of excitement, intrigue and suspense.

Example: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

14. Comic Relief

COMIC RELIEF:  Comic relief refers to a point of humour in a tragedy.

15. Conflict

CONFLICT:  Conflict in Literature refers to the struggle between opposing forces in a work of art. Conflict is an important ingredient in any piece of good literature.

16. Poetic Justice

POETIC JUSTICE:  In Literature, poetic justice occurs when bad or evil is punished and good triumphs (is rewarded).

17. Oxymoron

OXYMORON:  Oxymoron refers to the use of two usually opposite terms, close to each other in a brief expression.

i. Most foul, most fair

ii. Pure impiety

iii. Impious purity

iv. Friendly enemy

v. Bittersweet

vi. Harmless lion

vii. Pregnant virgin

33 Examples of Oxymoron in Literature

18. Kinesthetic Imagery

KINESTHETIC IMAGERY:  Imagery depicting movement or action.

Example: i. The water crawled feebly into the next hole

ii. She grabbed it with the speed of lightning.

19. Auditory Imagery

AUDITORY IMAGERY:  Imagery associated with hearing.

Example: i. They booed us every time we performed

ii. There was a loud silence in the room.

20. Visual Imagery

VISUAL IMAGERY:  Imagery appealing to the reader’s or listener’s sense of sight.

21. Tactile Imagery

TACTILE IMAGERY:  Tactile imagery is the type of imagery that appeals to our sense of touch .

i. This kind of news can only pierce a man’s heart like a spear.

ii. A loaf of bread can turn into hardwood if not preserved properly.

22. Olfactory Imagery

OLFACTORY IMAGERY:  Imagery evoking the reader’s sense of smell.

i. Her beauty filled the room like the fragrance of French lavender.

ii. An offensive stench punched him in the face when he opened the second door.

Top 6 Types of Imagery in Literature

EPIC:  An epic is a long narrative poem recounting the great deeds of heroic or supernatural figures from history.

24. Tragic Flaw

TRAGIC FLAW (HARMATIA):  The weakness or failing in an otherwise great character which causes their downfall.

25. Reversal

REVERSAL:  A reversal in Literature refers to a change in the fortunes of a tragic hero from happiness to sadness.

26. Hyperbole

HYPERBOLE:  A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or an overstatement.

1. At his birth, the earth stood still.

2. Everyone in the country watched the national team play Brazil in the finals.

27. Litotes

LITOTES:  Litotes is a literary device in which a point is made in the affirmative by using two negative terms. Another term for Litotes is an understatement

i. It is not uncommon  for people to consider facts strange.

ii. I am a member of no unimportant  family

28. Euphemism

EUPHEMISM:  Euphemism refers to the use of a polite, milder or less direct word or expression to refer to something unpleasant, painful or taboo.

i. Senior citizen FOR Very Old Person

ii. Pass away FOR: Die

29. Synecdoche

SYNECDOCHE:  Speaking of a whole by using just a part of it to represent it. (Part to represent a whole). Synecdoche is mostly used with parts of the human body.

Example: i. All hands  on deck (Everybody must work).

ii. She has many mouths  to feed (many people)

30. Metonymy

METONYMY:  Speaking of something by using the name of something closely associated  with it. (Usually objects)

i. The crown  = The king/queen or monarch

ii. The bottle  = Alcoholic beverages

ii. The rod  = Punishment or discipline

iv. The law = Police or Justice system

FARCE:  A farce in Literature is an extremely funny, hilarious play with elements of absurdity or abnormality

32. Burlesque

BURLESQUE  is another term used to describe such farcical plays especially when they are intended to satirize or ridicule other more serious literary works.

33. Revellers

REVELLERS:  Revellers in Literature refers to a group of unruly, usually drunk characters engaged in acts of immorality and extreme joy.

34. Alternate Rhyme

ALTERNATE RHYME is a rhyming pattern (scheme) with the first line rhyming with the third, the second with the fourth etc. i.e. abab, cdcd and so on.

Those who live through pain

      And have their blood shed

     Shall have so much gain

     When their victories are read.

35. Secondary Text

SECONDARY TEXT:  The part of a play usually written in italics or parentheses and directing the actions of characters or describing the setting.

