Amjad High School .

2015-2016
Secondary 1 .

Figures of Speech

A “figure” of “speech” creates pictures (figures) using words (speech). An author can create a
special effect or an image through the unordinary use of words.
If an author’s words are successful, the reader will create or paint a picture in his mind of the
scene the author describes.

1. Simile: Makes a direct comparison between two things using the words like and as.
Examples:
a. The people stood like statues.
b. He was as restless as a caged lion.
c. The flashlight moved through the interior like a searchlight in a prison.
2. Hyperbole: An obvious exaggeration that is often humorous
Examples: I was so hungry I could have eaten fifty pancakes.
a. “. . . her implication was less subtle than the working end of a baseball bat.”
b. Loud Fred made more noise than sixty cement mixers mixing bowling balls.
3. Alliteration: The repetition of the first consonant sound in a group of words to create a
musical effect. 1
Examples:
a. Fat Phillip always fought fiercely.
b. Crazy Karl clobbered Kondo the conqueror.
c. The world was crumbling, was nothing more than rubble and ruins, yet they
remained the same.
d. Agnes Aardvark always ate apples.
4. Metaphor: An indirect comparison between two things. Sometimes one thing is said to
be another. Metaphors are indirect because the reader must determine how the two
objects are similar.
Examples:
a. Her ski jump nose was her most obvious feature.
b. He had fists of iron.
c. Fear is a journey, a terrible journey, but sorrow is at least an arriving.
5. Personification: Giving life to a non-living (inanimate) thing.
Examples:
a. Trees in fall put on their coats.
b. The trees are spoken of as if they had the human quality of being able to put on a
coat.
c. The words sprang out at them.
d. The table collected junk.
6. Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sounds. A word is created to represent a sound.
Examples:

1
 a. Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled
over the tracks."
b. "Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng! An alarm clock clanged in the dark and silent room."
c. "I'm getting married in the morning! Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.
7. Irony: Most of the definitions of irony suggest that irony involve a contrast between
appearance and actual reality. It is a discrepancy between what is anticipated to be true
and what is actually true.
There are Three Types of Irony
a. Verbal irony
i. Verbal Irony
1. Verbal irony is the use of words to mean something different from
what a person actually says.
2. Examples of verbal irony include:
3. “Thanks for the ticket officer you just made my day!” “I can’t wait
to read the seven hundred page report.”
4. The above examples show how irony is used to show someone’s
frustration or disappointment.
ii. Verbal Irony and Sarcasm
1. Most of the time, sarcasm and verbal irony are used
interchangeably. There is however a clear distinction between the
two. In most cases, sarcasm is used to insult or to cause harm. A
statement like “Great, someone stained my new dress.” is ironic,
while “You call this a work of art?” is sarcastic. While verbal irony
implies a different meaning to what is actually said, sarcasm is
2
mainly used as a sharp and direct utterance designed to cause pain.

b. Situational irony
i. It involves a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what
actually happens. Situational irony occurs when the exact opposite of what
is meant to happen, happens. An example would be when someone buys a
gun to protect himself, but the same gun is used by another individual to
injure him. One would expect that the gun would keep him safe, but it has
actually caused him injury. There is however a difference between
situation irony and coincidence or bad luck.

c. Dramatic irony
i. Dramatic Irony
ii. This type of irony is popular in works of art such as movies, books, poems
and plays. It occurs when the audience is aware of something that the
characters in the story are not aware of.
iii. An example of dramatic irony is in a movie where a detective does not
know that the criminal responsible for the crimes in the city is his partner.
The audience however is already aware of this fact and waits anxiously to
know what will happen once the character finds out what they already
know.
8. Paradox: Paradox means contrary to expectations, existing belief or perceived opinion.
Actually, paradox is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may
include a latent truth. It is also used to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to

2
 accepted traditional ideas. A paradox is often used to make a reader think over an idea in
innovative way.
Examples of Paradox
a. Your enemy’s friend is your enemy.
b. I am nobody.
c. “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” – George Bernard Shaw
d. Wise fool
e. Truth is honey which is bitter
f. "The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot."
g. "If you wish to preserve your secret, wrap it up in frankness."
h. "War is peace." "Freedom is slavery." "Ignorance is strength."

9. Oxymoron: An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines incongruous or

10. Pun: A play on words, either on different senses of the same word or on the similar sense
3
or sound of different words.
Examples:
a. When it pours, it reigns." (slogan of Michelin tires)
b. Kings worry about a receding heir line.
c. “Obesity; Healthy genes could mean smaller jeans”

3
 Practice
4
Read the following excerpts and choose the correct figure of speech used in each:

1. Substituting the word “euthanasia” for “mercy killing" or "killing the terminally ill"

a. Hyperbole b. Euphemism c. Assonance d. Oxymoron

2. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread?

a. Simile b. Irony c. Metonymy d. Assonance

3. My wishes raced through the house high hay And nothing I cared, at my sky blue
trades, . . .
a. Simile b. Irony c. Metonymy d. Assonance

4. Well, son, I'll tell you: Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it, and
splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor-- Bare.

a. Assonance b. Metaphor c. Irony d. Pun

5. I had so much homework last night that I needed a pickup truck to carry all my books
home!

a. Metaphor b. Onomatopoeia c. Pun d. Hyperbole

a. Simile b. Metonymy c. Paradox d. Onomatopoeia

7. But the prisoner would not answer; he only lay with wide, dark, bright, eyes, like a bound
animal.

a. Oxymoron b. Euphemism c. Irony d. Personification

8. Pitching pennies with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a pitter-patter of rain outside the Pitti
Palace.

a. Metaphor b. Alliteration c. Pun d. Oxymoron

9. The earth laughs beneath my heavy feet At the blasphemy in my old jangly walk

a. Euphemism b. Simile c. Pun d. personification

10. I dig my toes into the sand. The ocean looks like A thousand diamonds strewn across a
blue blanket.

a. Metaphor b. Simile c. Onomatopoeia d. Irony 5

11. And he was rich, yes, richer than a king, And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine--
we thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place. Soon we
worked and waited for the light, and went without the meat and cursed the bread, And
Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet in his head.

a. Assonance b. Metonymy c. Personification d. Irony

12. Why do we wait until a pig is dead to cure it?

a. Pun b. Personification c. Oxymoron d. Hyperbole

13. “Death lays its icy hands on kings.”

a. Simile b. Metaphor c. Personification d. Paradox

The answer key:

5
1. b
2. c
3. d
4. b
5. d
6. d
7. a
8. b
9. d
10. b
11. d
12. a
13. c