A figure of speech is a form of expression that conveys the meaning and compare or conveys the meaning to the reader. The figurative mode of speech is associated with literature and poetry. We make use of the figure of speech in our everyday communication and writing, knowingly and unknowingly. If we look at the European languages, the figures of speech are classified into five main categories, namely:
Figures of resemblance
It includes simile, metaphor, parallelism, conceit, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, and euphemism.
Figures of emphasis
It includes hyperbole, litotes, climax, paradox, oxymoron, paradox
Figures of sound
Alliteration, repetition, anaphora, and onomatopoeia
Verbal games
Pun and anagram
Errors
Malapropism, periphrasis, and spoonerism
The Figures of Speeches with Examples
Alliteration
Repetition of the beginning sounds with the coincident sound
E.g., Fred fried frogs’ legs on Friday.
Anaphora
When a phrase or a verse begins with the same word or the group of words
E.g., I came, I saw, I conquered. – Julius Caesar
Assonance
Repetition of the vowel sound in the neighboring words
E.g., Therefore, all seasons shall be sweet to thee.
Antithesis
It refers to the contrasting ideas placed together in the same phrase.
E.g., Folks with no vices have very few virtues.
Euphemism
Use of a mild or vague term in place of an offensive term
E.g., Use of passed away instead of dying.
Hyperbole
Use of exaggeration to emphasize
E.g., These cars must have cost him a million dollars.
Irony
The contrast between appearance vs. reality
E.g., A cop got beaten up for breaking the law.
Litotes
It is the figure of speech that constitutes an understatement that expresses the negative of an affirmative.
E.g., A million dollars is no small chunk of change.
Metaphor
Comparison between two contrasting ideas
E.g., Time is Money.
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a closely associated word substitutes the another.
E.g., “That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman, “the manager said angrily.
Onomatopoeia
The term to signify the sound
E.g., Click, Buzz, Whoosh, etc.
Oxymoron
Use of two contradictory terms alongside
E.g., Free Market
Paradox
A statement that contradicts itself
E.g., This is the end of the new beginning.
Personification
Put non-living things to life
E.g., The air came in through the window.
Pun
A play on words with the same or different sound
E.g., Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Simile
Use of like or as to mark the difference between unlike things
E.g., As hot as the sun.
Synecdoche
Use of whole to explain part or vice versa
E.g., The police (one policeman) is ready to shoot.
