FIGURES OF SPEECH
ALLITERATION
1. Puny puma pit their skills against zebras.
2. Handsome Harry hired hundreds of hippos for
Hanukkah.
ANAPHORA
1. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
Act I Scene I
“And do you now put on your best attire?
And do you now cull out a holiday?
And do you now strew flowers in his way
That comes in triumph over Pompey’s
blood? Be gone!”
2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Book I – Recalled to Life
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it
was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the
season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was
the winter of despair…”
ANTITHESIS
1. Lloyd Braun: "Serenity now; insanity later."
-- from Seinfeld episode "The Serenity Now"
2. "I have a dream that my four little children will
one day live in a nation where they will not
be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character. I have a
dream today!"
-- Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream
APOSTROPHE
1. "Science! True daughter of Old Time thou art!"
(Edgar Allan Poe, "To Science")
2. "Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art"
(John Keats)
ASSONANCE
1. The Bells by Allan Edgar Poe
“Hear the mellow wedding-bells
Golden bells!”
2. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
“…And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my
bride…”
CHIASMUS
1."The first one knows his blows
And the second blows his nose."
2. “He who sheds the blood of man, by man, shall
his blood be shed.”
EUPHEMISM
1. "waste a gook," "barbecue party"
2. protective reaction strike, selective ordinance,
collateral damage
HYPERBOLE
1. "It was so cold, even the polar bears were wearing
jackets."
2. "The test was so hard, by the time I finished it I
was 100 years old!"
IRONY
1, A merchant was walking home from the market
when he met a man on the road. They
walked together as the merchant boasted of
his successes and profits. Eventually the
merchant realized he didn't know his new
friend's name, and asked who he was. I am
the Angel of Death, replied the man.
2. "A fine thing indeed!" he muttered to himself.
LITOTES
1.It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on
the brain.
2. Running a marathon in under two hours is no
small accomplishment.
METAPHOR
1. "Life is a journey, travel it well."
2. "Love is the wild card of existence."
METONYMY
1. I couldn’t catch his tongue.
2. Today, we will be performing Shakespeare.
ONOMATOPEIA
1. 'Listen to the bee buzz by'
2. 'Dave whooshed down the hill'.
OXYMORON
1. "O miserable abundance, O beggarly riches!"
(John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions)
2. "A yawn may be defined as a silent yell."
(G.K. Chesterton)
PARADOX
1. A rich man is no richer than a beggar.
2. You can save money by spending it.
PERSONIFICATION
1. "The road isn't built that can make it breathe
hard!"
(slogan for Chevrolet automobiles)
2. "Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered.
There was no one there."
(proverb quoted by Christopher Moltisanti, The
Sopranos)
PUN
1. The violinist spent the night in a vile inn.
2. When the butter melted, it was rendered useless.
SIMILE
1. "The rain falls like the sun,
rising upon the mountains."
2. "He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula
on a slice of angel food."
(Raymond Chandler)
SYNECDOCHE
1. All hands on deck.
2. Give us this day our daily bread.
UNDERSTATEMENT
1. "A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be
conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty."
(Mark Twain)
2. "Well, that's cast rather a gloom over the
evening, hasn't it?"
(Dinner guest, after a visit from the Grim
Reaper, in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life)
~Princess Joy Pidlaoan (IV-A)