Hi everybody and welcome to vocabulary TV. This video that you are going to watch is one of the two video lessons that we will publish back to back on our Channel and they cover the Top-22 Figures of Speech in English. Understanding these Figures of Speech is very important for any English learner as these figures of speech form the very basics of good writing and conversation skills. Also, questions based on these Figures of speech often appear in various exams such as SAT, GRE, CAT etc. Part-1 of this lesson covers the following 10 figures of speech. Let’s start with a brief discussion of Figures of Speech and their importance in the English language. Well, a figure of speech refers to a word or phrase that is used in a speech or a piece of writing to make it more persuasive, vivid, and relatable to the reader or the listener. These expressions (called Figures of Speech) use words in a non-literal sense to convey some other meaning altogether. Let me explain this definition through the phrase: ‘to rack one’s brains’. Now, any such phrase has two kinds of meanings. One is the literal meaning which is the meaning, when you consider the words in their usual or the most basic sense. Well, historically, a rack was a torture device in ancient ages on which the victim was tied and his body was stretched to a point that the limbs were eventually torn apart from the body. Over time, the word rack started meaning : to cause extreme pain, anguish, or distress to someone. So, to rack one’s brain, in literal sense would look somewhat like this, and would suggest that a person is actually tearing his brain apart or is shredding it into pieces. As we know, this is almost impossible in real life. In contrast to the literal meaning, the figurative meaning of a phrase is the meaning implied by the phrase and in this case, it is: to strain your brains and to make a great effort to think of or remember something. An example sentence for the phrase is: He racked his brains so that he could get some original ideas for his new book. Now, There are hundreds of Figures of Speech in English, but some of them are more commonly used than the others and in this video we will cover the top-22 of these. The figures of speech are widely used in literature and we use them even in our own writing and conversations, sometimes consciously, and sometimes unconsciously. I guess I will not be wrong in saying that using a figure of speech in language is like sprinkling condiments (such as salt etc.) over your bland food so that it tastes better. And see! I used a figure of speech called simile to describe the term ‘figure of speech’ for you. OK, the point is that the Figures of speech adorn the language. They add colour and interest, awaken our imagination, and cause a moment of excitement when used. They paint a vivid picture in the readers’ or listener’s minds, and as we know a picture is equivalent to a thousand words, so the figurative language helps us understand the message better than words alone. Consider two sentences: He ran fast. v/s He ran like the wind. While the word fast does not help me guess his speed as to how fast it is, the second expression ‘ran like the wind’ does. So figures of speech do provide emphasis, freshness, and clarity to our expression… Now let’s cover each of the Figures of Speech in detail. In this section, we are going to cover the figures of speech based on comparison or resemblance. The very first and one of the most commonly used Figures of Speech is Simile. A simile is an explicit comparison where you say that one thing is like another thing. The two things are of a different kind, and yet are alike in some significant way. Most of the similes will clearly state and emphasize the parameter or the quality on which the two objects are being compared. So for example, when I say the kid’s backpack was as heavy as a bag full of rocks, I clearly know that the comparison is on ‘weight’. Another way of saying the same sentence is: The kid’s backpack seemed like a bag full of rocks. Structure wise, it is still a simile but we will have to think a bit to conclude that they are comparing the two items to emphasize weight. As you can see, similes are introduced by the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. There are two common patterns that similes follow. The first pattern is: verb plus ‘like a’ plus noun. For example: The moon shone bright like a diamond in the night sky. We are comparing moon and the diamond on the verb (which is an action word) shine. AND He eats like a pig. We are comparing someone’s eating habits to that of the pig. The 2nd pattern is: as + Adjective+ as +‘Noun’. For example: The girl’s eyes were as black as coal. In this sentence, we are comparing the girl’s eyes to coal on the adjective or quality ‘black’. Another example of the pattern is: He was as big as a giant. Our 2nd figure of speech is a Metaphor. A metaphor is a word or phrase for one thing that is used in place of