Figure of Speech

Literal vs Figurative Language

Literal Language
You say exactly what you mean. You make no comparison,
and you do not exaggerate or understate the situation.
 Literal vs Figurative Language
Figurative Language
• is a way of expressing oneself that does not use a word's strict or
realistic meaning.

• is non-literal wording that adds creativity or rhetorical meaning to

your writing.

• it invites the reader to use their senses or prior knowledge to

understand the meaning.
 Literal or Figurative?
1. Grant always turns in his homework. Literal
2. The water was rising in the river because of the rain. Literal
3. Her teeth are like stars because they come out at night. Figurative
4. When she sings her voice is like velvet. Figurative
5. Half of the class did not complete the assignment. Literal
6. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. Figurative
7. Mike was so angry that steam was coming out of his ears.Figurative
8. I’ve told you a million times to clean up your room. Figurative
For example:
• This coffee shop is an icebox!
• She's drowning in a sea of grief.
• She's as happy as a clam.
• I move fast like a cheetah on the Serengeti.
• The sea lashed out in anger at the ships, unwilling to tolerate another
battle.
• The sky misses the sun at night.
• I've told you a million times to clean your room!
Why Use Figurative Language?

• Figurative language helps make writing and speeches more

engaging and amusing.

• The reader or listener has to think about the words a little

more, as if deciphering a riddle, which means they’re actively
participating.
For Example:

• You look like an angel.

• You look like you’ve seen a ghost. (You look terrified.)

• You look like a spring morning. (You look refreshed and healthy.)

• You look like an old mop. (You’re not attractive.)

Types of Figurative
Language
Allusion
• Allude – which means to mention someone or something without talking
about him, her, or it directly

• In short, an allusion is a figure of speech that references a famous

person, place, event, or literary work.

• Allusions are either implied or direct.

Allusion
For example:
If you hear someone say, “Cupid’s arrow keep missing me.”
he or she alludes to the classic
mythology that hails Cupid as the
arrow-bearing God of Love.

In literature, writers use allusion to link their piece with another

well-known work and evoke creative associations in the reader’s
mind.
Allusion
Examples:
• Stop trying to save everyone; you’re not Wonder Woman.

• Her mom warned her not to lie lest her nose will grow longer.
(Pinocchio)
• Alex is the Einstein of her peers. (Alex is a genius like Albert Einstein.)

• He dated a lot of girls, but Kristine is his kryptonite.

(Superman’s weakness.)
Hyperbole
• Hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses exaggerated comparisons or
overstatements for emphasis and literary effect.

For Example:

My backpack is as heavy as a ton of bricks.

I was dying of laughter.
While hyperbole may sound ridiculously impossible, it leaves us with a visual grasp of
the things compared.
Hyperbole
• Purposes of Hyperboles:

1. Use in Everyday Conversations

Use a well-crafted hyperbole to stress a point or insert humor in
everyday conversations.

For Example:

✓ He is so cute I want to put him in a keychain and carry him around.

✓She visited last weekend and brought a decade’s worth of laundry.

Hyperbole
• Purposes of Hyperboles:

2. Use in Literature, Speeches, Songs, and Films

Hyperbole brings life to characters and plots in novels; grabs the audience’s
ears during speeches; conjures emotions in music; and boosts cinematic
scenes.

For Example:

✓ “He could clear the savanna after every meal.” – Lion King.
✓“In the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without
speaking. People hearing without listening.” – Simon & Garfunkel, The Sound of
Silence
Hyperbole
• Purposes of Hyperboles:

3. Use in Advertising.
Exaggerated claims and visuals captivate consumers and actually result in
product retention. Hyperbole is not only useful in crafting legendary slogans;
it’s also evident in over-the-top ads and posters..

For Example:

✓ The world’s most refreshing can (Coors Light)

✓“Tastes so good, cats ask for it by name.” – Meow Mix

Metaphor
• A metaphor is a figure of speech used to imply a comparison between
ideas, things, or people.

For Example:
So, when you hear someone say he’s “feeling blue
,” you don’t expect him turn color blue; instead, you try to comfort him
because it means he’s feeling “lonely.”
Metaphor
1. Metaphors compare things to make a creative analogy that may sound
irrational if taken literally. Use metaphors to compare an idea to
something tangible, so readers or the listener can better visualize what
you mean.

For Example:
He’s always been my rock.
[Rock is compared to a person who is the strength of another person.]
Metaphor
For Example:

She’s in ruins because he left.

