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.

Types of Figure Of Speech

1. 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.

2. 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. 

Examples -

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.

3. Personification - 

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

Example -

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.

4. Apostrophe - 

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

Example -

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

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

5. 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.

Example -

Life is bittersweet.

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

Sweet sorrow.Peace force.

Free market.

Jumbo ant.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Example -

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.

8. 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.

9. 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. 

Example -

I could hear the leaves rustling and the wind howling.

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