Speech figures are language features that make language more expressive. Used in spoken or written language, these features are responsible for making a message more creative and meaningful, either by unexpected use of one word in place of another, either by a different sentence construction or by the repeated use of certain sounds.
1. Metaphor
The word metaphor comes from a Greek term meaning transference. So when we use a metaphor, we transfer the name from one thing to another.
For example: "He is a lion." When we say this, we transport the word “lion” and everything it represents to another field of meaning, promoting a comparison between the “lion” and the subject “he”. Something like "He is strong like a lion" or "He is brave like a lion".
But we must not confuse metaphor with comparison. In the metaphor, there is no conjunction “how” explaining the comparison between the two terms. The comparison is implied. The process of creating metaphors consists of identifying similarities in things that are different.
Examples:
"Love is fire that burns without being seen,
it's a wound that hurts, and you don't feel it;
it's a discontented contentment,
it's pain that freaks out without hurting.”
(Luís Vaz de Camões)
"That nostalgia is the setback of a childbirth
I miss tidying the room
From the son who has already died.”
(Chico Buarque)
“My verse is blood.
Burning lust...
Scattered sadness... vain remorse...
It hurts in my veins. Bitter and hot,
It falls, drop by drop, from the heart.”
(Manuel Bandeira)
Learn more about metaphor and learn more metaphor examples.
2. Comparison (simile)
Like the metaphor, the comparison brings two different things closer together. This time, however, there is the use of the connective, in order to highlight similar aspects between the compared words or expressions.
The connectives used to establish the comparison are diverse: just like, like, like, like, and so on.
Examples:
"Love is like a big bond
one step into a trap
a wolf running in circles
To feed the pack.”
(Djavan)
"I make verses like someone crying
From dismay... of disenchantment..."
(Manuel Bandeira)
“Today is Saturday, tomorrow is Sunday
Life comes in waves, like the sea"
(Vinicius de Moraes)
Learn more about Comparation.
3. Irony
Irony is a figure of thought that consists in saying the opposite of what one thinks. Irony, which can be considered a kind of simulation, can be done with the purpose of mocking or criticizing. Aggressive irony, which humiliates or demeans another person, is called sarcasm.
Examples:
That one is very honest...
I really don't know anything. I never studied in my life. I'm ignorant. The smart one here is you.
Very cute, huh?
Arrived early, huh?
Learn more about irony.
4. Antithesis
Antithesis is the opposition of ideas, the contrast of opposite terms. Opposites pairs usually belong to the same word class.
Examples:
"I speak of love of life
you, scared of death
I speak of the force of chance
And you, unlucky or lucky
I walk in a maze
And you on a straight road
I call you to the party
But you just want to reach your goal"
(Paulinho Moska)
"Wherever you want a revolver, I'm a coconut tree
And where you want money, I'm passion
Where do you want rest, I'm desire
And where I'm just desire, don't you want to
And where you want nothing, nothing is lacking
And where you fly so high, I'm the ground
And where you step on the ground, my soul leaps
And it gains freedom in the vastness."
(Caetano Veloso)
Learn more about antithesis.
5. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a word or expression used with the intention of emphasizing an idea or feeling through exaggeration. It is a resource used in rhetoric, in literature, but also in everyday language.
You know that person who says “It took me a million years to get home today”? This person used hyperbole to highlight the information that the journey home took a long time.
Examples:
I cried rivers of tears.
I'm dead tired.
I've told you a thousand times: I'm not going.
know more about hyperbole.
6. Personification (prosopopeia)
Prosopopeia is the attribution of human qualities, thoughts or attitudes to objects, inanimate beings (such as plants, rocks, stars) or irrational animals (such as dogs, cats, fish). It is also possible to personify feelings (such as passion and sadness) or values (such as freedom and justice).
Examples:
"The water doesn't stop crying" (Manuel Bandeira)
“The pieces of life, glued together, form a strange cup.
Unused,
She spies on us from the sideboard."
(Carlos Drummond de Andrade)
"The Moon, like a brothel owner,
asked each cold star a shine for hire"
(João Bosco, Aldir Blanc)
know more about personification or prosopopeia.
