Question

“I picked’ em up because they’re pretty like you.”
(Name and explain the figure of speech in the above line.)

Answer 1

Hint: Figures of speech are generally used to accentuate the effect of what is being said. Read and understand the sentence properly. Then analyze the hint word correctly to identify the figure of speech with ease.

Complete answer:
Figures of speech are used to deliver or express something rhetorically. When figures of speech are used the words are conveyed in a more specialized manner. The sentence states that the speaker has picked up something for the listener. It conveys the message that the speaker has picked that specific item because it’s pretty just like the listener. If you read the sentence carefully, you’ll come across the word ‘like’. The speaker has used the word ‘like’ to compare the listener to something else which is pretty like the listener.

 Since the word ‘like’ has been used for comparison, the figure of speech used in the above given line is simile. Simile is the comparison between two unlikely things using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’. The word simile is derived from Latin which means similar. Similes are generally used in poems to compare living things and non-living things.

Note: Simile is not the only figure of speech. There are various other figures of speech too. Another figure of speech which is quite similar to that of simile is metaphor. Metaphor is a figure of speech which compares two things without the use of the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. Example: She is a nightingale. It is a fact that nightingales are known for the way they sing. By stating that, it is conveyed that she sings like a nightingale. Without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, the speaker has conveyed the comparison.