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Figures of Speech
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Ms. Hazel Joyce M. Curay
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A figure of speech is a word
or phrase that possesses a
separate meaning from its
literal definition.
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Use by poets to say
something different from the
usual way.
Requires imagination to
figure out the author’s
meaning.
 SIMILE
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COMPARES TWO UNLIKE OBJECT WITH
COMMON QUALITY
USES THE WORDS “ LIKE” OR “AS”.

 EXAMPLE:
 My love for you is as deep as the sea.
My father is like superman.
She is like a barbie doll.
 METAPHOR
A FORM OF COMPARISON THAT
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DIRECTLY COMPARE TWO
THINGS.
WITHOUT USING LIKE AND AS.

EXAMPLE:
HER TEETH ARE PEARLS
TIME IS GOLD
YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY
LIFE.
 HYPERBOLE
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An exaggeration of the truth.

Such statements are not literally true,

but people make them to sound
impressive or to emphasize something,
such as a feeling, effort, or reaction
 HYPERBOLE
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EXAMPLE:

I tried a thousand times!

I Will love you till the seas run
dry.
He’s running faster than the wind.
 PERSONIFICATION
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Giving human qualities,
feelings, actions, or
characteristics to inanimate
(non-human) objects.
Reader visualizes the literal
term as human form/trait.
 PERSONIFICATION
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 EXAMPLE:
If the stars was made to worship, so will I.
Lightning dance across the sky.
The camera loves her since she is so pretty.
The moon played hide and seek with the
clouds.
 ONOMATOPOEIA
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THE USE OF WORDS WHOSE
SOUND SUGGEST THE MEANING.
EXAMPLE:
THE BEE BUZZED TO MY EARS.
 I love the crunchy texture of fresh
lettuce.
 ONOMATOPOEIA
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The lion let out a loud roar as the
ringmaster cracked his whip.
Shh! No talking in the library
please.
 The train made a choo-
choo sound and smoke billowed
from its chimney
 ALLITERATION
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Alliteration is the repetition of the initial
consonant. There should be at least two
repetitions in a row (or with an
article/conjunction in between).
 ALLITERATION
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EXAMPLE:
Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers.
Becky's beagle barked and bayed,
becoming bothersome for Billy.
Nick's nephew needed some new
notebooks.
 APOSTROPHE
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A writer or speaker, using apostrophe,
speaks directly to someone who is not
present or is dead, or speaks to an
inanimate object.
Calling O!

O!
 APOSTROPHE
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EXAMPLE:
Oh, Starbucks, how I love you! Your
medium dark roast allowed me to
survive that meeting!”
“Oh what a world it seems we live in.”
–Rufus Wainwright (song)
“O holy night! The stars are brightly
shining!” (Christmas carol)
 SYNECDOCHE
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Synecdoche is a literary
device in which a part of
something represents the
whole.
 SYNECDOCHE
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EXAMPLE:
"check out my new wheels,“
 "wheels" is an example of
synecdoche, used to refer to a "car."
A part of a car, in this example,
represents the whole of the car.
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