Figures of speech
Figures of speech is a form of expression that deviates from the ordinary mode of speech , or the literal meaning of a word or phrase , for the sake of more powerful and distinctive effect.Classification of figures of speech :
The figures of speech can be arranged under six main heads as shown below:
1) Figures based on agreement , similarity or resemblance. They are used when like objects come under notice .
Simile , Metaphor ,etc., come under this group .
2) Figures based on contrast ,difference or surprise. They are used when unlike object come under our notice .
The Figures- Antithesis ,Epigram , belong to this class.
3) Figures based on contiguity , or on the principle of association of idea. These are principally Metonymy , Synecdoche and Hyperbole.
4) Figures based on imagination , i.e. , those figures which bring to our imagination lifeless things as if they are alive .
To this class belong such figures as Personification , Vision , Apostrophe and others.
5) Figures based on indirectness of speech . These Figures are employed when we want to suggest things by implication rather than by direct or simple assertions .
To this class belongs Irony , Sarcasm , and others .
6) Figures based on sound . We use these figures when we make the sound of the words suggest the sense or when we fix a point more firmly in the memory .
Such figures are Alliteration , Rhyme or Assonance.
1) Simile
2) Metaphor
3) Personification
4) Apostrophe
5) Antithesis
6) Oxymoron
7) Epigram
8) Hyperbole
9) Irony
10) Alliteration
11) Metonymy
12) Synecdoche
13) Transferred Epithet
14) Onomatopaeia
15) Pathetic fallacy
16) Pun
Figures of Speech
1) Simile is the resemblance on some point between two object of different kinds . This resemblance is expressed by word "like" or "as".
a) We two alone shall sing like birds in a cage .b) Sardar Patel was as firm as a rock.
c) The Assyrians came down like a wolf on the fold .
d) The matter was as clear as crystal .
e) His heart was as good as gold .
f) The leader was as proud as a peacock.
g) Milton had a voice whose sound was like the sea.
2) A Metaphor is the resemblance which one object bears to another .It is implied Simile in a shorter form, and is expressed without the sing of comparison ,"like" or "as".
a) He was a lion in the fight .b) The camel is the ship of the dessert .
c) Life is but an empty dream .
d) He was a rock in firmness .
e) Lala Lajapat Rai was the lion of Punjab.
f) Gandhiji was the father of nation.
3) Personification is that Figure of speech by which irrational animals , inanimate object and abstract ideas are spoken of as if they were persons or human begins.
a) The hills rejoice and clap hands .b) The angry sea dashed its waves against the shores.
c) The thirsty drank the water .
d) 'O Solitude' where are the charms,The sahe have seen thy face.
e) Death lays its icy hand on king and beggars.
f) Yonder comes the powerful king of day .
g) 'Ye winds, that have made me your sport.'
4) Apostrophe is an exclamatory address to a person ,dead or absent or some inanimate object , as if that person or subject were actually before the speaker.
a) O Solitude , where are thy charms!b) Ye winds ,convey to me some report.
c) Milton, thou shouldst be living this hour .
d) O Caeser , thou art mighty yet.
e) O Death , where is thy sting? O Grave where is thy victory?
f) O sleep , even thou hast left me.
5) Antithesis is the contrast or opposition between two different objects or qualities for the sake of emphasis .
a) Not that I loved Caeser less, but that I loved Rome more .b) To err is human , to forgive divine.
c) A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
d) Speech is silver , silence is gold .
e) Give every man thy ear, few thy voice .
f) United we stand , divided we fall.
g) Man propose , God disposes.
6) Oxymoron is a form of Antithesis and consists of joining to a Noun an epithet that seems to be in contradiction to it .
a) He lived a life of busy idleness .b) James I was called the wisest fool.
c) Thus idly busy rolls their world away.
d) "His honor rooted in dishonor stood,
And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true."
e) The boy is regularly irregular .
f) He yielded himself to the kind cruelty of the surgeon's knife.
g) The Congress suffered an honorable defeat in the election.
7) An Epigram is a pointed antithetical saying which conveys a striking thought in a few words.
a) Language is the art of concealing thought.b) He makes no friend who never made a foe.
c) The child is the father of the man.
d) Still waters run deep .
e) An empty vessel , makes much noise.
f) A little learning is a dangerous thing .
g) Fools rush in where angles fear to tread .
8) Hyperbole means exaggeration . This Figure of Speech represents things as greater or less, better or worse, than they are in reality .
a) They were swifter than eagle and stronger than lion.b) All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
c) A cry that would raise the death from the graves.
d) Rivers of blood and mountains of stain.
e) The waves rose mountain high .
f) This speaks volumes of your industry .
g) As many farewells as there be stars in heaven.
9) Irony is a Figure of speech in which we utter the very reverse of what we mean, with a view to add force to our statement .
a) When that the poor have cried , Caeser hath wept,Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
Yet Brutus is an honorable man.
b) When Munj ordered Bhoj to be killed : Bhoj said,
" O Mnuj , the earth did not go with Ram and
Yudhishthra , but it shall certainly go with you."
c) How beautiful you look. Just see your face in the looking glass.
10) Alliteration is the frequent repetition of the same letter or syllable .
a) A strong man struggling with the storms of fate .
b) Tears from the depth of some divine despair .
c) The fair breeze blew , the white foam flew.
d) The lordly lion left his lonely lair.
e) How high his honor holds his haughty head .
f) I slip, I slide; I gloom ,I glance.
11) Metonymy is the use of the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it.
a) He drank the cup .
b) I have finished Shakespeare .
c) He succeeded to the crown .
d) Grey hairs must be respected.
e) The pen is mightier than the sword.
f) The whole city went to see the fair.
g) The House decided against the resolution .
12) Synecdoche is the use of the name of a part for that of the whole , or the whole for a part.
a) He manages to earn his bread .
b) He is a poor creature.
c) There is a mixture of the tiger and ape in his character.
d) All the rank and fashion came out to see the sight.
e) He has seen seventy summers.
f) He has many mouths to feed.
g) The sword must always rule.
h) All the wit and learning of the country were gathered at one place.
13) Transferred Epithet : In this Figure of Speech an Adjective is sometimes transferred from one word to another, to which it does not strictly belong.
a) He lay all night on his sleepless pillow.b) The plough man homeward plods his weary way.
c) He passed an anxious night.
d) As soon as he entered, the noisy room became quiet.
14) Onomatopaeia is the Figure of Speech in which the use of words, which, by their sound, suggest their meaning.
The following are some examples:
his, splash, murmur, cuckoo, clatter , twitter, hum, babble ,buzz, crash, ripple, roar, hush, bark,etc..
15) Pathetic fallacy is the Figure of Speech by which human feelings or characteristics are attributed to inanimate things .
a) The rude sea grew civil at her song.
b) Earth felt the wound ; Nature from her seat
Sighing through all her works ,gave sign of woe.
c) They rowed her across the cruel crawling foam.
d) The moon burned the hearts of the lovers.
e) All the trees in the forest flowered at the sight of Ram and Sita.
16) Pun : A Pun is a Figure of Speech which consists in using words in a double sense to produce a ludicrous effect.
a) May I mend your sole ? (soul)b) He took one hundred eggs and won? (one)
c) Is life worth living ? It depends upon the liver.
d) An ambassador is an honest person who lies aboard for the good of his country.
Hope you completely understood the topic "Figures of Speech" . If you have any questions or need help on any topic...you can share with us...
Also you can give suggestions for any improvement...as
No comments:
Post a Comment