THE 20 MOST IMPORTANT FIGURES OF SPEECH (WITH EXAMPLES) - LITERATURE - 2025

The rhetorical figures are resources that are used in speeches, both written and oral. These are used to create rhythm, sound, images, relationships, among other effects.

Some of these figures are used daily by speakers without their realizing it.

For example, it is very common to hear teeth called "pearls", which is a metaphor.

Objects are also often named with the brand name. For example, a Tiffany (to say a Tiffany brand ring) or a Lamborghini (instead of a Lamborghini brand car). These are examples of metonymy, which is a figure of speech.

There are even expressions that are considered wrong when speaking but that represent figures of speech.

Such is the case of the phrases "climb the climb" or "ride on top". These redundancies are examples of pleonasms, which consists of the use of unnecessary elements for emphasis.

Top 20 figures of speech

1- Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound in the words that make up a sentence or verse. This sound can appear both at the beginning and in the middle and end of words.

It is usually used in poetry, since it creates sound beauty when reciting the verses.

Example

"Sighs escape from her strawberry mouth." Ruben Dario.

2- Analogy

The analogy is the comparison of two similar items to prove a point.

3- Antithesis

The antithesis occurs when two ideas or words are opposed or contrasted, creating a parallel construction.

Example

Extremism in defense of freedom is not a vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is not a virtue. Barry Goldwater.

4- Antonomasia

The antonomasia is a type of metonymy that consists of the substitution of the name of an ordinary individual by the name of a well-known character with whom he shares certain attributes.

Example

My brother was a Don Juan.

5- Apostrophe

The apostrophe refers to the words that are used to address a specific audience and get their attention.

Example

"Oh Captain! My Captain! Our terrible journey is over." Oh, captain, my captain! by Walt Whitman.

6- Asyndeton

The asyndeton is the suppression of the coordinated conjunctions between phrases, clauses or words.

7- Epithet

The epithet is the name that receives the prefix of the adjective. In Spanish, the traditional position of the adjective is postponed to the noun, as in the phrase "la casa blanca."

However, the preceding position is accepted in cases in which intrinsic characteristics of the subject are to be highlighted.

Example

White snow.

8- Hyperbaton

The hyperbaton is the alteration of the traditional order of the words within a sentence.

Example

«In the lute I am note, perfume in the violet, fleeting flame in the graves

and ivy in the ruins.

Rima V, by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer.

9- Hyperbole

Hyperbole consists of exaggerating the attributes of an element or a situation.

Example

I love you from here to the Moon.

10- Metaphor

The metaphor is a rhetorical figure that establishes a relationship of similarity between two things. It is a simile in which the comparative link “how” or “which” is eliminated.

Example

He put toads and snakes out of his mouth (curses).

The floor in my house is maroon grass (it has a carpet the color of grass).

11- Metonymy

The term metonymy comes from two Greek words: meta, which means "change", and onimio, which means "name".

So, metonymy consists of changing the name of one thing, attributing it to another with which it has a relationship of contiguity.

Relationships can be of various types:

Cause and effect

The reason for my life (the most important thing in my life).

Contents and container

We had four glasses (four glasses with wine).

Product and producer

He drove a Ferrari (a Ferrari car).

Author and work

He had an original Van Gogh (a painting by Van Gogh).

Symbol and meaning

He aspires to reach the White House (to the presidency of the United States).

12- Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that represent the sounds made by animals, objects, actions, among others.

Example

Oink-oink, for the pigs.

Buzz, for the bees.

Click, with the computer mouse.

13- Oxymoron

The oxymoron is a paradox that is achieved thanks to the juxtaposition of words whose meaning is contradicted.

Example

Bitter sweetness.

I must be cruel to be kind.

14- Paradox

Paradox is a construction that goes against common sense.

Example

"What a shame that youth is wasted on the young." George Bernard Shaw.

15- Polysyndeton

It is the rhetorical figure opposite to asyndeton. It consists of the repetition of coordinated conjunctions between phrases, clauses or words.

Example

“Each hedge was a different species of snake, some long, some short, some sticking out their tongues and some with their mouths open, showing fearsome green teeth. They were quite mysterious, and Violet, Klaus, and Sunny were a bit hesitant to pass them on the way home. "

The reptile room, Lemony Snicket.

In this case the conjunction "and" is repeated.

16- Prosopopeia

The prosopopoeia, also called humanization or personification, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects or animals.

Example

Fables are one of the best examples of the use of prosopopoeia, as they show animals that speak and act like human beings.

17- Pleonasm

Pleonasm is the use of words that do not improve understanding of the message because they are redundant.

Example

He got up early.

18- Simile

The simile is an explicit comparison. Include a link ("as", "which" or "such").

Example

My love is like a fever.

19- Synecdoche

The synecdoche is a type of metonymy that consists of naming the whole by the part or vice versa.

Example

The gossips said that the house was haunted (rumors).

20- moles

Moles are common expressions. Moles are often other figures of speech that have become clichés by overuse.

Example

Your eyes are two stars (metaphor).

As white as a wall (simile).

References

1. 10 Rhetorical Figures. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from listverse.com
2. Glossary of Rhetorical Terms. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from mcl.as.uky.edu
3. Figures of speech. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from wikipedia.org
4. Literature Glossary. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from shmoop.com
5. Rhetorical devices. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from speaklikeapro.co.uk
6. Rhetorical figure. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from oxforddictionaries.com
7. Rhetorical figures. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from csun.edu
8. Word List: Definitions of Rhetorical Devices. Retrieved on November 25, 2017, from phrontistery.info