CLASS XII

ENGLISH

LITERARY DEVICES

A 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 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.
There are five major categories of figures of speech as below:
1. Figures of resemblance: It is also known as the figure of relationship. It is made up of simile,
metaphor, or kenning.
2. Figures of emphasis: It is also known as a figure of an understatement. It is made up of hyperbole.
3. Figures of sound: It uses alliteration.
4. Verbal games: It is also known as gymnastics. It includes puns.
5. Errors: It is created of malapropism and usually generated because of blunder.

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”
  “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.”
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.
10. Anaphora - When many phrases or verses start with the same word, it is known as anaphora.
Example -
 I came, I saw, I conquered.
 We shall not stop. We shall go on and on. We shall move forward.
11. Assonance- When we use repetition of vowel sounds, it is known as assonance.
Example -
 Thee
12. Euphemism - It is known as a euphemism when we replace blunt, offensive, or harsh terms with
soft, mild, vague, or indirect terms.
Example -
 Using letting you go instead of firing
 Using a little thin on top instead of getting bald
 Using passed away instead of k illed or died
  Using stick to the truth instead of calling someone a liar
13. 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.
Example -
 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.
14. Synecdoche - If a part is represented by a whole or a whole is represented by a part, it is known as
synecdoche.
Example -
 Colgate – any toothpaste
 Wheels – a car
 Employed people – workers
 The traffic – many vehicles
15. Antithesis- Antithesis is a figure of speech that places two completely contrasting ideas or clauses in
juxtaposition.
Example -
o “Art is long, and Time is fleeting.”
o Speech is silver, but silence is gold.
o “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.”
16. Allusion
Definition:
An allusion is a figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or
literary work by way of a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being
mentioned.
Example:
It’s no wonder everyone refers to Mary as another Mother Teresa in the making; she loves to help and care
after people everywhere, from the streets to her own friends.
17. Transferred Epithet refers to the use of an adjective or a phrase that describes a noun to modify another
noun in the sentence. It is identified by the adjective or phrase that describes the noun in the sentence.
For example:
o The teacher pointed an angry finger at the class.
18. Paradox is a statement that appears to contradict itself.
Example: "This is the beginning of the end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.
19. Repetition- Repetition is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is repeated more than one time to put
emphasis. It attracts the attention of the readers to the specific phrase.
Example-

 Time after time.

 Heart to heart.
 Boys will be boys.
 Hand in hand.