FIGURES OF SPEECH

1. Simile
1. A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or
concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of “like”
or “as.” Simile is used as a literary device to assert similarity with the help
of like or as, which are language constructs that establish equivalency. A
proper simile creates an explicit comparison between two things that are
different enough from each other such that their comparability appears
unlikely.
For example, the statement “this poem is like a punch in the gut” features a simile.
The poem is being explicitly compared to a “punch in the gut” with the word
“like.”
2. Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two non-similar
things. As a literary device, metaphor creates implicit comparisons without the
express use of “like” or “as.” Metaphor is a means of asserting that two things are
identical in comparison rather than just similar. This is useful in literature for using
specific images or concepts to state abstract truths.
For example, one of the most famous metaphors in literature is featured in this line
from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: What light through yonder window
breaks? It is the East, and Juliet, the sun! In this metaphor, Juliet is compared to the
sun. In fact, this figure of speech claims that Juliet is the sun. Of course, the reader
understands that Romeo does not believe that Juliet is literally the sun. Instead, the
comparison demonstrates the idea that Romeo equates Juliet with the beauty, awe,
and life-giving force of the sun. To Romeo, symbolically, Juliet and the sun are the
same.
3. Personification
Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human
attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. Personification is a
common form of metaphor in that human characteristics are attributed to
nonhuman things. This allows writers to create life and motion within inanimate
objects, animals, and even abstract ideas by assigning them recognizable human
behaviors and emotions.
4. Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia, pronounced on-uh-mat-uh–pee–uh, is defined as a word that
imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the
thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.
For instance, saying, “The gushing stream flows in the forest” is a more
meaningful description than just saying, “The stream flows in the forest.” The
reader is drawn to hear a “gushing stream,” which makes the expression more
effective.
5. Alliteration
Alliteration is a literary device that reflects repetition in two or more nearby words
of initial consonant sounds. Alliteration does not refer to the repetition of
consonant letters that begin words, but rather the repetition of the consonant sound
at the beginning of words.
For example, alliterative “tongue twisters” are useful for encouraging language
learners, generally children, to hear similar sounds repeated at the beginning of
several words. A well-known alliterative tongue twister is: Peter Piper picked a
peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. However,
though alliterative tongue twisters are associated with children, they are useful for
practicing and improving pronunciation, fluency, and articulation.
6. Consonance
Consonance is defined as a pleasing sound caused by the repetition of similar
consonant sounds within groups of words or a literary work. This repetition often
occurs at the end of words but may also be found within words.
For example,
He stood on the road and cried.
Toss the glass, boss.
7. Assonance
Assonance (ăs'ə-nəns) is a literary device in which vowel sounds are repeated
within phrases or sentences that are close to each other in the text. It can even
occur within individual words. Assonance can involve the repetition of identical
vowel sounds, or vowel sounds that are very similar. Assonance creates an echoing
effect.
For Example:
 Hear the mellow wedding bells" - "The Bells" by Edgar Allen Poe
 "Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the dark fox gone to ground"
- Grantchester Meadows by Pink Floyd
8. Rhyme
Rhyme is a literary device, featured particularly in poetry, in which identical or
similar concluding syllables in different words are repeated. Rhyme most often
occurs at the ends of poetic lines.
An example of the emphasis of rhyme as a function of the sounds or
pronunciations of words is the poem “Going to Extremes” by Richard Armour:

Shake and shake

The catsup bottle
None’ll come–
And then a lot’ll.

Rhyme in this case provides an overall structure for Armour’s poem. By rhyming
“bottle” with “lot’ll,” the poet achieves an effect that is satisfying and fulfilling for
the reader, both in the poem’s form and content.