Figure of Speech

Figure of Speech - Word, phrase or sentence that (1) presents a “figure” to the mind of the reader, (2) presents an imaginative or unusual use of words that the reader is not to take literally, or (3) presents a special arrangement or use of words or word sounds that create an unusual effect. Ordinary language that does not contain a figure of speech is called literal language. Language that contains a figure of speech is called figurative language. Figurative language is also sometimes called imagery because it presents an image to the mind. Consider the following sentences:

The leaves blew across the lawn. (Literal language)
The leaves danced across the lawn. (Figurative language)

Notice that the second sentence presents a figure to the mind of the reader: The leaves are dancing as if they were people. Obviously, the writer does not mean that the leaves literally danced. However, they “figuratively” danced. Now consider the following additional examples:

Mr. Piper harvested a bushel of green vegetables. (Literal language)
Peter Piper picked four pecks of peppers. (Figurative language)

The repetition of the "p" in the second sentence is considered a figure of speech because it presents a sound to the mind. This glossary contains definitions of various figures of speech. The most common figures of speech are Alliteration, Irony, Metaphor, Metonymy, Onomatopoeia, Oxymoron, Paradox, Personification, Simile, and Synecdoche.

Alliteration - Repetition of consonant sounds. Examples: (1) But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound into saucy doubts and fears.–Shakespeare. (2) Duncan is in his grave; after life's fitful fever he sleeps well–Shakespeare. (3) When I was one-and- twenty–A.E. Housman. (Note that "one" has a "w" sound. (4) I sent thee late a rosy wreath–Ben Jonson. (Note that "wr" has an "r" sound.)

Irony (1) Saying the opposite of what is meant, or verbal irony; (2) result or ending that is the opposite of what is expected, or situational irony; (3) situation in which the audience attending a dramatic presentation grasps the incongruity of a situation before the actors do, or dramatic irony. Examples: (1) "What a beautiful day," Maxine said, opening her umbrella. (2) In the movie Planet of the Apes, an astronaut who lands on another planet where intelligent apes rule discovers a startling irony at the end of the movie: When looking over a vast wasteland, he sees the head of the Statue of Liberty and realizes he was on earth all the time. Apparently, a nuclear war had destroyed humankind while he was time-traveling. While in his Einsteinian time warp, the apes had evolved to an almost human level. (3) In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus is unaware that he has married his own mother even though the audience is well aware of the incestuous union.

Metaphor - Comparing one thing to an unlike thing without using like, as or than. Examples: (1) The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve.–Shakespeare. (The striker or clapper of the bell is being compared to the tongue of a speaking human being.) (2) The sea being smooth, how many shallow bauble boats dare sail upon her patient breast .–Shakespeare. (The sea is being compared to a woman with a "patient breast.") (3) I am a man whom Fortune hath cruelly scratched.–Shakespeare. (Fortune is being compared to an entity that can be cruel.) (4) In battle, the soldier is a tiger. (5) Michael Casey's face is a map of Ireland.

Metonymy - Substitution of one word or phrase to stand for a word or phrase similar in meaning. Examples: (1) In Shakespeare's time, the crown was anti-Catholic. ("Crown" stands for Queen Elizabeth I.) (2) The White House was severely criticized for its opposition to the tax increase. ("White House" stands for the president or the president and his advisers.) (3) Wall Street welcomes the reduction in interest rates. ("Wall Street" represents investors.) (4) Sweat, not wealth, earned her the respect of her peers. ("Sweat" stands for hard work.)

Onomatopoeia Figure of speech in which (1) a word mimics a sound or (2) an arrangement of words in a rhythmic pattern suggests a sound or an image. Examples of No. 1: burp, varoom, oink, crackle, moo, hiss, gong, thud, splash, zip, creak, boom, slurp, crunch, quack, twitter, honk, hoot, squeak, buzz, and zoom. Example of No. 2, from Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy," in which the the rhythm of the words in one stanza imitates the chug of a locomotive:

An engine, an engine
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew.

Notice that the words mimic the rhythm of a chugging locomotive–an engine, an engine; like a Jew, a Jew.

Oxymoron - Combining contradictory words to reveal a truth. Oxymoron is a form of paradox. However, unlike paradox, oxymoron places opposing words side by side. Examples: (1) Parting is such sweet sorrow.–Shakespeare. (2) Working in a coal mine is living death. (3) The hurricane turned the lush island retreat into a hellish paradise.

Paradox - Contradictory statement that may actually be true. Paradox is similar to oxymoron in that both figures of speech use contradictions to state a truth. However, paradox does not place opposing words side by side, as oxymoron does. Examples: (1) They called him a lion. But in the boxing ring, the lion was a lamb. (2) For slaves, life was death, and death was life.

Personification - Giving humanlike qualities or human form to objects and abstractions. Personification is a form of metaphor. Examples: (1) Thou has done a deed whereat valor will weep.–Shakespeare. (Notice that valor, an abstraction, weeps.) (2) Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered–Shakespeare. (3) Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me. –Emily Dickinson. (4) The house pleaded for a new coat of paint.

Simile - Comparing one thing to an unlike thing by using like, as, or than. Examples: (1) The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne, burned on the water.–Shakespeare. (2) And the muscles of his brawny arms are strong as iron bands–Longfellow. (3) His hand was small and cold; it felt like wax.–Margaret Truman. (4) In the morning the dust hung like fog, and the sun was as red as ripe new blood–John Steinbeck.

Synecdoche - Substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part. Examples: (1) The Confederates have eyes in Lincoln's government. (The word "eyes" stands for spies.) (2) Jack bought a new set of wheels. ("Wheels" stands for a car.) (3) The law pursued the bank robbers from Maine to Florida. ("Law" stands for police.)

Extracted form Cummings Study Guides