Quick Revision of Figures of Speech with examples

WHAT ARE FIGURE OF SPEECH ?

■ Figures of speech are words or phrases that are used to express an idea by comparing or describing the subject in such a way that the statement will create a certain impression

Lets do a quick revision of each of different Figures of Speech

SIMILE

■ It is a type of comparison between things or objects by using “as” or “like.”

SIMILE EXAMPLES:

■ He is as tall as a mountain
(It doesn’t mean he was actually 1,000 feet tall, it just means he was really tall.)

■ The internet is like a window to the world
(U can learn about everything online and it lets you access information about anything and everything from anywhere.)

■ She is like a lovely rose.
(She is beautiful and soft.)

■ He is as strong as a lion.
(He is very strong.)

METAPHOR

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

METAPHOR EXAMPLES:

■ The “peak of her career,"
( 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.)

■ "All the world's a stage"
( is a metaphor, as world represents a stage where every person has some role to play in real life. World is not a Stage in its Physical Appearance)

■ The snow was a blanket of white on the ground.
( is a metaphor, because snow appears to a white colored blanket on the ground, snow is not actually a blanket in real)

ALLITERATION

■ The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

ALLITERATION EXAMPLES:

■She sells seashells by the seashore.
■ Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
■ Kim's kid kept kicking like crazy.
■ Mike made mellow music with his new microphone.
■ Nick's nephew needed some new notebooks.
■ Seven sisters slept soundly on the sand.

REPETITION

■ When the same word or phrase is repeated multiple times in the same passage.

REPETITION EXAMPLES

■ The boy was a good footballer,because his father was a footballer,and his grandfather was a footballer.

■ The refugees were crossing into the neighboring country when they saw blood all round- Hood on the passageways, blood on the fields.

■ When they came out the cinema hall they all agreed, the movie was a waste of money, it was a waste of time and energy.

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?"

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.

PERSONIFICATION EXAMPLES:

■ The thirsty air soaks up the rain.
■ The wind howled in the night.
■ Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
■ My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.

Practice Exercise

 Identify the figure of speech

A)
  • My mouth is as dry as dust
  • The friendly welcome of the wayside well
  • The crazy cat tried clawing the kitten.
  • Opportunity knocked on the door.
  • The moon was a marshmallow in the night sky.
  • The radio stopped singing and started at me.
  • The world is my oyster.
B)
  • Time is money.
  • Tbu are my sunshine.
  • The sky was full of dancing stars.
  • The sun greeted me this morning.
  • His explanation was as clear as mud.
  • He has a heart of stone.
  • The lovely light lingered on the water.
C)
  • The sun played hide and seek with the clouds.
  • All the world is a stage.
  • She floated in like a cloud.
  • Spring is flowers, Spring is green grass, Spring is rainy days. 
  • She swims like a fish.
  • The president said, “Work，work, and work，’’ are the keys to success.
  • The general said to his army, “Men- you must fight for the life of your people, your family, and your country
  • Water, water every where.
Answers

Identify the figure of speech

A)
  • My mouth is as dry as dust - Simile
  • The friendly welcome of the wayside well - Alliteration
  • The crazy cat tried clawing the kitten. - Alliteration
  • Opportunity knocked on the door. - Personification
  • The moon was a marshmallow in the night sky. - Alliteration
  • The radio stopped singing and started at me. - Personification
  • The world is my oyster. -Metaphor
B)
  • Time is money. - Metaphor
  • Kids are my sunshine. - Metaphor
  • The sky was full of dancing stars. - Personification
  • The sun greeted me this morning. - Personification
  • His explanation was as clear as mud. - Simile
  • He has a heart of stone. - Metaphor
  • The lovely light lingered on the water.- Alliteration
C)
  • The sun played hide and seek with the clouds. - Personification
  • All the world is a stage. -  Metaphor
  • She floated in like a cloud. - Simile
  • Spring is flowers, Spring is green grass, Spring is rainy days. -Repetition
  • She swims like a fish. - Simile
  • The president said, “Work，work, and work，’’ are the keys to success. - Repetition.
  • The general said to his army, “Men- you must fight for the life of your people, your family, and your country. - Repetition.
  • Water, water every where. - Repetition