another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar In a metaphor, we say that ‘Object 1’ is ‘Object 2’ so it is an implied comparison. The quality or the parameter on which the two objects are being compared is not explicitly stated in a metaphor so we will have to think how the two could be similar and then infer the meaning of the metaphor. For example: we often say that ‘Life is one big roller-coaster ride’. In this sentence life is being compared to a roller-coaster ride and when we think of a roller-coaster ride, we think of the twists and turns, the crests and the troughs, the accelerations and the smooth sailing moments. And we relate the same experiences to ‘life’ in terms of the various ups and downs, the exciting and the boring moments etc. On a lighter note, while a person is on the rollercoaster, it’s up to him to scream or to enjoy the ride. As a figure of speech, Metaphors are extremely valuable in making an abstract idea such as ‘life’ clearer by associating the idea with something concrete such as ‘roller-coaster’ that relates to one or more of the senses. Other examples of a metaphor are: to climb up the success ladder. Again success is an abstract thing so by comparing it to a ladder in the form of a metaphor, we can imply gradual progression, difficulties involved in reaching the top etc. And of course we are making the description more vivid and interesting. Talking of careers and success, one metaphor that I have seen frequently being used is that of the glass ceiling. As we know, ceiling means a roof. The phrase ‘glass ceiling ‘ can be used in sentences like: In the corporate world, women often find it difficult to break through the glass ceiling. Now there is no glass ceiling to break in literal sense; but the phrase helps us imagine the much talked about barrier of personal or professional constraints. which prevents women from making it to top-management positions in corporations. Since similes and metaphors both involve comparison of unlike things, one useful tip that will help you tell one from the other is: A simile uses the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ while a metaphor does not. Sometimes the same message can be conveyed using a simile or using a metaphor. So when I say: In the battle, he fought bravely like a lion. I am using a simile. While in the sentence: He was a lion in the battle. I am using a metaphor. In saying that at office she was as busy as a bee, handling several tasks at once. I used a simile. But if I say, The secretary was a busy bee, flitting around the office and handling several tasks at once I used a metaphor. Our third figure of speech is Personification. This figure can be called a type of metaphor because in Personification, we represent an inanimate object or an abstract idea as a person and give it human traits. In literature and poetry we often come across instances where inanimate objects such as the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, and the rivers etc. are personified. For example, when we say that The sun stretched his golden arms and greeted everyone with his kind smile, we are representing it as a person and talking about it in terms of human characteristics like stretching his arms, having a smile etc. Similarly, when the famous poet William Wordsworth described the flowers as fluttering and dancing in the breeze, in his poem, ‘the Daffodils’ ; the use of the same expression can be extended to trees and an image like the one you see here springs up in readers’ minds as if trees, represented in human form, were dancing. Sometimes, we personify an abstract idea such as justice. In courtroom dramas, one can often see a personification of justice as a woman with her eyes covered and balancing the scales. Though the blindfold represents the objectivity and impartiality in meting out justice; people often say that ‘Justice is blind, sometimes deaf,’ whenever there are irregularities in the process. The 4th figure of speech: An Apostrophe - takes personification, one step forward; in the sense that we not only represent an object or an idea as a person; but also speak to it or address it directly as if it were present there and was capable of understanding feelings . The best example of an apostrophe is the Nursery rhyme: ‘Twinkle Twinkle little Star, How I wonder what you are…’ in which a kid is talking to a star. In an apostrophe, one can also address a non-existent or an absent person at the scene. The Oxford dictionary describes ‘Apostrophe’ as: an exclamatory passage in a speech or poem addressed to a person (typically one who is dead or absent) or a thing (typically one that is personified). By the way, don’t confuse this ‘Apostrophe’ which is a figure of speech with the Apostrophe (‘) which is a punctuation mark. Another example of apostrophe would be Carlyle addressing liberty and saying, ‘O Liberty, what things are done in thy name!.’ Next we move on to the figures of Speech based on association. In this type, we don’t compare the two objects but rather talk about one object in terms of another which is known to be associated with the first one. The most common Figure of Speech of this type is Metonymy. Metonymy is the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, (An adjunct, by the way, means a thing added to something else as a supplementary rather than an essential part.) The best example that comes to my mind for Metonymy is the popular saying: The pen is mightier than the Sword. The words pen and sword are metonymy here. The pen is a symbol of written words, while the sword is a symbol of military power and bloodshed. So when one says: The pen is mightier than the Sword; the implied meaning is: Written words are more effective than military power or bloodshed. This fact is well acknowledged because we know that great writers have been thought leaders and have inspired revolutions. Besides, written words can evoke a whole range of emotions such as love, hatred sympathy etc. and can help build the personality and character of many a people. Military power, on the other hand, when demonstrated through wars, inflicts injury and suffering and causes loss of life. Other common examples of metonymy would be the use of the word ‘crown’ for the power of a king or monarch, easy to understand because a crown is normally worn by kings or queens and hence is associated with the power of a king or queen. An example sentence is: The crown has granted amnesty to all prisoners charged with minor offences. A similar example would be that of the White house. The white house is where the President of the United States lives and runs the U.S.A. from. So, the white house stands for the Power or Authority vested in the White house. An example sentence would be: The White House has decided to crack down on the terrorists. One very good example of metonymy is the expression ‘Red Tape’. The red tape has been used for about two centuries now to bind official and legal documents. The term has thus come to stand for excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities such as unnecessary paperwork. The term has a negative connotation and can be used in sentences like these: As a country, we need to cut through the red tape, and bring efficiencies in the system if we want to attract investments and achieve good growth rates. As the last example for Metonymy, we can use an author’s name to represent the works of that author. So, if I say that Roald Dahl is read by people of all age groups; (now you can’t read a person right? especially someone who is deceased), so the implied meaning is: the books written by Roald Dahl such as Charlie and the Chocolate factory, the Big Friendly Giant, Matilda etc. are read by people of all ages. Next figure of Speech is Synecdoche which is often confused with Metonymy. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. For example we can use the term ‘a set of wheels’ to refer to a car of which the wheels are just a part. And in saying that: I bought myself a new set of wheels to travel to work everyday, it’s well understood that we are referring to a car. Now let’s talk about the difference between a Metonymy and a Synecdoche. Synecdoche refers to the whole of a thing by the name of any one of its parts. So we saw that calling a car “ a set of wheels” is a synecdoche because a part of a car “wheels” stands for the whole car. However, in synecdoche, the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing as an adjunct, but is not necessarily a part of it. For example, recall that we had discussed the word “crown” that refers to power or authority is a metonymy used to replace the word “king” or “queen”. In metonymy, just like we can use a part to represent a whole, we can also use the whole to represent a part of it. For example: we can use a country name to represent any sports team of that country. Like, if I say, India won the ICC World cup in 2011; it’s understood that ‘the Indian National Cricket team’ won the world cup. Similarly, we can use the term ‘hands’ or ‘helping hands’ to refer to a person who helps or assists you in some work. So my advice to homemakers is: if you feel tired doing the mundane chores of your house everyday, you can perhaps hire some extra hands for help. Next we will move on to the figures of speech based on sound. this type is one of the most interesting Figures of Speech and is commonly used in real life situations such as advertisements as well as in literature. The first of these in Onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. Like, if I say the buzz of the bees and the hiss of the snakes, the words buzz and hiss actually imitate or copy the actual sound made by the bee or the snake respectively. And there is a whole range of animal sounds named that way: for instance – the woof of the dogs and the quack of the ducks, the moo of the cow and the oink oink of the pigs; the list does not stop there. Not only animals, there are many other real life instances of such