7. Synesthesia
Synesthesia is the mixture or union of sensations that originate in different sensory organs. In other words: it is about the crossing of sensations that, in conventional language, could never be mixed.
It is a very used resource in poetry. Describing a sound as clear and a noise as dry are examples of synesthesia.
Examples:
"A black, E white, I red, U green, O blue, vowels
I will still unravel its latent mysteries"
(Arthur Rimbaud)
"Heaven approached her until she communicated the touch of blue, caressing her like a husband, leaving you with the scent and delight of the afternoon" (Gabriel Miró)
"There will be a green silence
All made of broken guitars"
(Gerardo Diego)
know more about synesthesia.
8. Metonymy
Metonymy is the semantic figure in which we use one word in place of another. Unlike metaphor, which is based on comparison, the basis of metonymy is a relationship of contiguity (proximity) between the terms used. Thus, for metonymy to exist, there must be a relationship of meaning between the terms.
This exchange of one term for another can take place in several ways. For example: the place for the inhabitants, the effect for the cause, the part for the whole, the species for the individual, the writer for the work, etc.
Examples:
"I had gold, I had cattle, I had farms.
Today I am a civil servant.”
(Carlos Drummond de Andrade)
In this case, “gold”, “cattle” and “farms” are replacing the term “wealth” or “economic power”).
I earn my livelihood with a lot of sweat. (In this case, the effect, “sweat”, replaces the cause, “work).
read Camões before bedtime. (Replacement of the work by the author).
know more about metonymy.
9. Antonomasia
Antonomasia, like metonymy and metaphor, operates a substitution between words. But in the case of antonomasia, a proper name is replaced by an easily recognizable epithet or characterization of that name.
Examples:
O village poet he composed some of the most beautiful verses in our music. (“Poeta da Vila” is replacing Noel Rosa).
O Rock king will never die! ("King of Rock" refers to Elvis Presley).
Antonomasia also occurs when the opposite occurs: the substitution of a common name for a proper name.
Examples:
here comes our Chico Buarque! (The name of someone is replaced by the name of a renowned musician).
That is one Don Juan. (A conqueror is designated by the name of the character that represents that quality).
10. Periphrasis
In the case of the periphrase, a word is replaced by a set of words (expression or phrase) that describe it, conveying the same idea. An essential feature of the periphrase is the use of a longer message in place of a short term.
Examples:
The biggest land predator is the king of beasts. (“King of the beasts” replaces the noun “lion”).
O black gold is abundant in Brazil. (“Black gold” replaces “oil”).
know more about periphrasis.
11. catachresis
Catachresis is often referred to as a metaphor of little value. Catachresis, in fact, is a very useful everyday language resource for referring to things that don't have a specific name.
How to call the object that supports the table top? The word “leg” was borrowed, a member of the human body, to name a part of the table. The same can be said for the “cup handle” or the “chair leg”.
Examples:
Pineapple wreath.
Calf.
Arm of the sofa.
know more about catachresis.
12. Allegory
Allegory is a kind of extended metaphor. Let's remember that metaphor takes place through the substitution of terms. Allegory, on the other hand, consists of a text (or excerpt of text) that speaks of one thing through the representation of another. It's like the whole text is a great metaphor.
A classic example is the cave myth, by the philosopher Plato. It is a narrative text that relates the situation of people who know the shadows they see on the wall of a cave as the only reality.
In allegory, there are hidden meanings behind the represented elements. Thus, in Plato's myth, shadows, caves and light, for example, symbolize fundamental philosophical concepts.
Read more about the cave myth.
13. Ambiguity
An ambiguous sentence is a sentence with a double meaning. It is a language addiction when used unintentionally. Thus, there is ambiguity in this sentence: “Corinthians won against Palmeiras”. After all, who won?
However, in many cases the ambiguity can be resolved by analyzing the context in which the phrase was used. In the example given above, reading the news helps us to understand which team won the game.
However, it is possible to use the ambiguity to our advantage. We can be more expressive and creative through double meaning. Advertisers do this very well.
Examples:
"You walked hard to find your true love. Isn't it time to thank your feet for that?”