[In ruins doesn’t mean literal destruction but more about an emotional damage.]

Today was a fairytale.

[Today must have been magical to be likened to a fairytale.]
Metaphor
2. Metaphors are a literary device used in music, poetry, speeches, and
novels.

For Example:
You’re just another picture to burn.” – Taylor Swift
“Love is a piece of paper torn to bits.” – Charles Bukowski
“His unusually low, baritone speaking voice is chocolate for the ears.” – Dan Brown
“Conscience is a man’s compass.” – Vincent Van Gogh
Metaphor
When using metaphors, make sure that the similarities of the things you
compare are apparent, not out of this world..

“Love is a one-way street””

“two-way street”
Simile
• A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things and uses
the words “like” or “as” and they are commonly used in everyday
communication.

• For Example:

“The cat sat in the chair like a king overlooking his kingdom.”
The cat’s sitting posture is compared to that of a king who relaxes in a special
chair that is reserved for him and not any other person in the kingdom.
Simile
For Example:

✓ She’s as busy as a bee.

✓ The boy was as brave as a lion in the jungle.

What is the Difference between Metaphors and Similes?
Personification
• Humanizing Nonliving Things

• Attributing human characteristics, emotion, and behavior to animals and

inanimate objects or ideas.

• It helps writers turn abstract concepts into a more relatable and

engaging read.
Personification
For Example:

You can hear the trees whisper in the dark.

The stars danced in the midnight sky.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a
while, you could miss it.” —John Hughes, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Uses of Personification

1. Use personification to creatively get your point across in everyday

conversation.

✓ Darkness is an old friend he can’t let go.

✓ Jenna’s lived here all her life and every alley calls her by name.

✓ His hometown is expecting his return.

✓ Remember the party where your shoes humiliated you?

Uses of Personification

2. Literature, Music, and Films

Writers, performers, and filmmakers create astounding imagery through

personification because it transforms words and lyrics into something familiar that

audiences feel and follow.

Uses of Personification

2. Literature, Music, and Films

Example from Literature: From Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom:

The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He’s
enjoying the wind and the fresh air–until he notices the other waves in front of him,
crashing against the shore.” –

The wave behaves like a human basking in the ocean. The story is more emotionally
appealing because since it’s given the ability to feel, see, and move like we do.
Uses of Personification

2. Literature, Music, and Films

Example from Music: From Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun

And I say it’s all right

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter

Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here

The song associates hope in the sun’s return after a long, lonely winter.
Uses of Personification

3. Advertisers make use of personification to “humanize” their products

and appeal to viewers’ sensibilities because giving human qualities to
lifeless objects forges a connection with consumers..

Here are examples of personification in advertising.

“The happiest place on earth.” (Disneyland)

“Why wait for a quiet dishwasher? Whirlpool has it today.” (Whirlpool)

Alliteration

The colorful kite carved

carelessly through the
clouds
Alliteration

The colorful kite carved

carelessly through the
clouds

Notice how the /k/ sound is repeated at the beginning of

several words in this sentence
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound in words that are
in close proximity to each other.

For Example:
Leapin’ Lizard
Taco Tuesday
We went whale watching
Alliteration
Another term for alliteration is “initial rhyme,” because it’s literally the
reverse of a rhyme—instead of repeating a sound at the end of two or
more words, alliteration is repeating a sound at the beginning of two or
more words. .

For Example:
“Sol sells cell phones,” which repeats the “ess” sound, is alliteration,
but “Sol charges cell phones” isn’t.
Alliteration
with alliteration
The colorful kite carved
carelessly through the
clouds
without alliteration
The vibrant kite darted
recklessly through the
clouds
Alliteration
Alliteration is the stylistic device of using a series of words begin with the
same consonant sound.

Tongue twisters often use alliteration to create catchy phrases.

Notice the effect of alliteration as you try to say the following tongue
twisters:
Six silly sailors swam south.
Bobby bought a bunch of brown bananas.
Alliteration
As a literary device, alliteration operates similarly to onomatopoeia in that the effect is
heard, rather than read—even if the reader only “hears” it in their mind as they read
silently.

This is also why phrases made up of words that start with the same letter aren’t
automatically alliterated.

For example, “cat cells”

isn’t alliteration because in these two words, the letter “c” is pronounced differently.
How to use alliteration in a sentence?
• Alliteration is formed using words beginning with similar consonant or vowel
sounds.

• These words have to be used consecutively, one after the other.

• Similar sounding syllables can also be used to form alliterated sentences.

