LIT • SHS 1Term 1WAEC / WASSCE SyllabusFree Trial Topic
Figures of Speech & Literary Devices
Study of figurative language: simile, metaphor, personification, oxymoron, paradox, hyperbole, irony, onomatopoeia, and symbolism.
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Real-World Context & Relevance in Ghana
Highlife and Hiplife musicians in Ghana routinely employ metaphors and proverbs to communicate social critique without direct confrontation.
Key Syllabus Learning Objectives
- 1Identify and analyze figures of speech in unfamiliar prose and poetic extracts
- 2Distinguish clearly between simile and metaphor, and between oxymoron and paradox
- 3Evaluate the effect of sound devices and imagery on meaning and tone
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Comprehensive Syllabus Study Notes
• Comparisons:
- Simile: Direct comparison using 'like' or 'as' (e.g. 'He fought like a wounded lion').
- Metaphor: Implicit comparison stating one thing is another without using 'like' or 'as' (e.g. 'The classroom was a bustling beehive').
• Attribution & Sound Devices:
- Personification: Giving human attributes or emotions to inanimate objects or abstract ideas (e.g. 'The wind whispered through the trees').
- Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate natural sounds (e.g. 'buzz', 'hiss', 'clatter').
- Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
• Irony, Paradox & Contrast:
- Hyperbole: Deliberate and gross exaggeration for emphasis or humor.
- Irony: Contrast between expectation and reality (Verbal, Situational, Dramatic).
- Oxymoron: Two contradictory terms placed side by side (e.g. 'bittersweet', 'deafening silence').
- Paradox: A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that reveals a deeper truth upon reflection (e.g. 'The child is father of the man').
- Comparisons:
- Simile: Direct comparison using 'like' or 'as' (e.g. 'He fought like a wounded lion').
- Metaphor: Implicit comparison stating one thing is another without using 'like' or 'as' (e.g. 'The classroom was a bustling beehive').
- Attribution & Sound Devices:
- Personification: Giving human attributes or emotions to inanimate objects or abstract ideas (e.g. 'The wind whispered through the trees').
- Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate natural sounds (e.g. 'buzz', 'hiss', 'clatter').
- Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
- Irony, Paradox & Contrast:
- Hyperbole: Deliberate and gross exaggeration for emphasis or humor.
- Irony: Contrast between expectation and reality (Verbal, Situational, Dramatic).
- Oxymoron: Two contradictory terms placed side by side (e.g. 'bittersweet', 'deafening silence').
- Paradox: A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that reveals a deeper truth upon reflection (e.g. 'The child is father of the man').
Practical Example:
Highlife and Hiplife musicians in Ghana routinely employ metaphors and proverbs to communicate social critique without direct confrontation.
Core Takeaway:
WAEC often tests the distinction between oxymoron (two juxtaposed words) and paradox (a full statement).
WAEC / WASSCE Examiner Tips
- WAEC often tests the distinction between oxymoron (two juxtaposed words) and paradox (a full statement).
- Never just name the device; explain what it illustrates in the context of the passage.
Common Candidate Pitfalls & Errors to Avoid
- Naming a metaphor a simile because the two things being compared are obvious to the reader
- Calling every reference to nature personification when no human action or speech is actually given
- Writing the rhyme scheme in capital letters, which in examination usage marks a different sound from the lower-case letter
- Identifying a figure of speech and stopping there, so the effect mark is never attempted
- Mistaking hyperbole for lie or error in the poem instead of deliberate overstatement for emphasis
- Confusing alliteration with assonance: repeated initial consonant sounds against repeated vowel sounds
Topic Mastery Checklist
- Identify and analyze figures of speech in unfamiliar prose and poetic extracts
- Distinguish clearly between simile and metaphor, and between oxymoron and paradox
- Evaluate the effect of sound devices and imagery on meaning and tone
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