(Advertising of Havaianas).
In this example, the verb “walk” has a double meaning: “walk” in the sense of “go after”, “search” or “walk”.
"Aurelio. Good ass."
(Aurélio dictionary advertising).
Note how the expression "good as a donkey" opens up to a double interpretation. The effect is quite interesting.
know more about ambiguity.
14. Allusion
Allusion is a reference to a text, a person or an event. This reference can be given explicitly or implicitly. Allusions are common in cinema: for example, a film that makes reference to some scene from a classic film. In the literature, this feature is also quite common.
Examples:
The passion between them was as strong as that of the Verona lovers. (To describe the passion between two lovers, reference is made to the classic Romeo and Juliet, from W. Shakespeare).
João lived so enchanted with his windmills that sometimes we had the impression that he lived in another reality. (Allusion to the novel Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes).
know more about allusion.
15. Oxymoron (paradox)
Oxymoron is the approximation of contradictory statements (paradox). It is the association of terms that exclude each other. It is a radical contradiction, resulting in something that defies logic and sounds absurd or even unreal. The Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa explored this resource in many poems.
Examples:
"I have enough to have nothing"
(Fernando Pessoa)
“That I don't see, but I see, / That I don't hear, but I hear, / That I don't dream, but I dream, / That it's not me, but another…”
(Fernando Pessoa)
“I know that death, which is everything, is nothing”
(Fernando Pessoa)
know more about oxymoron.
16. Euphemism
A euphemism is the replacement of a word or expression that is considered unpleasant or rude for a milder one. ephemisms, in Greek, means “to say well”.
The euphemism is used a lot in everyday language. For example, when we don't want to criticize someone's performance too harshly, we say “It was reasonable” or “It wasn't that bad”. Instead of saying "He died", we can resort to the euphemism "It went from this one to a better one".
Examples:
That child is a little difficult. (Actually, the child is very naughty).
You didn't have a very happy performance. (Performance was actually poor or dismal).
know more about euphemism and meet more examples.
17. dysphemism
It's the opposite of euphemism. In other words: instead of attenuating the message, using softer words, even more aggressive and rude terms are used. Dysphemism accentuates the negative character of the message.
In antiquity, the Greeks used the word dysphemia to refer to terms that are bad or suggestive of doom.
Examples:
This child is a pest.
Get your paws off me!
18. Gradation
Gradation is a figure of speech that consists in the distribution of elements in an increasing or decreasing manner. when it happens in a way ascendant, the gradation moves towards the apex (climax). When is it downward, addresses the anticlimax.
Gradation can be used in both a narrative text and a dissertation text. The idea is always the chain of ideas, actions or information that are increasingly intense or less intense.
Examples of ascending gradation:
"Walk, run, fly, where honor calls you" (Nicolas Boileau)
"The cholera came to nothing; the humiliation burst into genuine tears. And yet this lady did not lack the urge to strangle Sofia, trample her underfoot, rip from her her heart in pieces, telling her in the face the crude names she attributed to her husband... "(Axe de Assisi)
Examples of Downgrading:
“Oh, don't wait, that the ripe old age
Become a flower, this beauty
On earth, in ash, in dust, in leftovers, in nothing.”
(Gregory of Matos)
"A breath, a shadow, a nothingness, everything gave him fever" (La Fontaine)
19. Apostrophe
Apostrophe is a call to someone, real or imagined, alive or dead, in the middle of a speech. This called party can be the reader himself. In some cases, the entity invoked is a god, a deceased personality, an element of nature or the homeland itself.
Examples:
“o salt sea, how much of your salt
They are tears from Portugal!”
(Fernando Pessoa)
"But then you, Lord, whatever you want and so command, do what you are served.”
(Father António Vieira)
20. Ellipse
An ellipse is a syntax figure that consists of omitting one or more words already implied within a sentence. Thus, the ellipse, despite making the sentence more concise, does not change its meaning.
Examples:
"To the winner, the potatoes"
(Machado de Assis)
In this classic phrase from the novel Quincas Borba, Machado de Assis omits a verb, which can be “remain” or “stay”. This omission does not hinder the understanding of the meaning of the sentence, since the verb is already understood.