sounds. For example, if I say: The ball splashes into water: the word splash actually reverberates the sound of something hitting water. Or the telephone rings. Ring (or tring) is the actual sound made by the telephone. Or even: the bomb went boom. Boom reflects the actual sound made by the bomb. And a horn goes beep beep, again, an actual sound. Many-a-time there could be multiple real-life contexts where we hear the same sound and accordingly the same Onomatopoeia word can be used in all these contexts. So, on an icy-cold winter night, the fireplace crackles, and the family cuddles up beside it. And in a different context, On an autumn evening, when we walk over a pile of dried leaves, they crackle and rustle under our feet. Similarly we have the word snap which can be used as follows: As he listened to music, he snapped his fingers and danced to the tunes. While we can also have a rope snapping due to tension at both ends. And of course, how can we forget the sounds of food…. We love to eat a sizzling hot Sizzler, named that way because of the sound sizzle. And hot, freshly popped popcorns, again the sound is ‘pop’. Here is an ad of Kellogs Rice Crispies, you can see the mascots are named Snap, Crackle and Pop – they stand for the sounds of a healthy food - all examples of onomatopoeia. Our next figure of speech based on sound effects is Alliteration. Alliteration refers to the repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words… Derived from the Latin word ‘Latira’, that means letters of the alphabet, examples of Alliteration abound in real life. From advertising slogans to warnings, to tongue twisters, and catchy names; alliteration is used everywhere. SO when you are driving, you might come across the sign: Don’t drink and Drive… note the successive words start with the sound ‘d’, that’s Alliteration. Moving on to some catchy tongue twisters. Who would not have tried the lines from tongue twisters such as Peter Piper or Betty Botter. So, If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers… That’s alliteration for you, as the initial consonant sound ‘p’ is repeated in successive words in the same sentence. And Betty Botter thinking: But a bit of better butter will make my batter better.… it’s very tough and challenging, to speak it out, and yet its quite a bit of fun. So, in this betty botter example, we notice the consonant sound ‘b’ at the beginning of various words. And that’s not it. There are so many brand and company names that are catchy and memorable, because there is alliteration involved: the famous ones being Coca Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Pay Pal, Kit Kat etc. And finally, we have the famous cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Spongebob Squarepants, which have alliteration in their names. The third figure of speech based on sound effects is Assonance. Assonance takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound though they might start with different consonant sounds. Consider these lines: The fat cat had a snack. Alas! It was a tough nut to crack We see that the vowel sound of ‘a’ gets repeated in words that are close together in these lines producing a very cool effect; these words are: fat, cat, had, snack, Alas, and crack. Another example of Assonance is: Describe a high-rise? Well, it rises high into the bright blue sky. Here, the ‘I’ sound in words – describe, high, rise, rises, high, bright, and sky gets stressed. Hi everybody and welcome to vocabulary TV. This video that you are going to watch is one of the two video lessons that we will publish back to back on our Channel and they cover the Top-22 Figures of Speech in English. Understanding these Figures of Speech is very important for any English learner as these figures of speech form the very basics of good writing and conversation skills. Also, questions based on these Figures of speech often appear in various exams such as SAT, GRE, CAT etc. Part-1 of this lesson covers the following 10 figures of speech. Let’s start with a brief discussion of Figures of Speech and their importance in the English language. Well, a figure of speech refers to a word or phrase that is used in a speech or a piece of writing to make it more persuasive, vivid, and relatable to the reader or the listener. These expressions (called Figures of Speech) use words in a non-literal sense to convey some other meaning altogether. Let me explain this definition through the phrase: ‘to rack one’s brains’. Now, any such phrase has two kinds of meanings. One is the literal meaning which is the meaning, when you consider the words in their usual or the most basic sense. Well, historically, a rack was a torture device in ancient ages on which the victim was tied and his body was stretched to a point that the limbs were eventually torn apart from the body. Over time, the word rack started meaning : to cause extreme pain, anguish, or distress to someone. So, to rack one’s brain, in literal sense would look somewhat