Figure of Speech - Examples and Definition of Figure of Speech

Definition of Figure of Speech
A figure of speech is a phrase or phrase having extraordinary meanings than its literal meanings. It conveys meaning by figuring out or comparing one element to another, which has connotation or meaning acquainted to the audience. That is why it's far useful in growing bright rhetorical effect.

Types of figures of Speech
There are many forms of figures of speech. Here are a few of them with exact descriptions:

Personification
It takes place while a creator offers human tendencies to non-human or inanimate items. It is similar to metaphors and similes that also use comparison between two gadgets. For instance,

“Hadn’t she felt it in each contact of the sunshine, as its golden finger-pointers pressed her lids open and wound their way via her hair?”

(“The Mother’s Recompense” by using Edith Wharton)

In the above lines, the speaker is personifying sunshine as it has finger suggestions that wound their way into her hair. This is trait of the use of finger-suggestions in hair is a human one.

Understatement and Hyperbole
These figures of speech are opposite to every other. Hyperbole makes use of intense exaggeration. It exaggerates to lay emphasis on a certain first-class or feature. It stirs up emotions the various readers, those emotions will be about happiness, romance, inspiration, laughter or sadness.

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing inside the street.”
(“As I Walked Out One Evening” via W.H. Auden)

In this poem, Auden has used hyperbole to stress on how lengthy his love his loved would last. Just consider while China and Africa could meet and might river jump up over the mountains? How salmon may be intelligent enough so that it may sing and evolve sufficient and stroll the streets?

Whereas understatement makes use of much less than whatever is intended, along with,

“You killed my own family. And I don’t like that kind of aspect.”

(“The Chosen One” by means of Boon Collins and Rob Schneider)

In this line, the speaker is the use of an understatement because someone has killed his family and he is just taking it very regular like nothing serious has happened.

Simile
It is a form of evaluation between things or objects by means of using “as” or “like.” See the following example:

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
My heart is sort of a rainbow shell…

(“A Birthday” via Christina Rossetti)

Rossetti has used simile thrice in this part of the poem, evaluating her heart to a “singing chook”, “an apple-tree”, and a rainbow shell.” The poet makes comparison of coronary heart to a happy fowl in a nest, an apple tree complete with culmination and a lovely shell within the sea, full of peace and joy.

Metaphor
Metaphor is evaluating two unlike items or things, which may have some common qualities.

Presentiment – is that lengthy shadow – on the lawn –
Indicative that Suns pass down –
The observe to the startled Grass
That Darkness – is about to pass –

(“Presentiment is that lengthy shadow on the lawn” with the aid of Emily Dickinson)

In this example, Dickinson presents presentiment as a shadow. Presentiment in reality means anxiety or foreboding, which she calls a shadow. In fact, she makes compares it with shadow to offer a better description of tension that might creep up in a person’s existence and motive fear.

Pun
Pun is the manipulation of words that have more than one meanings. It brings humor in an expression.

Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,
And Will to boot, and Will in overplus;

(“Sonnet 135” through William Shakespeare)

See the usage of bizarre grammar rule, which is the capitalization of phrase “Will.” Usually in the center of a line or sentence, writers capitalize a name. Here it is the first name of Shakespeare. It manner he has created pun of his very own call.

Function of Figure of Speech
Figure of speech is not simplest used to embellish the language, but additionally purpose a second of exhilaration while reading. It is used similarly in writing in addition to in speech. It, in fact, affords emphasis, clarity or freshness to expression. Clarity, however, may additionally occasionally suffer due to the fact a determine of speech introduces double meanings consisting of connotative and denotative meanings. It also strengthens the creative expression and outline along side making the language greater graphic, pointed and brilliant.