Figures of Speech: A Comprehensive Guide
Figures of Speech
Figures by Repetition of Sounds
Alliteration
Repetition of a sound or syllable to achieve a musical or sound effect.
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration in which the sound evokes the thing being described.
Anaphora
Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of several lines or phrases to emphasize an idea or mark grammatical patterns.
Epiphora
Repetition of a word or words at the end of several lines or phrases to create a repetitive effect.
Concatenation (Anadiplosis)
Repetition at the beginning of a phrase or line of the word that ended the previous phrase or line.
Epanadiplosis
Repetition of the same word at the beginning and end of a line or sentence.
Reduplication
Repetition within a phrase or line of one or more words to reinforce the strength of an idea.
Rhyme
Repetition at the end of a line of the same sounds (vowel or consonant).
Similicadencia
In prose, using words that rhyme with one another. In verse, using rhymes that are phonetically similar but not identical.
Figures for Morphological Resources
Neologism
Creating a new word whose meaning can be understood from the context.
Archaism
Use of a word no longer in common use to give a sense of antiquity.
Ellipsis
Omission of a word or phrase that is grammatically necessary but can be understood from the context.
Pleonasm
Use of redundant words for emphasis or clarity.
Epithet
Unnecessary attribution of an adjective to a noun that already possesses the quality denoted.
Asyndeton
Omission of conjunctions to give more liveliness and speed to the text.
Polysyndeton
Accumulation of conjunctions to emphasize the accumulation of ideas or objects.
Hyperbaton
Disorderly construction of a sentence to draw attention or create a poetic effect.
Parallelism
Construction of two or more sentences or lines with the same word order.
Rhetorical Question
A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer.
Apostrophe/Invocation
A direct address to a person or thing, often absent or imaginary.
Correlation
Construction in which several phrases or expressions are fragmented across different lines.
Exclamation
Passionate expression of feelings.
Reluctance/Suspension
Interruption of a sentence to create uncertainty or suspense.
Periphrasis
Indirect expression of an idea, concept, or object.
Chiasmus
Using two identical syntactic constructions with the terms reversed.
Zeugma
Omission of a word that should appear in different parts of a sentence, appearing only once.
Heterogeneous/Complex Coordination Zeugma
Succession of coordinated items where the last one breaks the logical enumeration.
Figures for Pun
Dilogia/Equivoque
Using a word with multiple meanings to create ambiguity.
Pun
A play on words combining two words that sound alike to create a different meaning.
Poliptoton
Repetition of words derived from the same root.
Paronomasia
Use of two words that are phonetically similar but have unrelated meanings.
Antimetabole
Repetition of a sentence with reversed terms to create an opposite meaning.
Euphemism
Substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive.
Dysphemism
Using a harsh, blunt, or offensive term instead of a more polite one.
Semantic Figures
Simile/Comparison
Explicit comparison between two things using “like” or “as.”
Antithesis
Contrasting two opposite ideas or words in a parallel structure.
Paradox
A statement that seems contradictory but may contain a truth.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.
Irony
Expressing the opposite of what is meant.
Synecdoche
Referring to something by naming one of its parts, or vice versa.
Metonymy
Referring to something by naming something closely associated with it.
Metaphor
Implicit comparison between two unlike things.
Allegory
A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning.
Synesthesia
Using an adjective referring to one sense to describe something perceived by another sense.
Enumeration
Listing several items in quick succession.
Gradation
Listing items in order of increasing or decreasing importance.
Personification/Prosopopoeia
Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract concepts.
Synonymy
Using words with similar meanings to reinforce an idea.
Litotes
Expressing an idea by negating its opposite.
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
Maxim/Aphorism
A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
Descriptive Figures
Prosopography
Physical description of a character.
Ethopoeia
Description of a character’s personality and moral qualities.
Portrait
Combined physical and moral description of a character.
Topography
Description of a place or landscape.