Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
FIGURES OF SPEECH
a form of expression (such as a simile or metaphor) used to convey meaning or
heighten effect often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has
a meaning or connotation familiar to the reader or listener.
a word or phrase using figurative languagelanguage that has other meaning than
its normal definition. In other words, figures of speeches rely on implied or suggested
meaning, rather than a dictionary definition.
1. Simile
a comparison between two different things using the word like or as to make the
comparison.
But now her hands like moonlight brush the keys with velvet grace.
I flitted like a dizzy moth.
The flowers were as soft as thoughts of budding love.
The gray of the sea, and the gray of the sky, / A glimpse of the moon like a half-
closed eye.
Yes, the doors are locked and the ashes are white as the frost.
A mist about your beauty clings like a thin cloud before a star.
She went like snow in the springtime on a sunny hill.
Then I knew those tiny voices, clear as drops of dew.
Her hair was as soft as a spider web.
Each dollar bill was a like a magic wand to cast away problems.
The man held the blanket like a memory.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
2. Oxymoron
two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. The common oxymoron phrase is a
combination of an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings, e.g. cruel
kindness or living death. Pretty ugly
Open secret Definitely maybe
Tragic comedy Living dead
Seriously funny Walking dead
Awfully pretty Only choice
Foolish wisdom Amazingly awful
Original copies Alone together
Liquid gas Virtual reality
Great Depression Random order
Pain for pleasure Original copy
Clearly confused Happy sad
Act naturally Disgustingly delicious
Beautifully painful Run slowly
Painfully beautiful Awfully good
Deafening silence
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
Awfully delicious Goodbye reception
Small crowd Growing smaller
Dark light Least favorite
Light darkness True myth
Dark snow Typically weird
Open secret Typically odd
Passive aggressive Naturally strange
Appear invisible Weirdly normal
Awfully lucky Unpopular celebrity
Awfully pretty Worthless gold
Big baby Sad joy
Tiny elephant Liquid food
Wake up dead Heavy diet
3. Irony
words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual
meaning of the words.
Oh great! Now you have broken my new camera.
What a pleasant day (when it is raining heavily)
I love the way you lie.
4. Metaphor
a figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two
things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics.
My brother was boiling mad. (This implies he was too angry.)
The assignment was a breeze. (This implies that the assignment was not difficult.)
Her voice is music to his ears.
Love is a lemon either bitter or sweet
That child is a bear when he is sleepy.
The dancer was a graceful eagle taking flight.
This pie is heaven!
You are my sunshine!
Mama is a sunrise.
Baby, youre a firework.
I am titanium.
Time is money: This is symbolic because it warns you that when you spend your time,
you are giving up the opportunity to be doing something else with that time (just as
when you spend your money, you give up your chance to do something else with the
money). Further, like money, time is not infinite.
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
Life is a roller-coaster: This is symbolic because it indicates that there will be ups and
downs in life that you have to weather.
He is a rock: This is symbolic because it signifies that he is strong and dependable.
Love is a jewel: This is symbolic because it suggests that love is rare and pressure.
5. Onomatopoeia
a word which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics
the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.
Im getting married in the morning!
Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.
The buzzing bee flew away.
The cow aggressively mooed at the passing freight train.
Janet murmured the answer under her breath.
While lounging in the slop pile, the pigs oinked excitedly.
Birds tweeted long before Twitter did.
On my first morning on the farm, I was awoken suddenly by the cock-a-doodle-doo of
the resident rooster.
Ticktock, ticktock the sound of the clock was all that could be heard in the hospital
waiting room.
6. Personification
a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are
portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.
Look at my car. She is a beauty, isnt it so?
The wind whispered through dry grass.
The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.
Time and tide waits for none.
The fire swallowed the entire forest.
7. Hyperbole
- derived from a Greek word meaning over-casting is a figure of speech, which
involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.
My grandmother is as old as the hills.
Your suitcase weighs a ton!
She is as heavy as an elephant!
I am dying of shame.
I am trying to solve a million issues these days.
If I can't get a Smartphone, I will die.
She is as thin as a toothpick.
8. Apostrophe
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
is a figure of speech sometimes represented by exclamation O. A writer or a speaker,
using an apostrophe, detaches himself from the reality and addresses an
imaginary character in his speech.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Ugh, cell phone, why wont you load my messages?