like this, and would suggest that a person is actually tearing his brain apart or is shredding it into pieces. As we know, this is almost impossible in real life. In contrast to the literal meaning, the figurative meaning of a phrase is the meaning implied by the phrase and in this case, it is: to strain your brains and to make a great effort to think of or remember something. An example sentence for the phrase is: He racked his brains so that he could get some original ideas for his new book. Now, There are hundreds of Figures of Speech in English, but some of them are more commonly used than the others and in this video we will cover the top-22 of these. The figures of speech are widely used in literature and we use them even in our own writing and conversations, sometimes consciously, and sometimes unconsciously. I guess I will not be wrong in saying that using a figure of speech in language is like sprinkling condiments (such as salt etc.) over your bland food so that it tastes better. And see! I used a figure of speech called simile to describe the term ‘figure of speech’ for you. OK, the point is that the Figures of speech adorn the language. They add colour and interest, awaken our imagination, and cause a moment of excitement when used. They paint a vivid picture in the readers’ or listener’s minds, and as we know a picture is equivalent to a thousand words, so the figurative language helps us understand the message better than words alone. Consider two sentences: He ran fast. v/s He ran like the wind. While the word fast does not help me guess his speed as to how fast it is, the second expression ‘ran like the wind’ does. So figures of speech do provide emphasis, freshness, and clarity to our expression… Now let’s cover each of the Figures of Speech in detail. In this section, we are going to cover the figures of speech based on comparison or resemblance. The very first and one of the most commonly used Figures of Speech is Simile. A simile is an explicit comparison where you say that one thing is like another thing. The two things are of a different kind, and yet are alike in some significant way. Most of the similes will clearly state and emphasize the parameter or the quality on which the two objects are being compared. So for example, when I say the kid’s backpack was as heavy as a bag full of rocks, I clearly know that the comparison is on ‘weight’. Another way of saying the same sentence is: The kid’s backpack seemed like a bag full of rocks. Structure wise, it is still a simile but we will have to think a bit to conclude that they are comparing the two items to emphasize weight. As you can see, similes are introduced by the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. There are two common patterns that similes follow. The first pattern is: verb plus ‘like a’ plus noun. For example: The moon shone bright like a diamond in the night sky. We are comparing moon and the diamond on the verb (which is an action word) shine. AND He eats like a pig. We are comparing someone’s eating habits to that of the pig. The 2nd pattern is: as + Adjective+ as +‘Noun’. For example: The girl’s eyes were as black as coal. In this sentence, we are comparing the girl’s eyes to coal on the adjective or quality ‘black’. Another example of the pattern is: He was as big as a giant. Our 2nd figure of speech is a Metaphor. A metaphor is a word or phrase for one thing that is used in place of another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar In a metaphor, we say that ‘Object 1’ is ‘Object 2’ so it is an implied comparison. The quality or the parameter on which the two objects are being compared is not explicitly stated in a metaphor so we will have to think how the two could be similar and then infer the meaning of the metaphor. For example: we often say that ‘Life is one big roller-coaster ride’. In this sentence life is being compared to a roller-coaster ride and when we think of a roller-coaster ride, we think of the twists and turns, the crests and the troughs, the accelerations and the smooth sailing moments. And we relate the same experiences to ‘life’ in terms of the various ups and downs, the exciting and the boring moments etc. On a lighter note, while a person is on the rollercoaster, it’s up to him to scream or to enjoy the ride. As a figure of speech, Metaphors are extremely valuable in making an abstract idea such as ‘life’ clearer by associating the idea with something concrete such as ‘roller-coaster’ that relates to one or more of the senses. Other examples of a metaphor are: to climb up the success ladder. Again success is an abstract thing so by comparing it to a ladder in the form of a metaphor, we can imply gradual progression, difficulties involved in reaching the top etc. And of course we are making the description more vivid and interesting. Talking of careers and success, one metaphor that I have seen frequently being used is that of the glass ceiling. As we know, ceiling means a roof. The