English Grammar : Figure of Speech - Definition, Meaning and Examples - A figure of speech is the use of a word or a phrase, which ascend from its literal interpretation. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, or synecdoche.
“A figure of speech is a departure from the ordinary form of experience, or the ordinary course of ideas, in order to produce a greater effect.” — Wren.
Main Figure of Speech used in English language –
1. Simile : Comparison between two things (of different kinds which have, however, at least one point in common) using like or as.
Example : She is as lovely as a rose.
2. Metaphor : A metaphor is an implied Simile without the use of like or as.
Example : Camel is the ship of the desert.
3. Personification : Attributing or applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.
Example : A lie has no legs.
4. Hyperbole : Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis.
Example : Floods of tears flowed down her cheeks.
5. Apostrophe : A direct address to the dead, to the absent or to a personified object or idea.
Example : O death ! where is thy sting ?
6. Oxymoron : Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other. ( a special form of Antithesis)
Example : Sweet bitter tears flowed from her eyes.
7. Alliteration : Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another.
Example : How high his Honour holds his haughty head !
8. Metonymy : Substitution of an associated word to suggest what is really meant.
Example : The pen (author) is mightier than the sword (the soldier).
9. Synecdoche : Form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole or the whole stands for a part.
Example : The best brains (i.e. scholars) have assembled here.
10. Antithesis : Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas. A striking opposition or contrast of words or sentiments made in the same sentence.
Example : To err is human, to forgive is divine.
11. Irony : Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning.
Example : Run, run, you are brave indeed.
12. Pun : When a word or phrase is used in two(or more) different senses.
Example : Is life worth living ? That depends upon the lever.
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