FIGURES OF SPEECH

Aytekin Eliyeva
A figure of speech is a rhetorical device that
achieves a special effect by using words in
distinctive ways. Figurative language is often
associated with literature and poetry. But the
fact is we use figures of speech every day in
our own writing and conversations.
Using original figures of speech in our writing
is a way to convey meanings in fresh,
unexpected ways. Figures can help our
readers understand and stay interested in
what we have to say.
 Categories
Phonological figures (sound-oriented figures)

Morphological figures (word-oriented figures)

Syntactical figures (arrangement figures)

Semantic figures (meaning-related figures)

Pragmatic figures (speaker-hearer related figures)

 Phonological figures

Alliteration
Assonance
Consonance
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration- The repetition of the same consonant
sounds or of different vowel sounds at the beginning of
words or in stressed syllables.
o consonantal alliteration on scrolls of silver snowy
sentences" (Hart Crane)
o vocalic alliteration Anna has amazing abilities
appreciated by everyone.

Assonance the use of the same vowel sound with

different consonants or the same consonant with
different vowels in successive words or stressed syllables
o Vowels - I saw old autumn in the musty morn (T. Hood)
o Consonants mystery and mastery
Consonance Similarity between consonants, but
not between vowels
Has your soul sipped
Of the sweetness of all sweets?
Has it well supped
But yet hungers and sweats?
(W. Owen)

Onomatopoeia A word whose sound hints at its

meaning, such as bang, hiss.
 Morphological figures

anadiplosis
anaphora
archaism
epanalepsis
epiphora
polyptoton
 Anaphora The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the
beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs -
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing
grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall
fight in the hills. (Winston S. Churchill)
Epiphora Repetition of a word or expression at the end of
successive phrases, sentences, or verses - Little Lamb, who
made thee?/ Dost thou know who made thee? (Blake, "The
Lamb")
Anadiplosis - Rhetorical repetition at the beginning of a phrase
of the word or words with which the previous phrase ended -
She walks with Beauty - Beauty that must die (Keats)
Polyptoton The repetition of a word in a differently inflected
form - There's nothing you can do that can't be done,/ Nothing
you can sing that can't be sung. (The Beatles)
Archaism An old word or phrase no longer in general
spoken or written use. Archaisms are found in poetry,
biblical translations, place names and so on. yon=that,
hither=closer, oft=often, damsel=maiden
Verb endings such as est and eth as in thou goest=
you go and goeth=goes (third person singular present
indicative).

Epanalepsis the repetition, after a more or less

lengthy passage of subordinate or parenthetic text, of a
word or clause that was used before Live and let live
 Syntactical figures

ellipsis
parallelism
chiasmus
asyndeton
polysyndeton
Ellipsis Refers to a sentence in which a part of structure
has been omitted, which can be understood by context.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and (may the Lord
cut off) every boastful tongue. (Psalm 12:3)

Parallelism The principle of representing equal ideas in

the same grammatical form. Repetition of syntactical
units (phrases, clauses, sentences).
Easy come, easy go. Out of sight, out of mind.
Parallelism produces a sense of balance and order.
Government of the people, by the people and for the
people.
 Syndeton refers to the use of conjunctions to link parts of a
syntactic constructions as in They spoke quietly and rapidly.
o Asyndeton Unsual omission of conjunctions, especially in
order to achieve drammatic form of expression as in O, what
a noble mind is here overthrown/ The courtiers, soldiers,
scholars, eye, tongue, sword (Hamlet)
o Polysyndeton Use of (unnecessarily) many conjunctions.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep. (Yeats)

Chiasmus - The inversion of words from the first half of a

statement in the second half Ask not what your country can
do for you, ask what you can do for your country.(J.Kennedy)
 Semantic figures
antonomasia metaphor
euphemism personification
antithesis metonymy
simile synecdoche
hyperbola
 Semantic figures
Simile Comparison between two dissimilar things, usually
connected by like and as - She walks in beauty like the night
(L.Byron)
Metaphor A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally
belonging to one object or idea is applied to another - The leaves of
Life keep falling one by one. (Omar Khayyam)
Metaphors are characterized as either
1. Direct She is the pain in his heart. The primary subject (tenor) is
She and the secondary subject (vehicle) is pain in his heart
2. Indirect Comparison is implied but not stated directly as in - It was
just the luck of the draw that we met yesterday. We are comparing
an element of life to a card game, but the comparison is not stated
directly
Personification - A type of metaphor in which distinctive human
characteristics are attributed to an animal, object or idea, as His car
was happy to be washed or Fortune is blind Personification is
commonly used in allegory.
 Metonymy A term used in semantics and stylistics,
referring to a figure of speech in which the name of an
attribute of an entity is used in place of the entity itself - To
read Milton= Miltons works or What action has Whitehall (=
the British Government) taken?
Synecdoche - A figure of speech in which a part is used to
represent the whole (for example, ABC for alphabet) or the
whole for a part ("England won the World Cup in 1966").
Antonomasia 1. Use of a proper name in place of an
ordinary word a Croesus = any very rich person, Benedict
Arnold=a traitor . 2. Use of a descriptive phrase in place of a
proper name - The Swan of Avon = Shakespeare
Hyperbola A figure of speech in which exaggeration is
used for emphasis or effect This book weighs a ton.
o A type of hyperbole in which the exaggeration
magnified so greatly that it refers to an impossibility is
called an adynaton I'd give my right arm for a piece
of pizza.
Euphemism - The act of substituting a mild or indirect
term for harsh or offensive one. neutralize for kill ,
departed for dead
Antithesis Parallel arrangement of contrasting ideas,
phrases, or words so as to produce an effect of
balance, such as My words fly up, my thoughts remain
below (Hamlet)
 Pragmatic figures
Apostrophe
Rhetorical question
Irony
Apostrophe The addressing an absent person or a
personified object.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting.
Rhetorical question A question asked for rhetorical
effect rather than as a request for an answer
Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? (C.Marlowe)

Irony The use of words to express something

different from and often opposite to their literal
meaning He is an honorable man as Brutus.
 References
Manfred Jahn, A Guide to the Theory of Poetry (IV paragraph-
Minima Rhetorica)

David Crystal, A dictonary of Linguistics and Phonetics (V edition)

Edward Quinn, A dictionary of Literary and Thematic terms (II

edition)

Robert I Bradshaw, Figures of Speech

www.angelfire.com/ct2/evenski/.../figuresofspeech

http://www.serve.com/hecht/words/fos