phrase ‘glass ceiling ‘ can be used in sentences like: In the corporate world, women often find it difficult to break through the glass ceiling. Now there is no glass ceiling to break in literal sense; but the phrase helps us imagine the much talked about barrier of personal or professional constraints. which prevents women from making it to top-management positions in corporations. Since similes and metaphors both involve comparison of unlike things, one useful tip that will help you tell one from the other is: A simile uses the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ while a metaphor does not. Sometimes the same message can be conveyed using a simile or using a metaphor. So when I say: In the battle, he fought bravely like a lion. I am using a simile. While in the sentence: He was a lion in the battle. I am using a metaphor. In saying that at office she was as busy as a bee, handling several tasks at once. I used a simile. But if I say, The secretary was a busy bee, flitting around the office and handling several tasks at once I used a metaphor. Our third figure of speech is Personification. This figure can be called a type of metaphor because in Personification, we represent an inanimate object or an abstract idea as a person and give it human traits. In literature and poetry we often come across instances where inanimate objects such as the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, and the rivers etc. are personified. For example, when we say that The sun stretched his golden arms and greeted everyone with his kind smile, we are representing it as a person and talking about it in terms of human characteristics like stretching his arms, having a smile etc. Similarly, when the famous poet William Wordsworth described the trees as fluttering and dancing in the breeze, in his poem, ‘the Daffodils’ , an image like the one you see here springs up in readers’ minds as if trees, represented in human form, were dancing. Sometimes, we personify an abstract idea such as justice. In courtroom dramas, one can often see a personification of justice as a woman with her eyes covered and balancing the scales. Though the blindfold represents the objectivity and impartiality in meting out justice; people often say that ‘Justice is blind, sometimes deaf,’ whenever there are irregularities in the process. The 4th figure of speech: An Apostrophe - takes personification, one step forward; in the sense that we not only represent an object or an idea as a person; but also speak to it or address it directly as if it were present there and was capable of understanding feelings . The best example of an apostrophe is the Nursery rhyme: ‘Twinkle Twinkle little Star, How I wonder what you are…’ in which a kid is talking to a star. In an apostrophe, one can also address a non-existent or an absent person at the scene. The Oxford dictionary describes ‘Apostrophe’ as: an exclamatory passage in a speech or poem addressed to a person (typically one who is dead or absent) or a thing (typically one that is personified). By the way, don’t confuse this ‘Apostrophe’ which is a figure of speech with the Apostrophe (‘) which is a punctuation mark. Another example of apostrophe would be Carlyle addressing liberty and saying, ‘O Liberty, what things are done in thy name!.’ Next we move on to the figures of Speech based on association. In this type, we don’t compare the two objects but rather talk about one object in terms of another which is known to be associated with the first one. The most common Figure of Speech of this type is Metonymy. Metonymy is the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, (An adjunct, by the way, means a thing added to something else as a supplementary rather than an essential part.) The best example that comes to my mind for Metonymy is the popular saying: The pen is mightier than the Sword. The words pen and sword are metonymy here. The pen is a symbol of written words, while the sword is a symbol of military power and bloodshed. So when one says: The pen is mightier than the Sword; the implied meaning is: Written words are more effective than military power or bloodshed. This fact is well acknowledged because we know that great writers have been thought leaders and have inspired revolutions. Besides, written words can evoke a whole range of emotions such as love, hatred sympathy etc. and can help build the personality and character of many a people. Military power, on the other hand, when demonstrated through wars, inflicts injury and suffering and causes loss of life. Other common examples of metonymy would be the use of the word ‘crown’ for the power of a king or monarch, easy to understand because a crown is normally worn by kings or queens and hence is associated with the power of a king or queen. An example sentence is: The crown has granted amnesty to all prisoners charged with minor offences. A similar example would be that of the White house. The white house is where the President of the