Page 1 :
Figure of Speech, Figure of speech is a word or phrase that is used in a non-literal sense so that the speech/, writing becomes more persuasive, vivid and relatable. A figure of speech is a deviation, from the ordinary use of words in order to increase their effectiveness. Basically, it is a, figurative language that may consist of a single word or phrase. It may be a simile, a, metaphor or personification to convey the meaning other than the literal meaning., Figurative meaning: ‘Rack one’s brains’ : to make a great effort or think of or remember, something., ## He racked his brains so that he could get some original ideas for his new book., Using a figure of speech in language is like sprinkling condiments over your bland food so, that it tastes better.There are hundreds of figure of speech in English. They adorn the, language: they add colour and interest, awaken our imagination, and cause a moment of, excitement. They provide emphasis, freshness, and clarity to expression., ## He ran fast. ## He ran like the wind., FIGURE BASED ON COMPARISON, SIMILE, In simile two unlike things are explicitly compared. Compares one thing to another, thing (of a different kind, and yet alike in some significant way). Often introduced by, like, so, as etc. Examples are as follow:, ## She is like a fairy., ## She is like a fairy., ## The kid’s backpack was as heavy as a bag full of rocks., Common Pattern in Similes, 1. Verb + like a/an + Noun, ## The moon shone bright like diamond in the sky., 2. As + adjective + as + noun, ## The girl’s eyes were as black as coal., ## He was as big as a giant., , ## He eats like a pig., , METAPHOR, A word or phrase for one thing that is used in place of another thing in order to show, or suggest that they are similar. In metaphor, ‘Like’ or ‘as’ is not used., ## Life is one big roller-coaster ride., ## Climb up the success ladder.
Page 2 :
## In the corporate world, women often find it difficult to break through the glass, ceiling., SIMILE VERSUS METAPHOR, SIMILE: In the battle, he fought bravely like a lion, At office she was as busy as a bee, handling several tasks at once., METAPHOR: He was a lion in the battle. The secretary was a busy bee, flitting around, the office and handling several tasks at once., PERSONIFICATION, Personification is an attribution of personal nature, intelligence or character to inanimate, objects or abstract notions. This is a practice of representing an inanimate object or an, abstract idea as a person, and endowing it with human traits. For example, in some, phrases we use the furious storm, the thirsty ground,, and the pitiless cold etc., ## The sun stretched his golden arms and greeted everyone with his kind smile., ## The trees were fluttering and dancing in the breeze., ## Little sorrows sit and weep. (Boccaccio), ## The dish ran away with the spoon. (Blake), APOSTROPHE, It is a direct address to some inanimate thing or some abstract idea as if it were living, person or some absent person as if it were present. The addressing of a usually absent, person or a usually personified thing rhetorically, ## Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, how I, Wonder what you are!, ## ‘O Liberty, what things are in thy name!’, FIGURE OF SPEECH BASED ON ASSOCIATION, EPIGRAM, Epigram is a brief pointed saying. It couples words which apparently contradict each, other. The language of the epigram is remarkable for its brevity. It may be a short poem, of phrase that expresses an idea in a clever or amusing way. Examples are as below:, ## One man’s freedom is another man’s slavery., ## The child is the father of the man. (Wordsworth), ## Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Page 3 :
## The art lies in concealing art., ## Silence is sometimes more eloquent than word., ## It is conspicuous by its absence., METONYMY, Metonymy is meant for a change of name. It is a substitution of the name of an attribute, or adjunct for that of the thing meant., ## ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ (Written words are more effective than military, power), ## The crown has granted amnesty to all prisoners charged with minor offences., (Crown = power of a king or monarch), ## The White House has decided to crack down on the terrorists., (the White House =Power or Authority vested in the White House), ## As a country, we need to cut through the red tape, and bring efficiencies in the system, if we want to attract investments and achieve good growth rates. [Red Tape (used to bind, official documents) stands for excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and, formalities.], ## Learn from the cradle to grave. (=from childhood to death), ## I have never read Milton. (Milton = the works of Milton), ## Roald Dahl is read by the people of all age groups. (Author’s name = the works of that, author.), SYNECDOCHE, Synecdoche is the understanding of one thing by means of another. Here, a part is used, to designate the whole or the whole to designate a part. In other word, it is a figure of, speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa., Part for the whole, ## I bought myself a new set of wheels to travel to work everyday., Whole of the part, ## India won the ICC world cup in 2011., ## If you feel tired doing the mundane chores, hire extra hands for help., (Helping hand = help or assistance), ## Australia lost by two goals. (Here, Australia is used to represent the Australian team.)