"I arrived. You're here."
(Olav Bilac).
In this example, the subject of the two clauses is omitted.
know more about Ellipse.
21. Zeugma
The zeugma is very similar to the ellipse. Here it is also an omission of some term from the sentence. The difference, in the case of zeugma, is that the omitted term was mentioned earlier.
Examples:
I love eating fruit; she, chocolate. (The comma indicates the omission of the words “loves to eat”).
She is very excited when she goes to the park and so is her brother. (In this case, what is omitted is “gets very excited”).
know more about zeugma.
22. Silepsis
Silepsis, also called ideological agreement, is a figure of syntax that consists in the relationship of an element with something that is implicit in the sentence.
So when we say “I liked these people. Everyone was very nice to me”, the verb “were” and the adjective “sympathetic” agree not with “staff”, but with the people who make up this “staff”. The plural subject is implied.
Silepsis works through a deviation of agreement with stylistic value. There are three types of silepsis: from number, person and gender.
Examples:
Number Silepsis: Good morning, class. Welcome, everyone. (“Class” is singular. “Welcome all”, in the plural).
Person Silepsis: Humans need to preserve our planet. (“Human beings” is in the 3rd person plural. “We need”, in the 1st person plural).
Gender Silepsis: Your Excellency is unfair. (“Your Excellency” is feminine; “unfair”, male).
know more about silepsis.
23. Hyperbate (inversion)
Hyperbato is the drastic change in the direct order of terms within a sentence. Hyperbaton, in Greek, means “inversion”, “transposition”.
To know what hyperbato is, we first need to know what the direct or natural order of a sentence is. A sentence in direct order is organized like this: subject, predicate and complement. Hyperbate would be precisely the disorganization of this direct order.
Examples:
"The words are like crystals"
(Eugenio de Andrade)
In direct order, this sentence would look like this: "Words are like crystals." However, to serve a rhythmic purpose, the Portuguese poet preferred to invert the direct order of the sentence.
"In sad shadows beauty dies"
(Gregory of Matos)
24. anastrophe
The anastrophe syntax figure is very similar to the hyperbato. Anastrophe also works by reversing the natural order of words within a sentence, but in a stronger way. A classic example of an anastrophe are the first lines of the national anthem.
If the beginning of National anthem had it been written in direct order, it would have looked like this: “The placid banks of the Ipiranga heard the resounding cry of a heroic people”. However, as Joaquim Osório Duque-Estrada used the figure of anastrophe syntax, it was like this: “They heard from Ipiranga the placid shores of a heroic people a resounding cry”.
By the way, this is not the only anastrophe of the national anthem.
Examples:
"Than the brightest land
Your laughing beautiful fields have more flowers"
(Joaquim Osório Duque-Estrada)
"Rumor of a vacancy, where it ends, it's born...
More than an end, death is birth...
From many deaths a life is made…
Dream of everything: open face to the wind!”
(José Fernades Fafe)
25. polysyndeton
This figure of syntax consists of the repetitive use of conjunctions, such as “and”, “or” and “nor”. Syndetus means precisely conjunction. The prefix poly refers to the large number of times this conjunction is used.
The conjunction serves, among other things, to connect coordinated prayers within the same period. These are called syndectic coordinated clauses.
Examples:
"From the cloister, in patience and in the quiet,
It works and stubbornly, and lime, and suffers, and your!"
(Olav Bilac)
“The portion that fell to me is humble, worse than that: nil. Nor glory, nor loves, nor holiness, nor heroism"
(Otto Lara Resende)
know more about polysyndeton.
26. Asyndeton
If the polysyndeton is the excess of connectives, the asyndeton is the lack of them. The prefix “a” means negation. Therefore, the asyndeton is characterized by the existence of clauses that lack conjunctions.
Examples:
"I came, I saw, I won."
(phrase attributed to Julius Caesar)
“I dropped the pen, Moses folded the newspaper, Pimentel bit his nails.”
(Graciliano Ramos)
know more about asyndeton.
27. Anaphora
Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or set of words at the beginning of sentences or verses. A classic example of the occurrence of anaphora in our popular music is the repeated use of the verb “é” in the song “Águas de Março”, by Tom Jobim.