Oh, Starbucks, how I love you! Your medium dark roast allowed me to survive that
meeting!
Oh what a world it seems we live in. Rufus Wainwright (song)
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining!
"Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone without a dream in my heart, without a love of
my own." - from "Blue Moon" by Lorenz HartRead
9. Symbolism
is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that
are different from their literal sense.
The dove is a symbol of peace.
A red rose or red color stands for love or romance.
Black is a symbol that represents evil or death.
A ladder may stand as a symbol for a connection between the heaven and the earth.
A broken mirror may symbolize separation
Black is used to represent death or evil.
White stands for life and purity.
Red can symbolize blood, passion, danger, or immoral character.
Purple is a royal color.
Yellow stands for violence or decay.
Blue represents peacefulness and calm.
10. Euphemism
- is a polite expression used in place of words or phrases that otherwise might be considered
harsh or unpleasant to hear. Euphemisms are used regularly, and there are many
examples in everyday language.
Passed away instead of died
Correctional facility instead of jail
Departed instead of died
Differently-abled instead of handicapped or disabled
Fell off the back of a truck instead of stolen
Ethnic cleansing instead of genocide
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
Turn a trick instead of engage in prostitution
Negative patient outcome instead of dead
Relocation center instead of prison camp
Collateral damage instead of accidental deaths
Letting someone go instead of firing someone
Put to sleep instead of euthanize
Pregnancy termination instead of abortion
On the streets instead of homeless
Adult entertainment instead of pornography
Adult beverages instead of beer or liquor
Au natural instead of naked
Big-boned instead of heavy or overweight
Portly instead of heavy or overweight
Chronologically-challenged instead of late
Comfort woman instead of prostitute
Use the rest room instead of go to the bathroom
Break wind instead of pass gas
Economical with the truth instead of liar
Powder your nose instead of use the rest room
The birds and the bees instead of sex
Between jobs instead of unemployed
Go all the way instead of have sex
Domestic engineer instead of maid
Sanitation engineer instead of garbage man
Vertically-challenged instead of short
Sleep together instead of have sex
Well-hung instead of having a large penis
Appearance Deficit instead of ugly
11. Antonomasia
- can also be using a proper name as an archetypal name, to express a generic idea.
Achilles Heel - weakness
"Man of Wisdom" for Odysseus
"The Queen of Pop" or "The Material Girl" for Madonna
"The Steel Butterfly" for Imelda Marcos
"The Tiger of Mysore" for Tipu Sultan
Fictional characters
"The Boy Who Lived" for Harry Potter
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
"The Dark Knight" or "The Caped Crusader" for Batman (also referred as "The Dynamic Duo"
when paired with fictional sidekick, Robin)
"The Man of Steel" or the "Man of Tomorrow" for Superman
Places
"City of Dreams" for Mumbai
"The Big Apple" for New York City
"The City of Light" for Paris
Judas Betrayer
Tarzan wild; jungle
Jesus savior; love; sacrifice
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
You're insecure
Don't know what for
You're turning heads when you walk through the door (HYPERBOLE)
Don't need make-up, to cover up
Being the way that you are is enough
Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you
Baby you light up my world like nobody else (SIMILE)
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed (HYPERBOLE)
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful
So come on, you got it wrong
To prove I'm right, I put it in a song
I don't know why, you're being shy
And turn away when I look into your eye eye eyes
Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful
(Na na na na na na na)
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful
If only you saw what I can see
You'll understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful
Patria Sable Corpus College
Creative Writing
Gilbert N. Bersola, LPT, MAEd
"One Thing"
[Liam:]
I've tried playing it cool
But when I'm looking at you
I can't ever be brave
'Cause you make my heart race (Hyperbole)
[Harry:]
Shot me out of the sky
You're my kryptonite (Metaphor)
You keep making me weak (Hyperbole)
Yeah, frozen and can't breathe
[Zayn:]
Something's gotta give now
'Cause I'm dying just to make you see (Hyperbole)
That I need you here with me now
'Cause you've got that one thing
[Chorus:]
So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing
And you've got that one thing
[Niall:]
Now I'm climbing the walls
But you don't notice at all
That I'm going out of my mind
All day and all night (Hyperbole)
[Louis:]
Something's gotta give now
'Cause I'm dying just to know your name
And I need you here with me now
'Cause you've got that one thing
[Chorus:]
So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing.