Question

What are any ten figures of speech?

Answer 1

Hint: Any figure of speech is a set of words that has a meaning other than its plain interpretation. It usually takes the form of sentences or phrases that can be perplexing if we aren't conscious of the figure of speech employed. They can be used for comparison, to provide exaggeration, or to give dramatic affects or to give rhythm.

Complete answer:
We will explain about ten figures of speech below;
(i) Personification: It is the process of giving an inanimate entity a human character trait.
- Example; I watched the snowflakes dance around [Here ‘snowflakes’ in reality cannot ‘dance’ so it is personified]
(ii) Pun: A play on words based on a thought or concept.
- Example; I never understood why lightning hit us, but now it struck me. [Here ‘struck me’ does not mean that literally a lightning struck but it means that now he/she understood how lightning hit them.]
(iii) Simile: The use of the words "like" or "as" to compare two unrelated things or thoughts.
- Example; He eats like a pig [Here ‘like’ is used to compare a person and an animal]
(iv) Understatement: Utilizing terms to underplay a set of ideas is known as understatement.
- Example; The play was interesting [It means that the ‘play’ was actually quite poor, it is an understatement]
(v) Onomatopoeia: It is an estimation of sound and it is achieved by the use of certain words.
- Example; Sounds like ‘whoosh’ or ‘oink’ are approximated to be the sounds of a fast object and a pig respectively.
(vi) Oxymoron: The use of a completely contradictory set of words to describe a single thought.
- Example; This life is sweetly sorrowful. [Here ‘sweetly’ and ‘sorrow’ are contradictory so it is an oxymoron.]
(vii) Paradox: An argument that expresses a logical inconsistency.
- Example; I understood that I understood nothing [It is a common paradox where two contradicting phrases are given together]
(viii) Irony: It is the use of sentences, phrases, or images to achieve the contrary to the desired meaning.
- Example; The Titanic was supposed to be an unsinkable ship. [Ironic since ‘titanic did sink’]
(ix) Litotes: By utilizing understatements, it can give an optimistic concept a negative spin.
- Example; I’m not starving [Here ‘starving’ indicates that the person is using litotes because the person is actually really hungry but they are being sarcastic by saying that they are not.]
(x) Metaphor: A metaphor would be a comparison between two seemingly unrelated things.
- Example; Reya’s heart is made of stone. [Technically ‘heart’ cannot be made of ‘stone’ so it is a metaphor]

Note: There are around thirty or more figures of speech. Figures of speech work especially well in poetry and literature. They're also effective in speeches and movie dialogues. These devices can be used in almost every aspect of life.