Page 4 :
FIGURE OF SPEECH BASED ON SOUND EFFECT, ONOMATOPOEIA, Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word whose sound is made to suggest or echo the, sense as in cuckoo, bang, growl, hiss etc. It is the formation of a word from a sound, associated with what is named., For example: Buzz (sound made by bees), Woof (sound made by dogs), Hiss (sound made, by snakes), Quack (sound made by ducks), Moo (sound made by cows), Splash (sound, made by water), Boom (sound made by bomb), Ring (sound made by telephone), Beep, (sound made by horn), Crackle (the fire place crackles), Snap (the rope snapped) , Snap, (Snap your fingers), Sizzle etc., ## Cuckoos (a bird a call that sounds like its name) leave their eggs in the nest of other, birds., ## She banged on the door angrily. (bang = to hit sth in a way that makes a loud noise), ## The dog growled at them. (to make a low sound in the throat, usually as a sing of, anger), ## She growled a sarcastic reply. (To say sth in low angry voice), ## She hissed at me to be quiet. The gas lamp hissed gently., ALLITERATION, The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words. Alliteration is, derived from Latin’s “Latira” that means “letters of alphabet”., ## Don’t Drink and Drive, ## If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers….., ## But a bit of better butter will make my batter better …., ASSONANCE, The use of words that have the same or very similar vowel sounds near one another., ## The fat cat had a snack. Alas! It was a tough nut to crack., Describe a high rise….., Well, it rises high into the bright blue sky., ## “Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is, that no man knows now and why the first poems came.”, From Carl Sandburg’s ‘Early Moon’, ## The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
Page 5 :
But I have promises to keep,, And miles to go before I sleep,, And miles to go before I sleep., PUN, A humorous way of using a word or phrase so that more than one meaning is suggested., A pun can use multiple meanings of the same word (homonyms) or different meanings of, similar sounding words (homophones)., ## ‘I am a mender of bad soles ……’, Declares the cobbler in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar., ## As a successful pilot – no pun intended—really taken off., ## I was struggling to figure out how lightning works. Then, all on a sudden, it struck me., ## The Republican Party has placed its “Trump Card” this elections in the USA. (Donald, Trump for President), FIGURE BASED ON CONTRAST/ OPPOSITE IDEAS, ANTITHESIS, In antithesis, a striking opposition or contrast of words is made in the same sentence in, order to secure emphasis. Antithesis, literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in, which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect., Examples are as follow:, ## “This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” (Neil Armstrong, the, first human being to set foot on the moon), ## “Better to reign in hell than to serve in Heav’n” (This is a monologue of Satan in, Paradise Lost by John Milton.), ## To err is human, to forgive divine., ## Give every man thy ear, but a few thy voice., ## It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the, age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the, season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter, of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going, direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. (From “A Tale of Two Cities” by, Charles Dickens)
Page 6 :
## I get much less than my share of credit for the success, why should I take any more, than my share of blame for the failures!, OXYMORON, Oxymoron is a figure of speech which combines two seemingly contradictory or, incongruous words for sharp emphasis or effect. It is usually a phrase that combines two, words that seem to be the opposite of each other., For example:, ## Deafening silence ## darkness visible (Milton), ## make haste slowly (Suetonius) ## Loving hate (Romeo and Juliet), PARADOX, A statement that appears to be absurd or self-contradictory, but is actually valid or true., A paradox is both true and untrue at the same time, it’s a logical puzzle, and only upon, reflection do we realize the underlying, self-defeating logic., Origin: mid 16th century via late Latin from Greek: para—‘distinct from’ + ‘doxa’—opinion, (originally denoting a statement contrary to accepted opinion), ## The child is the father of man. (William Wordsworth), ## Change is the only constant in life. (Heraclitus), ## Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true. (India –A Land of, Paradoxes—said Joan Robinson), ## We have some of the richest people on the planet but a staggering 276 million people, are below poverty line, unable to pay for two square meals a day. A quarter of hungry, people worldwide live in India, and 44% of children below the age of 5 are malnourished, and underweight., ## We educate the brightest minds in the ILTs and the IIMs, who go forth to become the, CEOs of companies such as Google and Microsoft and yet are unable to provide primary, education to a huge number of our children, who either never attend school or drop out, of school., ## In India bullock carts are still an indispensible mode of transportation for millions, but, our rocket and satellite programmes are amongst the most advanced on earth., ## We a nuclear technology empowered nation, and yet many villages in India do not, have access to electricity and even in metros there are severe electricity cuts for several, hours daily.
