Figures of Speech Based on Resemblance

Read each passage then answer the questions, or complete the statements that follow.


(1) “The branches were nodding their assent to the whispers of the breeze.”

A- What two nonhuman things are spoken of?

B- What does each do?

C- What does man use to nod and to whisper with?

D- What figure of speech does this quotation use?



(2) “O liberty! O liberty! What crimes are committed in thy name!”

A- Who is the speaker addressing?

B- Because the addressee cannot answer and the speaker did not expect an answer, the figure of speech is called a/an __________.



(3) “His political enemies soon found that his daughter was his Achilles’ heel.”

A- Achilles was a Greek who was invulnerable except in his ________.

B- To have an Achilles’ heel is to have a __________ spot


C- The statement implies that __________

(1) He had a daughter who had many faults.

(2) The man’s enemies could find nothing that could hurt him except through his daughter.

(3) The man’s daughter was as strong as Achilles.

(4) His political enemies could hurt his daughter.


(4)“A man’s manners are a mirror in which shows himself to others.”
A- This figure of speech compares _______ and ________.

B- The passage means that _________.
(1) A man has manners.
(2) A man sees himself in a mirror.
(3) A man’s actions reveal his nature.
(4) A man should be careful of what his mirror reveals.

C- The passage is an example of __________.