Examples:
“É stick, it's stone, é the end of the way
É a remnant of stump, é a little alone
É a shard of glass, é life, é the sun
É the night is death, é Hello co, é the hook
É field peroba, é the wood knot
Caingá, lamp, é the Matinta Pereira
É wind wood, fall of the bluff
É the deep mystery, é want it or not"
(Tom Jobim)
“I'm starlight
I'm the color of moonlight
I'm the things of life
I'm the fear of loving"
(Raul Seixas, Paulo Coelho)
know more about anaphora.
28. Anacoluto
Anacoluto is an interruption of the sentence. Hence, it is popularly called "broken sentence". In spoken language, we often use the anacolutton without knowing it. As it is a syntactic irregularity, the anacolutton is considered an oversight of language.
So when we say, "He, I don't know what's on his mind," we make an oversight. The pronoun "he", which announces itself as a subject at the beginning of the period, is left without predicate. The sentence is interrupted at the beginning, giving way to a new prayer.
But the anacolutton, when used intentionally, can have interesting effects on the text. It is explored in an expressive way in literature, whether in poetry or prose.
Examples:
"The day, this bulge of lymph, a vertigo of helium - archaically"
(Herberto Helder)
"The clock on the wall I'm used to it, but you need a clock more than I do."
(Ruben Braga)
know more about anacolutton.
29. Chiasmus
A resource used mainly in poetry, chiasmus consists of the crossing of terms in parallel groups. In Greek, chiasmus means “disposition on a cross”.
In these two verses of the book Message, by Fernando Pessoa, there is the occurrence of chiasmus:
"The blessing like a sword,
The sword as a blessing!”
Notice how the two verses are mirrored. The 1st term of the 1st verse, “blessing”, appears in the 2nd position in the 2nd verse. The 2nd term of the 1st verse, “sword”, appears in the first position of the 2nd verse.
Examples:
She was going happy, happy she was going.
I'm like this. So am I.
30. Pleonasm
Pleonasm is the excessive use of words, generating redundancy in the speech. It is generally treated as a language addiction; ie: something that should be avoided.
In everyday language, perhaps with the intention of emphasizing some idea, we use pleonasms with some frequency: “going in”, “going out”, “I saw it with my eyes”, “a few years ago”, “facing front” etc.
But pleonasm, if used well, can have an interesting effect on the text. Let's look at some examples.
Examples:
"AND laugh my laugh and spill my tears”
(Vinicius de Moraes)
“It rained a sad rain of resignation”
(Manuel Bandeira)
know more about fullnasm.
31. Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the attempt to imitate a real-world sound through words. A very clear example of this is the word ticking, which mimics the sound produced by the clock. In the language of comic books, the use of onomatopoeias is quite common: “whh!”, “boom!”, “paw!”, “zzzzzz...” etc.
Some verbs, such as meow, hum, tinkle, and hiss, have an onomatopoeic origin.
Examples:
At four in the morning, the rooster issued its traditional co-co-ro-co.
When I got into the bath, the ding-dong coming from the door.
know more about onomatopoeia.
32. Alliteration
Alliteration is the expressive repetition of a consonant sound (ie, a sound produced by consonants). Alliterations are responsible for the musicality of many poetic texts. There are bilabial (p-b), fricative (f-v), sibilant (s-z) etc. sounds.
When we talk about alliteration, it is important not to confuse the sound with the letter. For example, the words “roast” and “caçapa” have hissing sounds and could be combined to produce the alliteration, even if these sounds are produced by different letters (ss and ç).
Examples:
"I youmO mvery the mair, the mdark airmand"
(Cesário Verde)
“Phedron Pbricklayer Penseiro
arePwas the train.
Morning, Pwelcome, need
from youPwas too."
(Chico Buarque)
“Voz veladas, velusive voz,
Volupies of vyolons, voz veladas,
Vagam us veyes vortices veloquent
Of the vthen, vivat, vat, vulcanized."
(Cross and Sousa)
know more about alliteration.
