Literature in English · Lesson 2

Literary terms and figures of speech

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: General literary principles: literary terms (foreshadowing, suspense, theatre, monologue, dialogue, soliloquy, symbolism, protagonist, antagonist, figures of speech, satire, stream of consciousness, synecdoche, metonymy, etc.); poetic devices and figures of speech

WAEC: General knowledge of literature: literary terms and figures of speech in drama, prose and poetry (Paper 1)

NECO: General knowledge of literature: literary terms and figures of speech in drama, prose and poetry (Paper 1)

What you will learn

Distinguish literal from figurative language.
Define, identify and give examples of the major figures of speech.
Distinguish closely related figures: simile/metaphor, oxymoron/paradox/antithesis, metonymy/synecdoche, litotes/hyperbole.
Identify the three types of irony.
Define the literary terms named in the JAMB syllabus.
Explain the effect of a figure in context.

Key points

Figurative language means more than its literal words.
Simile uses like/as; metaphor says one thing is another; personification humanises.
Apostrophe addresses the absent, dead, things or ideas.
Hyperbole exaggerates; litotes affirms by denying the opposite; meiosis understates.
Oxymoron: two contradictory words; paradox: contradictory-seeming truth; antithesis: balanced opposites.
Irony: verbal, situational, dramatic; sarcasm is bitter irony; irony serves satire.
Metonymy: association (the crown); synecdoche: part/whole (hands).
Euphemism softens; pun plays on meaning; allusion refers; rhetorical question needs no answer.
Climax rises in force; anticlimax drops to the trivial.
JAMB terms: foreshadowing, suspense, soliloquy, monologue, aside, satire, stream of consciousness.

Start here: Literary terms and figures of speech: what they are

Literature has its own vocabulary, just as chemistry has “valency” and “isotope”. WAEC Paper 1 sets about twenty questions on general knowledge of literature, and JAMB sets many questions asking you to name a device in a line. This topic is therefore among the highest-yield in the subject.

A literary term is any name for a feature, technique or form in literature (plot, soliloquy, sonnet, flashback). A figure of speech is a special kind of literary term: a use of words that departs from their ordinary, literal meaning to create a vivid or forceful effect.

Figures of speech are often grouped:

Comparison: simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, allegory.
Exaggeration and understatement: hyperbole, litotes, meiosis.
Contrast: antithesis, oxymoron, paradox, irony.
Substitution: metonymy, synecdoche, euphemism.
Sound and word play: pun, alliteration, onomatopoeia (sound devices are treated more fully in lt5).
Arrangement and emphasis: climax, anticlimax, rhetorical question, repetition, parallelism.

Literal and figurative language

Literal language means exactly what it says: “The teacher was angry.” Figurative language means more than or other than what it says: “The teacher was a volcano.” No one believes the teacher erupted with lava; the figure tells us the anger was sudden, hot and frightening.

Worked example 2.1

Which sentence is figurative? (a) “The bus left at six.” (b) “The bus crawled through the Ojota traffic like a tired tortoise.”

(a) is a plain statement of fact.
(b) compares the bus to a tortoise to show its slowness.

(b), a simile

💡 Exam tip: for every figure, learn three things: a definition, a clear example, and its usual effect. Questions test all three.

Try it yourself. Rewrite “The night was very dark” figuratively.

Show solution

For example, “The night was a black blanket thrown over the town.” (metaphor)

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Practice questions

1. “Her smile was like sunshine” contains a

simile
metaphor
hyperbole
litotes

Show answer

A: simile
It compares using ‘like’.

2. “My brother is a lion in battle” contains a

simile
oxymoron
euphemism
metaphor

Show answer

D: metaphor
The comparison is direct, without ‘like’ or ‘as’.

3. “The wind whispered through the trees” is an example of

litotes
apostrophe
personification
hyperbole

Show answer

C: personification
Human action is given to the wind.

4. “I have told you a million times” is an example of

synecdoche
hyperbole
litotes
irony

Show answer

B: hyperbole
It is deliberate exaggeration.

5. “She is not a bad singer” (meaning she sings well) is an example of

litotes
hyperbole
oxymoron
simile

Show answer

A: litotes
It affirms by denying the opposite.

Key words

Figure of speech: Non-literal use of words for effect.
Simile: Comparison using like or as.
Metaphor: Implied comparison: one thing is said to be another.
Personification: Giving human qualities to non-human things.
Apostrophe: Addressing an absent person, a thing or an idea.
Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration.
Litotes: Understatement by denying the opposite.
Meiosis: Understatement that belittles.
Antithesis: Contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.
Oxymoron: Two contradictory words joined.
Paradox: A seemingly contradictory statement that holds a truth.
Irony: Contrast between what is said and meant, or expected and actual.

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