36. Fiction

FICTION is an imaginary long narrative story. It is also called PROSE or NOVEL.

i. Faceless

ii. The Lord of the Rings

iii. The Great Gatsby

iv. Second Class Citizen

v. Invisible Man

vi. Native Son

37. Autobiography

AUTOBIOGRAPHY:  A life story written by the person himself and usually in the first-person narrative voice.

38. Biography

BIOGRAPHY:  The life story of a person written by another person.

39. Tragic Hero

TRAGIC HERO:  The main character in a tragedy. He is usually a person of a high social status who uses lofty, poetic language but has a human failing (tragic flaw).

40. Syllable

SYLLABLE: A syllable is a linguistic unit on which stress is placed (or not placed) in poetry and other forms of expression.

Example: today (2 syllables) “to” is unstressed and “day” is stressed.

• FOOT:  A metrical unit in poetry. It may consist of one stressed and one unstressed syllable, two stressed and one unstressed syllable etc

Example: I vow\ to thee\ my country = 3 feet

• PARODY: An exaggerated imitation, which ridicules another work in a harsh manner.
• PERSONA:  The speaking voice in a poem. Usually, the persona is considered as distinct from the poet\writer.
• ROUND CHARACTER:  A character who changes and develops as the story progresses. He or she is also called a multi-dimensional  character.
• FLAT CHARACTER:  A character who does not change or develop much in a story. – a mono-dimensional  character. Such a character may also be referred to a stereotype.  
• SIMILE:  It is comparison between two things or persons that are similar in one point and otherwise dissimilar. It is usually introduced by such words as ‘like’, ‘as’, ‘so’, e.g.
• “A room without books is like a body without a soul”
• “Great men stand like a solitary tower
• “Baaba ran as fast as a horse in the race.
• MIXED METAPHOR/CONFUSED METAPHOR: Two or more different metaphors used in the same sentence with reference to the same subject. e.g. He was fishing for his heart and a long search reached his goal.
• ANTITHESIS:  This results when opposites or contrasts are employed in the same sentence usually to emphasize a point.
• Man proposes, God disposes
• Speech is silver but silence is Gold
• They speak like saints and act like devils.
• PARADOX:  It is a statement, which seems absurd at first sight and yet proves to be true on second thought. Example
• The child is the father of the man
• Cowards die many times before their death
• The greeter the fool, the better the dancer.
• ANTI-CLIMAX OR BATHOS:  It is the opposite of climax consisting in a descent from a higher level to lesser heights, the intensity or importance weakening instead of increasing toward the end e.g. He lost his wife, his child, his household, goods and his dog at one swoop of fate”
• TRANSFERRED EPITHET:  An epithet sometimes transferred from its proper words, to another that is closely associated with it. In the sentence the qualifying adjective is transferred from a person to things e.g.
• The ploughman homeward ploughs his weary way
• He lay all night on a sleepless pillow
• PUN OR PARONOMASIA: The use of words of the same sound with different meaning for the sake of humour.

Sample WASSCE English Summary Answers

Nov/Dec WASSCE Registration Fees and Facts

Dreamers often lie

Yes, they lie in bed as they dream

ECHOISM/ONOMATOPOEIA:  It is the use of words whose sounds naturally suggest their meaning. e.g.

I bring fresh showers  for the thirsty flowers

The arrow whizzed  through the air

ALLITERATION/CONSONANCE:  It is the repetition of the same initial consonant in several words near one another e.g.

Full fathom five their father lies

After life, fitful fever he sleeps well

Peter piper picked a peck of pickle pepper

INVERSION:  It is a change in the natural or usual order of words for the sake of effect or emphasis. Compare the two statements below:

“I will go to Akatsi tomorrow”

To Akatsi tomorrow will I go (inversion)

• SETTING: It refers to the place (location) where an actions and events in the story come. It is the sequence of events in a play or Novel.
• IAMBUS (LIMBIC METRE):  One unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one in poetry.

Example: – / – / – / –

• I vow to thee my country
• To you we owe the sea
• THEME:  The underlying message in a work of art.  Love, hate, materialism, corruption, politics, etc

Example: Chume: Forgive us all

Congregation: Amen

Chume: Forgive us all

(And the, punctuated regularly with Amens)

Yes Father, make you forgive us all. Make you save us from palaver.

