Important Figures of speech in English
1) Alliteration
Ex: –
1) “Each day brings new beginnings,”
2) “Decision I must make”
3) “in form and features, face and limb,”
Explanation: –
The same initial sounds ‘b’, ‘m’ and ‘f’ are repeated for musical effect.
2) Repetition
Ex: –
1) “I know that I will see”.
2) “small small moons of light.”
3) “what would you do, if you were me, To prove that you were you?”
Explanation: –
same words/phrases are repeated for a pleasing effect.
3) Apostrophe
Ex: –
1) “Please open up my eyes, dear Lord,”
2) “Help, Lord, to just say “No”
3) “O moon, give me moonlight”
Explanation: –
Direct address is made to the dead, plants, animals, birds,
god, absent person or non-living object.
4) Personification
Ex: –
1) “Each day brings new beginnings,”
2) when temptation comes my way,
3) O moon, give me a basketful of moonlight on loan.
Explanation: –
The non-living (inanimate / lifeless) thing is given the
human quality / described as human being behave.
5) Simile
Ex: –
1) Twinkle Twinkle little star, ….…… like a diamond in the sky.
2) “I grew so like my brother, That folks go talking me for him”.
Explanation: –
The two different objects are directly compared which
have at least one common point.
6) Metaphor
Ex:-
1) “I am the only one to chose, The road that I will take.”
(road is indirectly compared to decision.)
2) “I can choose to take the road of life,” ( road of success)
3) “ If you do not listen to the sounds of life” ( experience of life)
4) Camel is the ship of desert.
5) life is a dream.
Explanation: There is an implied / indirect comparison between two
different object.
7) Inversion
Ex:-
1) “please open up my eyes , dear Lord,
That I might clearly see”.
2) “where on the deck my caption lies,
Explanation: The words are not in correct prose order.
The correct prose orders of these lines are—
1) dear Lord, please open up my eyes, That I might see clearly.
2) Where my Caption lies on the deck.
8) Antithesis
Ex: –
1) “If you do not reached what is safe, the uncertain”
2) “from the city to my village”
3) “I want to light the dark route.”
Explanation: –
In a single line the opposite words / ideas are used side by side.
9) Hyperbole
Ex: –
1) “I want to sow seeds of moon, on the sides of the path”.
2) “The ship has weather`d every rack”.
3) “It reached a fearful pitch”.
4) “we got completely mixed”.
Explanation: –
Here, the words or ideas are over-stated or exaggerated to create emphasis and humour.
10) Tautology
Ex: –
1) “I too want to hear fairy tales, and stories from him”.
2) “fallen cold and dead”.
3) “his lips are pale and still”.
Explanation: –
Here, different words of same meaning are used for the sake of force.
11) Pun
Ex: –
1) “I grew so like my brother.”
2) “the folks got talking me for him”.
(folks= his parents, general people)
Explanation:
Here the same word is used for deferent meaning.
12) Onomatopoeia
Ex: –
1) a little duck say quack quack
2) door closed with a bang.
Explanation: –
in these lines the words show sound.
13) Exclamation
Ex: –
1) “yours is the Earth and everything in it ,
And which is more you’ll be a man, my son ! ”
Explanation: –
In this line poet shows his exclamation.
14) Interrogation
Ex-
1) How can we live if there are no trees?
2) Is it possible to survive without air?
Explanation: –
A question is asked to make an effective statement
15) Euphemism
Ex: –
1) Soon falls asleep in their earthy bed.
2) Her all smiles stopped together.
Explanation: –
The unpleasant idea of death is told in pleasant way.
16) Climax
Ex: –
1) Birds, animals, men, and angles all worship god.
2) She is my friend, my adviser and my inspiration.
Explanation: – Here, ideas are arranged in ascending order.
17) Anti-climax
Ex-
1) So he swore by the sun, the moon, the stars and the leaves of
tree.
2) Angels, men, and animals scared God.
Explanation: –
Here, ideas are arranged in descending order.
18) Irony
Ex: –
1) Thank you for defeating me.
2) I am the happiest person in the world, As am single, living lonely.
3) He was so intelligent that he could not get any job.
19) Transferred Epithet
Ex: –
1) The old lady looked down the lonely road.
2) I am living in this darken world.
Explanation: –
The adjective is transferred to another nouns.
20) Synecdoche
Ex: –
1) India won the cricket match.
Explanation: –
Here, the whole thing (India) is used for the team of cricket.
21) Paradox
Ex: –
1) Motion thy rest.
2) talking in their sleep.
3) A child is a father of man.
Explanation: –
Here, the two contrasting actions are used in a line.
22) Epigram
Ex: –
1) A child is a father of man.
2) Every dog has its days.
Explanation: –
Here, the message is conveyed in humorous way.
23) Metonymy
Ex: –
1) it is not gold…. Is it a sward? (gold = wealth)
2) A child is a father of man. (Used for All children and men in the world)
Explanation: –
Here, a world is used to represent a class or category of things.
24) Refrain
Ex: –
1) You start dying slowly…. (class 10, poem 2.1)
2) O God forgive me when I whine.
(class 10, poem 4.1, This line is repeated at the end of the stanza.)
