Figures of Speech
FIGURE OF SPEECH : A mode of expression in which words are used out of their literal meaning or out of their ordinary use in order to add beauty or emotional intensity or to transfer the poet's sense impressions by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning familiar to the reader. Some important figures of speech are: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole and symbol. Adjunction: Adjunction refers to a clause or a phrase, usually a verb, that is added at the beginning of a sentence. Here are a few examples of adjunction;
Sings the bird as we walk on by.
Good it is that fights the master with his dark lord,
Allegory: This figure of speech is an extended metaphor where the characters or actions in a literary work have a more imaginative meaning. The examples of allegory are;
I feel like a dog today. I rolled out of my basket and munched on some biscuit-like cereal. Scratching as I got on the train, I sniffed a passing female. Aruooo!! Down boy! - Animal Farm, George Orwell
By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects; for all that country is mine, and I am the Prince and God of it. How is it then that thou hast run away from thy King? - The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
Alliteration: A repetition of particular consonant sound in the beginning of each word in close succession. Though alliteration is mainly consonant sounds, sometimes vowel sounds are also repeated. This figure of speech is mainly used in poetry. A few examples of alliteration:
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet. - Acquainted with the Night, Robert Frost
Those tidal thoroughbreds that tango through the turquoise tide. - Dancing Dolphins, Paul McCann
Allusion: An allusion is an indirect or brief reference to a person, place or thing in a literary work. A few illustrations of allusion -
I doubt if Phaethon feared more - that time he dropped the sun-reins of his father's chariot and burned the streak of sky we see today - or if poor Icarus
Sings the bird as we walk on by.
Good it is that fights the master with his dark lord,
Allegory: This figure of speech is an extended metaphor where the characters or actions in a literary work have a more imaginative meaning. The examples of allegory are;
I feel like a dog today. I rolled out of my basket and munched on some biscuit-like cereal. Scratching as I got on the train, I sniffed a passing female. Aruooo!! Down boy! - Animal Farm, George Orwell
By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects; for all that country is mine, and I am the Prince and God of it. How is it then that thou hast run away from thy King? - The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan
Alliteration: A repetition of particular consonant sound in the beginning of each word in close succession. Though alliteration is mainly consonant sounds, sometimes vowel sounds are also repeated. This figure of speech is mainly used in poetry. A few examples of alliteration:
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet. - Acquainted with the Night, Robert Frost
Those tidal thoroughbreds that tango through the turquoise tide. - Dancing Dolphins, Paul McCann
Allusion: An allusion is an indirect or brief reference to a person, place or thing in a literary work. A few illustrations of allusion -
I doubt if Phaethon feared more - that time he dropped the sun-reins of his father's chariot and burned the streak of sky we see today - or if poor Icarus