United States lives and runs the U.S.A. from. So, the white house stands for the Power or Authority vested in the White house. An example sentence would be: The White House has decided to crack down on the terrorists. One very good example of metonymy is the expression ‘Red Tape’. The red tape has been used for about two centuries now to bind official and legal documents. The term has thus come to stand for excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities such as unnecessary paperwork. The term has a negative connotation and can be used in sentences like these: As a country, we need to cut through the red tape, and bring efficiencies in the system if we want to attract investments and achieve good growth rates. As the last example for Metonymy, we can use an author’s name to represent the works of that author. So, if I say that Roald Dahl is read by people of all age groups; (now you can’t read a person right? especially someone who is deceased), so the implied meaning is: the books written by Roald Dahl such as Charlie and the Chocolate factory, the Big Friendly Giant, Matilda etc. are read by people of all ages. Next figure of Speech is Synecdoche which is often confused with Metonymy. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. For example we can use the term ‘a set of wheels’ to refer to a car of which the wheels are just a part. And in saying that: I bought myself a new set of wheels to travel to work everyday, it’s well understood that we are referring to a car. Now let’s talk about the difference between a Metonymy and a Synecdoche. Synecdoche refers to the whole of a thing by the name of any one of its parts. So we saw that calling a car “ a set of wheels” is a synecdoche because a part of a car “wheels” stands for the whole car. However, in metonymy, the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing as an adjunct, but is not necessarily a part of it. For example, recall that we had discussed the word “crown” that refers to power or authority is a metonymy used to replace the word “king” or “queen”. In metonymy, just like we can use a part to represent a whole, we can also use the whole to represent a part of it. For example: we can use a country name to represent any sports team of that country. Like, if I say, India won the ICC World cup in 2011; it’s understood that ‘the Indian National Cricket team’ won the world cup. Similarly, we can use the term ‘hands’ or ‘helping hands’ to refer to a person who helps or assists you in some work. So my advice to homemakers is: if you feel tired doing the mundane chores of your house everyday, you can perhaps hire some extra hands for help. Next we will move on to the figures of speech based on sound. this type is one of the most interesting Figures of Speech and is commonly used in real life situations such as advertisements as well as in literature. The first of these in Onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia refers to the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. Like, if I say the buzz of the bees and the hiss of the snakes, the words buzz and hiss actually imitate or copy the actual sound made by the bee or the snake respectively. And there is a whole range of animal sounds named that way: for instance – the woof of the dogs and the quack of the ducks, the moo of the cow and the oink oink of the pigs; the list does not stop there. Not only animals, there are many other real life instances of such sounds. For example, if I say: The ball splashes into water: the word splash actually reverberates the sound of something hitting water. Or the telephone rings. Ring (or tring) is the actual sound made by the telephone. Or even: the bomb went boom. Boom reflects the actual sound made by the bomb. And a horn goes beep beep, again, an actual sound. Many-a-time there could be multiple real-life contexts where we hear the same sound and accordingly the same Onomatopoeia word can be used in all these contexts. So, on an icy-cold winter night, the fireplace crackles, and the family cuddles up beside it. And in a different context, On an autumn evening, when we walk over a pile of dried leaves, they crackle and rustle under our feet. Similarly we have the word snap which can be used as follows: As he listened to music, he snapped his fingers and danced to the tunes. While we can also have a rope snapping due to tension at both ends. And of course, how can we forget the sounds of food…. We love to eat a sizzling hot Sizzler, named that way because of the sound sizzle. And hot, freshly popped popcorns, again the sound is ‘pop’. Here is an ad of Kellogs Rice Crispies, you can see the mascots are named Snap, Crackle and Pop – they stand for the sounds of a healthy food - all examples of onomatopoeia. Our next figure of speech based on sound effects is Alliteration. Alliteration refers to the repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words… Derived from the Latin word ‘Latira’, that means letters of the alphabet, examples of Alliteration abound in real life. From advertising slogans to warnings, to tongue twisters, and catchy names; alliteration is used everywhere. SO when you are driving, you might come across the sign: Don’t drink and Drive… note the successive words start with the sound ‘d’, that’s Alliteration. Moving on to some catchy tongue twisters. Who would not have tried the lines from tongue twisters such as Peter Piper or Betty Botter. So, If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers… That’s alliteration for you, as the initial consonant sound ‘p’ is repeated in successive words in the same sentence. And Betty Botter thinking: But a bit of better butter will make my batter better.