Page 7 :
ANTITHESIS VERSUS PARADOX, #### An antithesis is a proposition that is the diametric opposite of some other, proposition, the words or phrases used in these propositions are also exact opposite of, each other., #### A paradox, on the other hand, is self-contradictory statement. A paradox is both, true and untrue at the same time, it’s a logical puzzle, and only upon reflection do we, realize the underlying, self defeating logic., Note: A paradoxical person is someone who does two things that seem to be opposite to, each other or who has qualities that are opposite. For example: She is a paradox—she, loves being in the public eye but also deeply values and protects her privacy., ## A paradoxical person is someone who does two things that seem to be opposite to, each other or who has qualities that are opposite., INTERROGATION, This is a rhetorical mode of affirming or denying something more strongly than could be, done in ordinary language., Examples:, ## Who is here so base that would be a bondman?, ## Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman?, ## Who is here so vile that would not love his country? (Shakespeare), EXCLAMATION, It is used for strong expression of feelings. For example, O lift me as a wave, a leaf, a, cloud/ I fall upon the thorns of life; I bleed!, IRONY, A situation that is strange of funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the, opposite of what you expected., ## A child was born in an Indian family and the father made an astrologer predict his, future. After great deliberations, the astrologer replied: He will grow up to be the center, of attraction. He will be surrounded by luxury cars and vehicles at all times and will be the, guiding light for others. Needless to say, the family was filled with immense joy and pride., But when grown up, the child became a traffic police.
Page 8 :
## The Minister of Law and Justice gets arrested over a fake law degree., ## The woman and child development Minister of Delhi is sacked for secretly filming a, woman in an objectionable state and violating her privacy., Note: Verbal irony is when one uses words that meant the opposite of what one really, thinks., IRONY VERSUS PARADOX, In irony there exists a mismatch or incongruity between what is expected and what, occurs; but a paradox is clear contradiction, it’s like a logical puzzle where the statement, may seem weird, but actually turns out to be true or valid., Another example of irony is:, Water, water, everywhere,, And all the boards did shrink;, Water, water, everywhere,, Nor any drop to drink.”, ___________ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by S.T. Coleridge., , CHIASMUS, Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts, are repeated in reverse order., Literal Meaning: A crosswise arrangement, ## Never let a fool kiss you—or a kiss fool you., ## One must eat to live, Not live to eat., ## In the end, the true test is not the speeches a president delivers; it’s whether the, president delivers on the speeches. – Hillary Clinton
Page 9 :
FIGURE OF SPEECH BASED ON WORD CHOICE/ ORDER FOR EMPHASIS, HYPERBOLE, An exaggerated statement or claims not meant to be taken literally., ## I haven’t met you for ages., ## I am dealing with a million issues these days., ## If I hear any more music, I will go deaf., UNDERSTATEMENT, To say that something is smaller, less important etc. than it really is., ## Having your leg broken is somewhat painful., ## Bill Gates is financially secure., ## Buying a new Audi will set you back a few bucks., LITOTES, An ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the, contrary., ## This ice-cream is not bad! (Not bad = Good or Ok), ## Drawing a long bow—literally—is no mean feat. (No mean feat = Outstanding feat), ## He is hardly an Einstein., ## He is not the brightest bulb on the tree., ## He is not smart, is rather dumb., ANAPHORA, The repetition of a word or phrase at the very beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or, sentences., ## What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies, within us. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Page 11 :
CLIMAX, A figure of speech in which a series of ideas is arranged in order of increasing importance, or forcefulness., ## I came, I saw, I conquered. (Julius Caesar), CLIMAX VERSUS ANTI-CLIMAX, A climax is the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; the culmination, while an anti-climax is a disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events., ## In the climax of the movie he is awarded the greatest civil honour of the country—the, Bharat Ratna., ## Alexander the great—the undefeated general—had sought to reach the ends of the, world but was taken ill at Babylon and died at a young age without being able to execute, his plans., ANTI-CLIMAX, As a figure of speech, an anti-climax is a sudden transition in discourse from an important, idea to a laughable or trivial one., ## In that terrible accident, he lost his family, his car and his stylish watch., ## The infrastructure fund finances multilateral projects such as toll road, railway and, airport facilities, and even public toilets., ## He has seen the ravages of war, he has known natural catastrophes, he has been to, singles bars. (Woody Allen in his speech to graduates), CIRCUMLOCUTION, Circumlocution consists of expressing some fact or idea in a roundabout way, instead of, stating it at once. It means using more words than are necessary instead of speaking or, writing in a clear, direct way etc. For example:, ## The viewless couriers of the air. (=the wind), ## The statement of his was purely an effort of imagination. (=fiction)
Page 12 :
TAUTOLOGY OR PLEONASM, Tautology is meant for repeating the same fact or idea in different words. For example,, “It is the privilege and birthright of everyman to express his ideas without any fear.”, TRANSFERRED EPITHETS, EUPHEMISM, Bu using the euphemism, we speak in agreeable and favorable terms of some person,, object or event which is ordinarily considered unpleasant and disagreeable. For example,, ## He is telling us a fairy tale. (a lie), ## He has fallen asleep. (he is dead)
