Figure of Speech - Examples

Examples

The figure of speech comes in many varieties. The aim is to use the language inventively to accentuate the effect of what is being said. A few examples follow:

• "Around the rugged rocks the rugged rascal ran" is an example of alliteration, where the consonant r is used repeatedly. Whereas, "Sister Suzy sewing socks for soldiers" is a particular form of alliteration called sibilance, because it repeats the letter s. Both are commonly used in poetry.
• "She would run up the stairs and then a new set of curtains" is a variety of zeugma called a syllepsis. Run up refers to ascending and also to manufacturing. The effect is enhanced by the momentary suggestion, through a pun, that she might be climbing up the curtains. The ellipsis or omission of the second use of the verb makes the reader think harder about what is being said.
• "Military Intelligence is an oxymoron" is the use of direct sarcasm to suggest that the military would have no intelligence. This might be considered to be a satire and a terse aphorism. "But he's a soldier, so he has to be an Einstein" is the use of sarcasm through irony for the same effect. The use of hyperbole by using the word Einstein calls attention to the ironic intent. An Einstein is an example of synecdoche, as it uses a particular name to represent a class of people: geniuses.
• "I had butterflies in my stomach" is a metaphor, referring to my nervousness feeling as if there were flying insects in my stomach. To say "it was like having some butterflies in my stomach" would be a simile, because it uses the word like which is missing in the metaphor.