Alliteration

Alliteration is a figure of speech in which two usually

consecutive words begin with the same consonant sound
but not always the same latter.

The word doesn’t always have to be right next to each

other, but when you say or read them, the sound is
repeated.

Alliteration Examples

1. cold coffee
2. happy Harry
3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
4. She sells sea shells on the sea shore
5. Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, which bothered Billy

Personification
Personification is giving human qualities to something that
may not be human, or even alive.

For example, when you say: “The flowers nodded their head

cheerfully.”
What you mean here is that the flowers moved about in
the wind looking as if they were cheerful and happy.
You’re imagining that  the flowers have human emotions.
Personification Examples

1. laughing flowers
2. howling wind
3. smiling sun
4. opportunity knocking at the door
5. shoe bite

A simile is a figure of speech in which two things are directly compared. We use the
word like or as to make the comparison.

1. as dark as the night

2. as cool as a cucumber
3. fought like cats and dogs
4. eat like a horse
 as blind as a bat
1.  as bold as brass
The four phrases above are all similes. The beauty of a simile is that it helps us imagine
clearly what the writer is trying to say. Poets and writers use similes to make their writing
come alive.

Oxymoron
An oxymoron brings two conflicting ideas together. We use
them to draw attention from the reader/listener. Two
words with apparently contradictory meanings are
combined to form a new word that is more in conjunction.
Oxymoron Examples

1. alone together
2. deafening silence
3. bittersweet
4. living dead
5.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole means using exaggerated statements for effect.
The media and politicians often use hyperbole to make
their articles or speeches more attention grabbing or seem
more important bigger, better and more interesting.
Hyperbole Examples

1. I have told you a million times not to get your shoes dirty.
2. Jake’s mum always cooks enough food to feed an army.
3. What have you got in this suitcase; it weighs a ton?
4. I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

Synecdoche
This is when a part of something is used instead of the
whole.
Synecdoche Examples

1. He took us for a spin in his new wheels. (Wheels = car)

2. There are hundreds of boots on the ground searching for
the fugitives. (Boots = soldiers or police)
3. There was no comment from The White House. (The
White House = The President)
Metonymy
Metonymy replaces a word or phrase with something
related or associated to it.
Metonymy Examples

1. Have you seen the latest Hollywood blockbuster?

(Hollywood = the whole of the film industry)
2. The crown is not able to take political a side. (crown = the
queen or royal family)
3. The press is going to have a field day. (press = all news
organizations)

Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sounds in a
phrase or sentence.
Assonance Examples

1. We received three emails each week.

2. The rain in Spain, stays mainly on the plain. (From the
musical ‘My Fair Lady’)
3. Hear the mellow wedding bells. (The Bells – Edgar Allen
Poe)

Irony – (Sarcasm)
A subtle form of humour involving words opposing to
what is actually meant. Irony can fall into three categories.

Verbal irony – Saying one thing and meaning something

else, usually the opposite of what is said.
Example:  Saying that you couldn’t possibly eat another
thing, then reaching for some more cake.
Dramatic irony – This is when the audience is more aware
of the plotline than the characters.
Example: In Shakespeare’s Macbeth – While Duncan thinks
Macbeth is faithful to him, Macbeth is actually plotting to
murder him. The audience knows this, but Duncan doesn’t.
Situational irony – This is when something happens that is
completely contrary to what is expected. Often with an
element of shock or surprise.
Example: winning the lottery and dying the day after.
(Listen to Ironic by Alanis Morrisette for many more
examples)

symbolism is a figure of speech that is used when an

author wants to create a certain mood or emotion in a
work of literature. It is the use of an object, person,
situation or word to represent something else, like an
idea, in literature.
Examples
 An olive branch is used to symbolise a truce. I offered her an olive branch
after our big fight as I did not want to be at odds with her.
 Black is the symbol of death. The funeral was full of people wearing black
suits.
 The dove is used to symbolise peace. The countries declared a peace treaty
by the releasing of a hundred doves.
 A red rose is used to symbolise love and romance. He handed her a red
rose and she knew at the moment how he felt.
 A broken mirror symbolises bad luck or separation. The mirror broke and he
knew that things would not be good from there on.