Literary devices

 

Figures of Speech 

From: https://7esl.com/figures-of-speech/

 

Listen to the video and take note of the figures of speech mentioned in the video.

 

There are various different types of figures of speech, whilst there are a large amount of types, there are ten more common ones which we see in both written and spoken English. They are:

• Simile: this makes a comparison between two things using the words like or as, for example ‘she shone as bright as the sun.’
• Metaphor: makes a comparison between two things which have something in common, for example ‘the eyes are the window to the soul.’
• Hyperbole: uses an exaggeration to convey a more profound meaning, for example ‘I have a thousand things to do this morning.’
• Oxymoron: uses a two word phrase where the words contradict one another to give a positive meaning, for example ‘she is pretty ugly.’
• Pun: a play on words, for example ‘a boiled egg for breakfast is hard to beat.’
• Alliteration: uses repeated letter sounds throughout a sentence, for example ‘the high horse hopped along the highway.’
• Onomatopoeia: these are words which resemble the sound they are describing, for example ‘the car alarm went beep.’
• Irony: the use of language which is the opposite of what is meant, for example ‘I love it when I drop my phone, how wonderful.’
• Anaphora: the repetition of a word or phrase for rhythmic effect, for example ‘you must not stop, you must not wane, you must not fail.’
• Antithesis: this makes a comparison or connection between two ideas in a sentence, for example ‘that is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.’