Week 1. Figures of Speech

Figures of Speech

A word that has a meaning kind of different than its literal meaning, such as metaphors, simile, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, imagery, oxymoron, alliteration, anaphora and epiphora, flashback and foreshadowing.

The following are the meaning and differences of each figure of speech, each has an example.

Metaphor and Simile differences.

• Methaphor is a word or phrase to compare two unlike objects, ideas. On the other hand, simile is two unlike things that are compared using the word "like" or "as" followed by a figurative example.

Examples:

• "You are the apple of my eyes"
• "He is as hungry as a horse"

Imagery

• Formation of mental images, figures. Use senses.

Oxymoron

• Oxymoron, plural oxymora, is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect.
• Examples: 

1. Open secret
2. Tragic comedy
3. Awfully pretty

Alliteration 

Is a term that describes a literary stylistic device. Alliteration occurs when a series of words in a row (or close to a row) have the same first consonant sound.  

• The best way to spot alliteration being used in a sentence is to sound out the sentence, looking for the words with the identical consonant sounds.

1. Alice’s aunt ate apples and acorns around August.
2. Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for Billy.

Anaphora and Epiphora differences

• Anaphora is an antonym of epistrophe.
   
• Anaphora is a repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences, while epiphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of a sentence in quick succession.

Examples

Anaphora

London by William Blake
In every cry of every man,
In every infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear.

  
Epiphora

The sky was bright. Her smile was bright. My heart was bright.
  

Onomatopoeia, hyperbole, flashback and foreshadowing difference.

• Onomatopoeia refers to a word that phonetically mimics or resembles the sound of the thing it describes. For example, the words we use to describe the noises that animals make are all onomatopoetic, such as a dog’s “bark,” a cat’s “meow,” or a coo’s “moo.”

• Hyperbole is the use of obvious and deliberate exaggeration. Hyperbolic statements are often extravagant and not meant to be taken literally. These statements are used to create a strong impression and add emphasis.

•  The definition of hyperbole comes from the Greek for “to throw beyond” or “exaggeration.”

 Flashback and Foreshadowing differences

• A flashback reveals something about the story or characters that the reader doesn't know. Flashbacks often set up events that will occur in the story or explain a character’s motives based on past behavior.While foreshadowing is a technique used to hint at things to come. The purpose is to create tension within the reader by insinuating possible scenarios for later use in the story.

References

Literary Devices. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://literarydevices.net/oxymoron/

Literary Devices. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.literarydevices.com/epiphora/

Metaphors.com. (2012). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.metaphors.com/

Synonym. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://classroom.synonym.com/narrative-storytelling-techniques-1645.html

The Difference-Between. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://the-difference-between.com/epistrophe/anaphora

Your Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://examples.yourdictionary.com/alliteration-examples.html