33. Assonance
Assonance is the expressive repetition of a vowel sound. When the vowel sound appears in the stressed syllable of words, the result is more expressive.
There are open vowel sounds (like “clThero", "fanástico", "mágico") and closed vowel sounds ("escuro", "soturno", "lúgubre”). Their combination can generate very interesting sound effects in the text.
There are poems in which assonance appears alongside alliteration. An example of this is the song “Qualquer Coisa”, by Caetano Veloso.
Examples:
"Bandrro pandit evenanderror
Pandlo dandstanderror
BandI'm sorryandu banderror
Pandit onlyandu andrro"
(Caetano Veloso)
aaguThe SunTher isThevThe clTherThe, plácidThemágicThe...
34. Paronomasia
It consists of using, in the same sentence, words that are the same (or nearly equal) in sound, but different in meaning. Originates from the Greek word paranomasia, formed by the prefix for ("near") and onomasia ("name").
Let's look at the following sentence: In vain dreams are gone. Note that in this sentence the word “vain” is used with two different meanings: in the first case, it composes a phrase that means “uselessly”; in the second case, it is the verb “vain”.
Examples:
"Your Eminence it's in imminence to go abroad.”
(Massaud Moses)
"That one captive
who have me captive
because in her alive
don't want that anymore alive"
(Trucks)
"Galvão he thinks easy the property you he thinks difficult"
(advertising piece for a real estate company created by the poet Paulo Leminski)
35. Cacophony
Cacophony comes from the Greek word kakophony, which means “ugly sound” or “unpleasant sound”. When we write or speak, sounds from different words combine to form new sounds. For example, in the phrase “Touched her mouth”, the words “mouth” and “her” together form a new word: “bitch”. Depending on the situation, this might sound bad.
Although it is considered a language addiction, arising from carelessness with the language, it is possible to use cacophony to produce new meanings within the text. When used purposefully, cacophony, or cacophate, can be seen as a figure of speech.
know more about cacophony.
36. Anadiplosis
Anadiplose is a figure of speech that consists of repeating the last word of the verse or the previous sentence at the beginning of the verse or the next sentence. It is a cohesive resource, as it establishes a connection between ideas.
Examples:
"Today is Sunday
pipe foot
golden pipe
hit the bull
O bull is brave
hit the people
we is weak
falls on hole
The hole it's deep
The world is over.”
(parlenda in public domain)
"The looseness in love is a offense,
Offense that if he rises to the highest degree"
(Bocage)
37. epanalepsis
A figure of little-known language, epanalepsis consists of using the same word at the beginning and at the end of a sentence or verse.
Examples:
Man is wolf of men.
i am what am.
38. deacope
Diacope comes from a Greek word meaning “cut”. It is characterized by the use of the same word twice, having a word in the middle of them.
Example:
Good life, quiet life.
Happy faces, happy hearts.
Types of Speech Figures
Word pictures
Also called semantic pictures, word pictures work with the meaning of words, diverting them from their literal or denotative sense.
- Metaphor
- Metonymy
- Comparation
- Antonomasia
- Periphrasis
- Synesthesia
- Allegory
- catachresis
- Parable
thought figures
In figures of thought, the figurative meaning is not in terms of words, but in terms of ideas.
- Hyperbole
- Irony
- Euphemism
- dysphemism
- Personification (prosopopeia)
- Antithesis
- Oxymoron (paradox)
- Apostrophe
- Gradation
- Allusion
Syntax figures
Syntactic figures act on the sentence plane, changing the usual organization of words.
- Ellipse
- Zeugma
- Pleonasm
- Asyndeton
- polysyndeton
- anastrophe
- Chiasmus
- Hyperbate (inversion)
- Silepsis
- Anacoluto
- Anaphora
- Anadiplosis
- deacope
- epanalepsis
sound figures
Sound figures (or phonetic figures) are characterized by the exploration of the sound potential of words. Some sound figures operate by repeating certain sounds.
- Alliteration
- Assonance
- Paronomasia
- Cacophony
- Onomatopoeia
See also these meanings:
- Meaning of Figures of Language
- Meaning of Rhetorical Figures
- Examples of Language Figures
- what are rhymes