Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech [ Examples ]
1. Metaphor
❖ "But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill." (William Sharp, "The Lonely Hunter")
❖ "Love is an alchemist that can transmute poison into food--and a spaniel that prefers even punishment from one hand to caresses from another." (Charles Colton, Lacon)
2. Simile
❖ "Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong." (slogan of Pan-American Coffee Bureau)
❖ She dealt with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat." (James Joyce, "The Boarding House")
3. Personification
❖ "Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there." (proverb quoted by Christopher Moltisanti, The Sopranos)
❖ "The operation is over. On the table, the knife lies spent, on its side, the bloody meal smear-dried upon its flanks. The knife rests." (Richard Selzer, "The Knife")
4. Apostrophe
❖ "Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone Without a dream in my heart Without a love of my own." (Lorenz Hart, "Blue Moon")
❖ "Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again…” (Paul Simon, "The Sounds of Silence")
5. Metonymy
❖ The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings.
❖ “I stopped at a bar and had a couple of double Scotches. They didn't do me any good. All they did was made me think of Silver Wig, and I never saw her again." (Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep)
6. Hyperbole
❖ "I was helpless. I did not know what in the world to do. I was quaking from head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far." (Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi")
❖ I'm really busy, I am doing like ten million things at the same time.
7. Litotes ❖ "The grave's a fine a private place, But none, I think, do there
1. Metaphor
❖ "But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill." (William Sharp, "The Lonely Hunter")
❖ "Love is an alchemist that can transmute poison into food--and a spaniel that prefers even punishment from one hand to caresses from another." (Charles Colton, Lacon)
2. Simile
❖ "Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong." (slogan of Pan-American Coffee Bureau)
❖ She dealt with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat." (James Joyce, "The Boarding House")
3. Personification
❖ "Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there." (proverb quoted by Christopher Moltisanti, The Sopranos)
❖ "The operation is over. On the table, the knife lies spent, on its side, the bloody meal smear-dried upon its flanks. The knife rests." (Richard Selzer, "The Knife")
4. Apostrophe
❖ "Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone Without a dream in my heart Without a love of my own." (Lorenz Hart, "Blue Moon")
❖ "Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again…” (Paul Simon, "The Sounds of Silence")
5. Metonymy
❖ The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings.
❖ “I stopped at a bar and had a couple of double Scotches. They didn't do me any good. All they did was made me think of Silver Wig, and I never saw her again." (Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep)
6. Hyperbole
❖ "I was helpless. I did not know what in the world to do. I was quaking from head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far." (Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi")
❖ I'm really busy, I am doing like ten million things at the same time.
7. Litotes ❖ "The grave's a fine a private place, But none, I think, do there