IXL | Classify the figure of speech: review

Which figure of speech is used in this text?

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.

—William Blake

paradox

anaphora

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question

Which figure of speech is used in this text?

Mr. Wolfsheim, forgetting the more sentimental atmosphere of the old Metropole, began to eat with ferocious delicacy.

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

oxymoron

anaphora

key idea

Figures of speech are words or phrases that use language in a nonliteral or unusual way. They can make writing more expressive.

Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of several phrases or clauses.

We are united. We are powerful. We are winners.

Antithesis involves contrasting opposing ideas within a parallel grammatical structure.

I want to help, not to hurt.

Apostrophe is a direct address to an absent person or a nonhuman entity.

Oh, little bird, what makes you sing so beautifully?

Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in a series of nearby words.

Try to light the fire.

Chiasmus is an expression in which the second half parallels the first but reverses the order of words.

Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.

A euphemism is a polite or indirect expression that is used to de-emphasize an unpleasant topic.

The head of Human Resources would never refer to firing people, only to laying them off.

Hyperbole is an obvious exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally.

I ate so much that I think I might explode!

An oxymoron is a joining of two seemingly contradictory terms.

Some reviewers are calling this book a new classic.

A paradox is a statement that might at first appear to be contradictory, but that may in fact contain some truth.

Always expect the unexpected.

Understatement involves deliberately representing something as less serious or important than it really is.

As you know, it can get a little cold in the Antarctic.

solution

The text uses an oxymoron, a joining of two seemingly contradictory terms.

Ferocious delicacy is a contradiction, because ferocious describes something savage or fierce, while delicacy refers to a refined or sensitive quality.

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Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

C.5Classify the figure of speech: euphemism, hyperbole, oxymoron, paradox

C.6Classify the figure of speech: anaphora, antithesis, apostrophe, assonance, chiasmus, understatement

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