• There is no definite rule that alliteration can be used only for a number of
definite words. It can be just two similar sounding words used one after the
other in a sentence.
1. Poetry 2. Songwriting
Poet's love playing with sounds and Songwriters frequently uses alliteration
many uses alliteration to convey a in their lyrics to create a sense of
mood or a feeling or to add a sense of percussion and rhythm. This is common
playfulness to their writing. in genres such as rap and hip hop.

3. Characters 3. Brands and Advertising

Alliteration if often used to make Brand examples include Coca Cola,
character names memorable. For Chupa Chups, Dunkin’ Donuts and Tic
example, Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Tac. Advertising slogans are another
Bruce Banner, Lois Lane, and the place you will commonly find
Wicked Witch of the West. alliteration.
Onomatopoeia
As with so many other words in the English language, we have classical
Greek to thank for onomatopoeia, which originates from the words onoma,
meaning “name,” and poiein, meaning “to make.”

Is the figurative term for words that attempt to represent a sound. These
words are used in writing and literature for effect. They are the attempt of
writers to put sounds into words.
Onomatopoeia
For example

Roosters make the same sound all over the world, but the onomatopoeias
for that sound vary in different languages:

In English, roosters are thought to say “cock-a-doodle-do.” In Spanish, it’s

“quiquiriquí.” In Tagalog, it’s “tiktiláok.” In Hindi, it’s “ku-kudu-koo.”.
When are onomatopoeias used?

The animal kingdom

There are many that represent the sounds animals themselves make, such
as meow or purr for a cat,

bark or woof for a dog,

quack for a duck, and oink for a pig.

These words generally function as both nouns and verbs:

When are onomatopoeias used?

Human sounds and actions

There are many onomatopoeias for sounds humans make and/or for
actions associated with certain sounds.

Some examples include

achoo, belch, gargle, growl, hiccup, murmur, and snore.

When are onomatopoeias used?

Nature and objects

The language we use when we’re talking about nature and inanimate objects
supplies plenty of onomatopoeias..

For example

the sounds associated with water give us splash, gurgle, drip, sprinkle, and more.

Objects colliding with each other can clink, clatter, clang, or bang. The machines
we use may beep, buzz, chug, click, ding, honk, hum, or zap.
Oxymoron
• An oxymoron is a literary device that juxtaposes contradictory terms.
Oxymorons are often used poetically as a way of bringing out a fresh
meaning in a word or phrase. Like a paradox, an oxymoron is what’s
known as a “contradiction in terms,” although oxymorons and paradoxes
are two different things.
Oxymoron
The word oxymoron is an ancient Greek word, which translates most
closely to something like “sharply dull” or “cleverly stupid.”

In other words, the oxymoron definition is itself an oxymoron.

•accurate estimate
•alone together
•awfully good
Oxymoron
The word oxymoron is an ancient Greek word, which translates most
closely to something like “sharply dull” or “cleverly stupid.”

In other words, the oxymoron definition is itself an oxymoron.

•accurate estimate •bittersweet

•alone together •grow smaller
•awfully good •jumbo shrimp
What is the purpose of oxymorons?

Dramatic effect

As a contradiction of terms, an oxymoron both stands out and also elicits

critical thinking.

The reader must momentarily pause to comprehend and process the

meaning—in other words, oxymorons make the reader think.
What is the purpose of oxymorons?

Entertainment

Oxymorons present an ideal opportunity to be clever or funny. The

inherent setup of contradictory words works great for jokes and other
witty statements. Consider these oxymoron examples:
• “I am a deeply superficial person.” —Andy Warhol
• “I distinctly remember forgetting that.” —Clara Barton
What is the purpose of oxymorons?

Present words in a new way

Placing contrasting words next to each other makes each one stand out
more, just like placing contrasting colors together. Highlighting their
differences accentuates their meaning and the words come across
stronger. That makes oxymorons a serious option in word choice.

For example: deafening silence

What is paradox?

Here's a quick and simple definition:

A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which,

upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason.

Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that

"Life is much too important to be taken seriously" is a paradox.

What is the difference
between oxymoron and paradox?
• The main difference between an oxymoron and a paradox is that
oxymorons use contradictory words whereas paradoxes use contradictory
ideas.

• An oxymoron is usually just two words (sometimes one, as in

“bittersweet”), but a paradox is an entire statement, usually a standalone
sentence or even a full paragraph.
C
E
A
F
B
G
D
 alliteration

simile

onomatopoeia

personification