Save us from trouble at home. Tell our wives not to give us trouble …..

(The penitent has become placid. She is stretched out flat on the ground)

… Give us money to satisfy our daily necessities. Make you no forget those of

us who dey struggle daily.  Those who be clerk today, make them chief clerk  tomorrow. Those who are messengers today, make them senior service tomorrow …….

(The Amens grew more and more ecstatic)

Those who are petty trader today, make them big contractor tomorrow. Those who dey sweep street today, give them their own big office tomorrow. It we de walka today, give us our own bicycle tomorrow. I say those who dey walka today, give them their own bicycle tomorrow. Those who have bicycle today, they will ride their own car tomorrow.

(The enthusiasm of the response becomes, at this point quite overpowering) I say those who day push bicycle; give them big car big car tomorrow. Give them big car tomorrow. Give them big car tomorrow, give them big car tomorrow.

One theme of this extract is materialism .

“My people, I have been somewhere

If I turn here, the rain beats me

If I turn there the sun burns me

The firewood of this world

Is for only those who can take heart

That is why not all can gather it ……”

The theme of this extract is suffering

• SOLILOQUY:  A character’s speech to himself, which reveals his motives, and state of mind.
• PERSONIFICATION (PROSOPOPEIA):  giving human attributes or characteristics to inanimate, lifeless objects or animals or abstract ideas.
• Cruel wishes entered him, departed and entered again
• The sun rose from his bed
• The engine coughed twice
• PASTORAL POETRY:  It is about simple, rural life (life in the countryside) especially of shepherds.

Example: “Michael” by William Wordsworth

• SUSPENSE:  When a reader is kept in a state of high expectancy, eager to know what will happen next.

Example: In English, my name means hope. In Spanish, it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when his shaving, songs like sobbing.

By delaying the disclosure of the narrator’s name, the writer has used the literary technique known as suspense   

• ALLUSION:  The reference to issues that re outside the literary work being studied.

Example: A Daniel has come into judgment i.e. Biblical Allusion by Shylock in The MERCHANT OF VENICE  by William Shakespeare.

• CLIMAX:  The crisis stage in a series of events in a story or play.
• APOSTROPHE:  An address to an imaginary person or object as if they were present, usually in poetry.

Example: You my ancestors, come to my aid

• ELEGY:  Poetry meant to praise somebody or something.
• DIRGE:  A song meant for mourning the dead.
• TRAGEDY:  A play in which there occurs a sudden change (reversal) in the hero’s fortunes from  happiness to disaster. It ends sadly

Example: Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, The Gods Are Not To Blame By Ola Rotimi.

• COMEDY:  A play whose characters are usually low or middle class citizens, bringing out their follies and weaknesses in an amusing but educative manner.

Example: Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again by Ola Rotimi And The Trials Of Brother Jero.

• MIME:  acting without speech but demonstrating with gesture, bodily movement and facial expression.
• MIMICRY:  imitating gestures, speech of others especially in drama.
• ASSONANCE:  A type of rhyme pattern in which there is repetition of similar middle vowels.

Example: i. Your name remains in frames of gold

ii. Tall walls fall mightily

• RHYME:  sameness of sounds especially in the last syllable of words in line endings of poetry Example:  time/clime keep/reap
• STANZA:  A division of a poem of song.
• CHAPTER:  major division of prose.
• PARAGRAPH:  A sub-division of chapter.
• FREE VERSE: A poem of irregular and unpredictable line – lengths.

Example: A plea for Mercy by Kwesi Brew.

• BLANK VERSE:  Unrhymed five-foot iambic poetry
• HEROIC COUPLETS:  Successive five –foot iambic lines rhyming in pairs
• ASIDE: A statement made by an actor on stage but not meant to be heard by the other actors but which may be heard by the audience.
• EPITAPH:  An inscription on a tombstone

Example: Your Life Was A blessing To Us

• POLY-SYLLABIC WORD:  A word containing only one syllable.

Example: argument, examination.

