FIGURES OF

SPEECH
Prepared by: Ms. Roann M. Baleza

FIGURES OF SPEECH
words used to express more than their
dictionary meaning
convey meaning or heighten effect,
often by comparing or identifying one
thing with another that has a meaning
familiar to the reader or listener

TYPES OF FIGURES
OF SPEECH

ALLITERATION

involves using words that begin with

the same sound
Examples:
-Sally sells sea shells by the seashore
-

ANAPHORA
uses a specific clause at the beginning of each sentence or
point to make a statement
Examples:
-Good night and good luck
-Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" fromKing John,
II, Iby William Shakespeare
-

ASSONANCE

focuses on the vowel sounds in a phrase, repeating

them over and over to great effect
Examples:

HYPERBOLE

often seen as an exaggeration that adds a bit of

humor to a story
an intentional exaggeration is made to achieve
emphasis or comic effect
Examples:

IRONY

a contrast between what is expected and

what actually exists or happens.
Examples:
The Happy Prince is not happy because of
the misery he sees around him.
The Titanic is unsinkable.

M E TA P H O R
compares two things that are not alike and finds
something about them to make them alike
a word or phrase denoting one kind of object is used
in place of another t suggest a likeness
Examples:
-My heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.
-Time is gold.

SIMILE

Two unlike things with a common quality are

compared with the use of the words as or like.
Example:
-Life is like a box of chocolates; you never
know what youre going to get.
-Her hair is as dark as the night without stars.

METONYMY
one word that has a very similar meaning can be
used for another
the name of one thing is used for something else
with which it is associated.
Example:
-He sent the whole day reading Shakespeare.
-The White House declared the approval of same sex
marriage.

ONOMATOPOEIA
the use of words whose sound suggests
their meaning
Examples:
-buzz
-gargle
-hiss

PARADOX
contradicts itself in the same
sentence
Example: War is peace. Ignorance is
strength. Freedom is slavery.

P E R S O N I F I C AT I O N

a way of giving an inanimate object the

qualities of a living thing
Example:
The tree quaked with fear as the wind
approached.
The sun smiled down on her.

SYNECDOCHE
a figure of speech in which one thing is meant to
represent the whole.
Examples:
- Business was very good at the fastfood store so they
had to hire extra hands.
- ABCs are meant to be taught in preschool.

EUPHEMISM

words that are used to soften the

message
Examples:
Passed away is often used in place of
died or killed.
wardrobe malfunction, which is a fancy
way of saying your clothes fell off.

OXYMORON
puts two words together that seem to contradict
each other
Examples:
-silent yell
-bittersweet
-wise fool