Alliteration

Definition
Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds of neighboring words.
Theory
Marta Pardede (2008:31) states, “alliteration : the repetition of initial consonant in another
word is the repetition of the same sound at frequent intervals.”
Examples
 She sells seashells.
 Walter wondered where Winnie was.
 Blue baby bonnets bobbed through the bayou.
 Nick needed new notebooks.
 Fred fried frogs' legs on Friday.

Assonance
Definition

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds (not just letters) in words that are close together.
The sounds don't have to be at the beginning of the word.

Theory

Scott (1983:11) gives definition, “assonance is to sound, to respond to. Corespondance in

sound between two words as regards the stressed vowels but different consonants, or the
same consonants sound but different vowels, thus forming an imperfect rhyme”. For example
the word ‘fate’ with ‘take’; or the word ‘stone’ with ‘stain’.

Examples

 A - For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore. (Poe)

 E - Therefore, all seasons shall be sweet to thee. (Coleridge)

 I - From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire. (Frost)

 O - Oh hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. (Wordsworth)

 U - Uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (Poe)

Euphemism
Definition

Euphemism is a mild, indirect, or vague term that often substitutes a harsh, blunt, or offensive
term.

Theory

Martha Pardede (2008:28) gives definition, “euphemism is a figure of speech in which a mild
or vogue expression is substituted for a harsh or blunt one.

Examples

 'A little thin on top' instead of 'going bald.'

 'Fell of the back of a truck' instead of 'stolen.'

 'Letting you go' instead of 'firing you.'

 'Passed away' instead of 'died.'

 'Economical with the truth' instead of 'liar.'

Hyperbole
Definition

Hyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Theory

Wren and Martin (1981:491) state, “in hyperbole a statement is made emphatic by
overstatement”. It is means that some words which are used in a poem is overstatement from
true meaning.

Examples

 I've told you to stop a thousand times.

 That must have cost a billion dollars.

 I could do this forever.

 She's older than dirt.

 Everybody knows that.

Irony
Definition

Irony occurs when there's a marked contrast between what is said and what is meant, or
between appearance and reality.

Theory

Harry Shaw (1972:208) states it is “a figure of speech in which the literal (denotative)
meaning of a word or statement in the opposite of that intended”. In literature, it is a
technique of indicating an intention or attitude opposed to what is actually stated.

Examples

 "How nice!" she said, when I told her I had to work all weekend. (Verbal irony)

 A traffic cop gets suspended for not paying his parking tickets. (Situational irony)

 The Titanic was said to be unsinkable but sank on its first voyage. (Situational irony)

 Naming a tiny Chihuahua Brutus. (Verbal irony)

 When the audience knows the killer is hiding in a closet in a scary movie, but the
actors do not. (Dramatic irony)

Metaphor
Definition

A metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike things or ideas.

Theory

X. J. Kennedy (1991:587) gives definition, “metaphor is a statement that one thing is

something else, which, in a literal sense, it is not”. There is the new transferred meaning.
Metaphor can help a poet to achieve conversation, to arrange some words into little space and
also shape a reader’s attitudes.

Examples

 Heart of stone

 Time is money

 The world is a stage

 She's a night owl

 He's an ogre

Onomatopoeia
Definition

Onomatopoeia is the term for a word that sounds like what it is describing.

Examples

 Whoosh

 Splat

 Buzz

 Click

 Oink

Oxymoron
Definition

An oxymoron is two contradictory terms used together.

Theory

Scott (1983:200-201) defines it as the formation of words from sounds which seem to suggest
and reinforce the meaning when applied to the choice of words in poetry, where by the sound
is made ‘an echo to the sense’, and has a real value. Universitas Sumatera Utara 22 Martha
Pardede (2008:32) states, “onomatopoeia: imitates actual sounds being describes”.

Examples

 Peace force

 Kosher ham

 Jumbo shrimp

 Sweet sorrow

 Free market

Personification
Definirion

Personification gives human qualities to non-living things or ideas.

Theory

Ruth Miller and Robert A. Greenberg (1986:74) state, “personification is a figure of speech in
which an abstract idea, inanimate object, or aspect of nature is described as if it were human.
To say that “time intrudes and steals my days” is to see time as a thief, that is, to see it as
human.

Examples

 The flowers nodded.

 The snowflakes danced.

 The thunder grumbled.

 The fog crept in.

 The wind howled.

Simile
Definition

A simile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."

Theory

Martha Pardede’s Universitas Sumatera Utara 14 definition (2008:22) “a simile is generally

the comparison of two things essentially unlike, on the basis of a resemblance in one aspect.
It is a figure in which a similarity between two objects directly expressed”. Most simile are
introduced by as or like or even by such a word as compare, liken or resemble.

Examples

 As slippery as an eel

 Like peas in a pod

 As blind as a bat
 Eats like a pig

 As wise as an owl

Synecdoche
Definition

Synecdoche occurs when a part is represented by the whole or, conversely, the whole is
represented by the part.

Examples

 Wheels - a car

 The police - one policeman

 Plastic - credit cards

 Coke - any cola drink

 Hired hands - workers

Understatement
Definition

A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less
important or serious than it is.

Examples

 It's just a scratch - referring to a large dent.

 It's a litttle dry and sandy - referring to the driest desert in the world.

 The weather is cooler today - referring to sub-zero temperatures.

 It was interesting - referring to a bad or difficult experience.

 It stings a bit - referring to a serious wound or injury.

Paradox
Definition

a statement whose surface, obvious meaning seems to be illogical, even absurd, but which
makes good sense upon closer examinatio.

Theory

X. J. Kennedy (1991:595) gives definition, “paradox occur in statement that at first strikes us
as self-contradictory but that on reflection makes some sense”.

Example
 And Death shall be no more; Death thou shalt die
 light is the darkest thing in physics

Anaphora
Definition

Anaphora is  The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
or verses.

Examples

 I came, I saw, I conquered. - Julius Caesar

 Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition! - King John II, William Shakespeare

 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the
age of foolishness. - A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

 With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right. - Abraham
Lincoln

 We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end... we shall never surrender.
- Winston Churchill

Source
 http://repository.usu.ac.id/bitstream/handle/123456789/17088/Chapter
%20II.pdf/;jsessionid=1A0F884F767C66DEE166A8D945337D28?sequence=4
 https://examples.yourdictionary.com/figure-of-speech-examples.html
 https://www.thoughtco.com/top-figures-of-speech-1691818