• MONO-SYLLABIC WORD:  A word containing only one syllable.

go, bed, sun

• POINT OF VIEW:  The angle from which the narrator sees and narrates events.
• FIRST PERSON NARRATOR:  A person who narrates a story in which he takes an active part. He uses the pronoun, “I” a lot. He may be biased and subjective.
• THIRD PERSON (OMNISCIENT) NARRATOR:  A narrator who is not part of the story but narrates as an outsider. He uses the third person pronouns – He, She, It, They.
• SECOND PERSON NARRATOR:  The narrator who uses the second person pronouns and appears to be addressing the reader directly i.e. “You”.
• EPISODE:  An important event or incident in a literary work.

Example: The Outbreak of an epidemic in the Gods Are Not To Blame.

• ORAL LITERATURE:  unwritten literature (i) involving the active participation of the performance and the audient (ii) which is communally owned (iii) which tells much about the history and culture of the people (iv) influenced by the environment of the people.

Example: Myth, proverbs, praise songs, dirge, riddles, war songs, folktales, fables.

• PRIMAL MYTH:  A piece of oral literature which tells a story about how the world was created.
• DRAMA:  A piece of literature meant to be performed. Its key elements include (i) imitation or impersonation (ii) disguise (iii) dance (iv) mime (v) dialogue

Example: The Gods Are Not To Blame, As You Like It, THE TRIALS OF BROTHER JERO, ROMEO AND JULIET, THE MARRIAGE OF ANANSEWA.

• ATTITUDE:  The feeling of a writer or one character towards a character. Words used to describe attitude include;
• Positive Attitude: Admiration, like, approval, sympathy
• Negative Attitude: disgust, contempt, disapproval, unsympathetic, dislike

Msimangu opened the book, and read to them first from the book. And Kumalo had not known that his friend had such a voice. For the voice was of gold, and the voice had such love for the words it was reading. The voice shook and beat and trembled, not as the voice of an old man shakes and beats and trembles, or as a leaf shakes and eats and trembles but as a deep bell when it is struck. For it was not only a voice of gold but it was the voice of a man whose heart was golden, reading from a book of golden words.

( Alan Patton – Cry The Beloved Country   P 78 )

Kumalo’s attitude towards Msimagu is one of admiration.

• CONTRAST:  Presenting two opposing sides of an issues in order to emphasize a point about one side.
• FABLE:  A story involving animal characters.  Example: The Tortoise and the Birds.
• LANGUAGE OR DICTION:  The kind of words and sentence construction (syntax) used in a work of art. It could be: formal or pedantic, archaic or old fashioned, humorous or funny, simple, complex, informal.
• ONOMATOPOEIA:  Use of words whose sounds echo their meaning.

Example: i. The bomb boomed

ii.  Tooting  of horns.

iii. The bells are tolling

iv. Bells are chiming

• ELEMENTS IN THE PLOT OF TRAGEDY:  Conflict, reversal, denouement.
• ELEMENTS OF COMEDY:  Caricature, humour, wit, parody, absurdity
• NEGRITUDE:  Literature, especially poetry meant to celebrate Africa and its black people. Its main proponent is Leopold Sedar Senghor. Example: i) Long long have you held (ii) Black woman (iii) I will pronounce your name, Naett.
• EPITHET:  The use of descriptive words especially when added to names, titles etc.

Example: i. Sango, the thunder lion

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4 thoughts on “literary devices & figures of speech 101 (+ pdf)”.

You are doing a great job. Keep the flag flying sir. I’m a literature teacher and I want to know whether my students are to read all the prescribed literature texts or not. Actually, what I’ve been doing is ensure they read texts based on each of the genres both African and Non-African. So I want to know if that works for the poetry or they have to read all of the prescribed poetry. Thanks.

Hi Fatima. Thanks for reaching out. Yes, for the poetry section, students/candidates must study all the 12 prescribed poems. Six for African poetry and another six for non-African poetry. When it comes to prose and drama, only one text should be selected out of the two options in each case. Here is the breakdown. African Drama – one text Non-African Drama – one text African Prose – one text Non-African Prose – one text. So in all, they will be reading four books apart from the twelve poems. Please remember that there is an additional Shakespeare drama text. It is compulsory for the objective test paper. Please let me know if you need any additional information.

You are doing a great job, sir. I’m a new literature teacher in highschool and I have beneficted a great deal from your tentalizing works. We are solidly behind you, and may the almighty Allah continue to bless you with more wisdom.

I’m glad you liked this site, Robert. Thank you.

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