Figures of Speech Hyperbole

Figures of speech lend themselves particularly well to Hyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
literature and poetry. They also pack a punch in Examples include:
speeches and movie lines. Indeed, these tools abound in  I've told you to stop a thousand times.
nearly every corner of life. Let's start with one of the  That must have cost a billion dollars.
more lyrical devices, alliteration.  I could do this forever.
Alliteration  She's older than dirt.
Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds of  Everybody knows that.
neighboring words. Irony
Examples include: Irony occurs when there's a marked contrast between
 She sells seashells. what is said and what is meant, or between appearance
 Walter wondered where Winnie was. and reality.
 Blue baby bonnets bobbed through the bayou. Examples include:
 Nick needed new notebooks.  "How nice!" she said, when I told her I had to
 Fred fried frogs' legs on Friday. work all weekend. (Verbal irony)
 A traffic cop gets suspended for not paying his
Anaphora parking tickets. (Situational irony)
Anaphora is a technique where several phrases or verses  The Titanic was said to be unsinkable but sank on
begin with the same word or words. its first voyage. (Situational irony)
Examples include:
 Naming a tiny Chihuahua Brutus. (Verbal irony)
 I came, I saw, I conquered. - Julius Caesar
 When the audience knows the killer is hiding in a
 Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition! - King closet in a scary movie, but the actors do not.
John II, William Shakespeare (Dramatic irony)
 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of Metaphor
foolishness. - A Tale of Two Cities, Charles A metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike
Dickens things or ideas.
 With malice toward none; with charity for all; with Examples include:
firmness in the right. - Abraham Lincoln  Heart of stone
 We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the  Time is money
end... we shall never surrender. - Winston  The world is a stage
Churchill  She's a night owl
Assonance  He's an ogre
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds (not just Onomatopoeia
letters) in words that are close together. The sounds Onomatopoeia is the term for a word that sounds like
don't have to be at the beginning of the word. what it is describing.
Examples include: Examples include:
 A - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the  Whoosh
angels named Lenore. (Poe)  Splat
 E - Therefore, all seasons shall be sweet to thee.  Buzz
(Coleridge)  Click
 I - From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with  Oink
those who favor fire. (Frost)
 O - Oh hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. Oxymoron
(Wordsworth) An oxymoron is two contradictory terms used together.
 U - Uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (Poe) Examples include:
 Peace force
Euphemism  Kosher ham
Euphemism is a mild, indirect, or vague term that often  Jumbo shrimp
substitutes a harsh, blunt, or offensive term.
 Sweet sorrow
Examples include:
 'A little thin on top' instead of 'going bald.'  Free market
 'Fell of the back of a truck' instead of 'stolen.'
 'Letting you go' instead of 'firing you.'
 'Passed away' instead of 'died.'
 'Economical with the truth' instead of 'liar.'
Personification
Personification gives human qualities to non-living
things or ideas.
Examples include:
 The flowers nodded.
 The snowflakes danced.
 The thunder grumbled.
 The fog crept in.
 The wind howled.
Simile
A simile is a comparison between two unlike things
using the words "like" or "as."
Examples include:
 As slippery as an eel
 Like peas in a pod
 As blind as a bat
 Eats like a pig
 As wise as an owl
Synecdoche
Synecdoche occurs when a part is represented by the
whole or, conversely, the whole is represented by the
part.
Examples include:
 Wheels - a car
 The police - one policeman
 Plastic - credit cards
 Coke - any cola drink
 Hired hands - workers
Understatement
An understatement occurs when something is said to
make something appear less important or less serious.
Examples include:
 It's just a scratch - referring to a large dent.
 It's a litttle dry and sandy - referring to the driest
desert in the world.
 The weather is cooler today - referring to sub-zero
temperatures.
 It was interesting - referring to a bad or difficult
experience.
 It stings a bit - referring to a serious wound or
injury.