… it’s very tough and challenging, to speak it out, and yet its quite a bit of fun. So, in this betty botter example, we notice the consonant sound ‘b’ at the beginning of various words. And that’s not it. There are so many brand and company names that are catchy and memorable, because there is alliteration involved: the famous ones being Coca Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Pay Pal, Kit Kat etc. And finally, we have the famous cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Spongebob Squarepants, which have alliteration in their names. The third figure of speech based on sound effects is Assonance. Assonance takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound though they might start with different consonant sounds. Consider these lines: The fat cat had a snack. Alas! It was a tough nut to crack We see that the vowel sound of ‘a’ gets repeated in words that are close together in these lines producing a very cool effect; these words are: fat, cat, had, snack, Alas, and crack. Another example of Assonance is: Describe a high-rise? Well, it rises high into the bright blue sky. Here, the ‘I’ sound in words – describe, high, rise, rises, high, bright, and sky gets stressed. And there are plenty of examples in poetry; for instance, look at this passage in Carl Sandburg’s Early Moon: “Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came.” Its an example of Assonance. And my personal favourite are the lines written by Robert Frost which has a wonderful rhyme created through the repetition of the ‘ee’ sound. ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep… And the last figure of speech that I am going to cover in Part-1 of this title is Pun. There is no broad category as such to which ‘Pun’ belongs. A pun is a play on words, or let’s say a pun is a humorous way of using a word or phrase so that more than one meaning is suggested Let’s take an example from the Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar’. A cobbler, when asked what his trade is, replies that he is a mender of bad soles. Well, mend means ‘to correct’ and cobbler mends shoes and the soles of the worn out shoes but this sentence is worded in such as way that ‘soles’ can be taken to mean the bottom of a shoe or a “soul.” and a parallel meaning derived from the cobbler’s response is that he corrects people who have ‘bad souls’. Most of the times, puns use multiple meanings of the same word (which are known as homonyms) or different meanings of similar sounding words (known as homophones) like was the case in this example of soles and souls. Another funny example of a pun is the sentence: As a successful pilot, her career has – no pun intended – really taken off. Now the phrase ‘take off’ literally means that an aircraft has become airborne, that it has left the ground and has begun to fly. We can use the phrase figuratively to suggest that something such as an economy or someone’s career has picked up speed and is on a growth trajectory. Pilots are mostly taking off and landing the aircrafts and that’s the pun on the phrase ‘take off’. Lets Look one more example, this time the pun is on the words ‘it struck’ I was struggling to figure out how lightning works. Then, all of a sudden, it struck me. This sentence has multiple meanings: One is that the lightning has stuck this guy, in which case God save him! And second: that he has figured out this whole thing about ‘how lightning words’. The ambiguity created here was because of the use of ‘it’ which could refer to either lightning or to the idea. And let’s wrap up with one example of pun that everyone can relate to because it is based on the US Presidential elections to be held in Nov 2016. The Republican Party has played its ‘Trump Card’ this elections in the United States. The play is on the word ‘Trump’ which means victory and is also the surname of Donald Trump - the Presidential Candidate of the Republican party. That brings us to the end of this video. Watch out for the Part-2 of this lesson on Figures of Speech which we will publish shortly. Also, if you liked this lesson please click like and subscribe our channel. There is a lot of other stuff related to English Vocabulary on our channel which, I am sure, will keep you interested. And, Thank you for your interest.