My Teacher, My Hero
Figures of Speech
A figure of speech expresses an idea, thought, or image with words which carry meanings beyond their literal ones. Figures of speech give extra dimension to language by stimulating the imagination and evoking visual, sensual imagery; such language paints a mental picture in words. Some types of figurative language are the following:
Simile:
a direct comparison of two things, usually employing the words like or as. “He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.” (Tennyson) “My heart is like an apple tree whose boughs are bent with thickest fruit.” (Christina Rosseti) Other examples: clouds like fluffy balls of cotton; snowflakes like soft white feathers; a motor purring like a kitten; a lawn like a green carpet; thin as a bookmark; as contented as a cow.
Metaphor:
an implied comparison in which one thing is spoken of in terms of something else; the figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term. Metaphors are extremely valuable in making an abstract idea clearer by associating the idea with something concrete that relates to one or more of the senses. “And merry larks are ploughman’s clocks.” (Shakespeare) “Entangled in the cobweb of the schools.” (Cowper) Other examples: she is a jewel; the sun is a wizard, and the moon is a witch; the sun was a golden dollar; the Lord is my shepherd; the web of our life is mingled yarn, good and ill together.
Hyperbole:
the use of exaggeration or ove rstatement to make a point. It may be used for emphasis, for humor, or for poetic intensity. “Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard around the world.” (Emerson)
Other examples:
big as a house; starved to death; everyone in town came; on top of the world.
Personification:
another type of comparison that treats objects or things as if they were capable of the actions and feelings of people. As in a metaphor, there is an implied comparison which gives the attributes
A figure of speech expresses an idea, thought, or image with words which carry meanings beyond their literal ones. Figures of speech give extra dimension to language by stimulating the imagination and evoking visual, sensual imagery; such language paints a mental picture in words. Some types of figurative language are the following:
Simile:
a direct comparison of two things, usually employing the words like or as. “He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.” (Tennyson) “My heart is like an apple tree whose boughs are bent with thickest fruit.” (Christina Rosseti) Other examples: clouds like fluffy balls of cotton; snowflakes like soft white feathers; a motor purring like a kitten; a lawn like a green carpet; thin as a bookmark; as contented as a cow.
Metaphor:
an implied comparison in which one thing is spoken of in terms of something else; the figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term. Metaphors are extremely valuable in making an abstract idea clearer by associating the idea with something concrete that relates to one or more of the senses. “And merry larks are ploughman’s clocks.” (Shakespeare) “Entangled in the cobweb of the schools.” (Cowper) Other examples: she is a jewel; the sun is a wizard, and the moon is a witch; the sun was a golden dollar; the Lord is my shepherd; the web of our life is mingled yarn, good and ill together.
Hyperbole:
the use of exaggeration or ove rstatement to make a point. It may be used for emphasis, for humor, or for poetic intensity. “Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard around the world.” (Emerson)
Other examples:
big as a house; starved to death; everyone in town came; on top of the world.
Personification:
another type of comparison that treats objects or things as if they were capable of the actions and feelings of people. As in a metaphor, there is an implied comparison which gives the attributes