Literary Devices

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Literary Devices
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What are literary devices?Literary devices are
techniques writers use to engage their readers
beyond the literal meaning of the text.
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Alliteration Repetition of the same beginning
sound in a sequence. Examples Drew drew
Drew Reshetar rides rollercoasters drowning in
debt a sea of sea shells
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Example 1 From the time I was really
little-maybe just few months old-words were like
sweet, liquid gifts, and I drank them
like emonade. Out of My Mind by Sharon
Draper Example 2 Tongue Twisters are great
examples of alliteration Three grey geese in a
green field grazing, Grey were the geese and
green was the grazing.
ALLITERATION
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Hyperbole A figure of speech in which
exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. An
extravagant statement or figure of speech not
intended to be taken literally. Examples I
waited an eternity for summer to get here! He
could have slept for a year. This book weighs a
ton. Listen to the hyperbole of the next poem
by Jack Prelutsky.
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I am making a pizza the size of the sun, a pizza
thats sure to weigh more than a ton, a pizza too
massive to pick up and toss, a pizza resplendent
with oceans of sauce. Im topping my pizza with
mountains of cheese, with acres of peppers,
pimentos, and peas, with mushrooms, tomatoes, and
sausage galore, with every last olive they had at
the store. My pizza is sure to be one of a
kind, my pizza will leave other pizzas behind, my
pizza will be a delectable treat that all who
love pizza are welcome to eat. The oven is hot,
I believe it will take a year and a half for my
pizza to bake. I hardly can wait till my pizza
is done, my wonderful pizza the size of the sun.
Hyperbole
Jack Prelutsky
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Imagery Descriptive words or phrases that
appeal to the 5 senses sight, sound, touch,
taste, and smell- creating a picture in the
readers mind. What is the mental picture or
image you are left with after reading the
passage from The Most Dangerous Game
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He leaped upon the rail and balanced himself
there, to get greater elevation his pipe,
striking a rope, was knocked from his mouth. He
lunged for it a short, hoarse cry came from his
lips as he realized he had reached too far and
had lost his balance. The cry was pinched off
short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean
Sea closed over his head.He struggle up to
the surface and tried to cry out, but the wash
from the speeding yacht slapped him in the face
and the salt water in his open mouth made him
gag.The Most Dangerous Game by Richard
Connell
Imagery
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Metaphor A figure of speech in which two
things are compared, usually by saying one thing
is another, or by substituting a more descriptive
word for the more common or usual word that would
be expected. Examples the world's a
stage he was a lion in battle drowning in debt a
sea of troubles.
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God looked around His garden And saw an empty
space He then looked down upon this Earth And
saw your tired face He knew that you were
suffering He knew you were in pain He knew that
you would never Get well on Earth again He knew
the roads were getting rough The mountains hard
to climb So he puts his arms around you and
Whispered Peace be Thine He closed your weary
eyelids And lifted you for rest This garden must
be beautiful He only takes the best Written by an
anonymous teenager.
metaphor
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Onomatopoeia A figure of speech in which words
are used to imitate sounds. Examples
crash buzz quack zoom
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ONOMATOTODAY In the morning yawn, stretch to
the bathroom scratch, blink in the
shower scrub, splash to the closet whisk,
rustle down the hall thump, creak in the
kitchen clank, clink to the car click, slam on
the road honk, screech at the office tick,
ring out to lunch munch, slurp return
home thug, moan on to bed shuffle, snore Cathy
Christensen

Onomatopoeia
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Personification A figure of speech in which
things or ideas are given human attributes.
Examples Dead leaves dance in the wind Blind
justice Winter wrapped her cold fingers around
me
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The high mountain wind coasted sighing through
the pass and whistled on the edges big block of
broken granite A scar of green grass cut
across the flat. And behind the flat another
mountain rose, desolate with dead rocks and
starving little black bushes Flight by John
Steinbeck
Personification
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Repetition A word or line that is repeated,
usually to evoke an emotion or create a rhythm.

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There were so many important moments. If Id
missed the ticket, I wouldnt be here. If I
hadnt gone to the show, I wouldnt be here. If I
hadnt stuck around to see what Steve was up to,
I wouldnt be here. If I hadnt stolen Madam
Octa, I wouldnt be here. If Id said no to Mr.
Crepsleys offer, I wouldnt be here. A world
of ifs, but it made no difference. What was
done was done. If I could go back in time
Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan
Repetition
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Rhyme The occurrence of the same sound at the
end of two or more words. Examples cat /
hat desire / fire steak / fake
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English is a Pain! (Pane) Rain, Reign,
rein, English is a pain. Although the words
Sound just alike The spellings not the
same! Bee, Be, B Id rather climb a tree Than
learn to spell The same old word, Not just one
way, but three! Sight, Site, Cite I try with all
my might. No matter which I finally choose, Its
not the one thats right! There, Their,
Theyre, Enough to make you swear. Too many
ways To write one sound, I just dont think its
fair! To, Two, Too So whats a kid to do? I
think Ill do To live on Mars And leave this mess
with ewe! (you?) By Shirlee Curlee Bingham
Rhyme
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Simile A figure of speech in which two things
are compared using the word like or as.
Examples She felt like a wilted flower. The
boy charged in the room like a bull! This class
is like a 3 ring circus!
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The aliens have landed! Its distressing, but
theyre here. They piloted their flying
saucer Through our atmosphere. They landed like
a meteor Engulfed in smoke and flame. Then out
they climbed immersed in slime And burbled as
they came. Their hands are greasy
tentacles. Their heads are weird machines. Their
bodies look like cauliflower And smell like dead
sardines. Their blood is liquid helium. Their
eyes are made of granite. Their breath exudes the
stench of foods From some unearthly planet. And
if you want to see these Sickly, unattractive
creatures, Youll find them working in your
school They all got jobs as teachers!
SimiLe
Kenn Nesbitt
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Stanza Two or more lines of poetry that
together form one of the divisions of a poem.
poem stanza as story __________? Stanza
paragraph of the poem Read the following poem-
how many stanzas are there?
This drawing represents a poem with 2 stanzas
with 4 lines each.
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• They are aggressive and bossy,Also timid
  and shy.They know all the answers,But still
  will ask why?They are awkward and
  clumsy,Sometimes graceful and poised.They are
  ever changing,But do not be annoyed.What is a
  Middle Schooler?I was asked one day.They are
  the future unfolding,So do not stand in their
  way!Written by an anonymous teenager

• What is a Middle Schooler?What is a middle
  schoolerI was asked one day.I knew what they
  wereBut what should I say?They are noise and
  confusion They are silent that is deepAlso
  sunshine and laughter,Or a cloud that will
  weep.
• They are swift as an arrow.They are
  wasters of time.They want to be rich, But
  cannot save a dime!They are rude and
  nasty.They are as polite as can be.They want
  parental guidance,But fight to be free.

Stanza
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PunThe use of a word in a way that plays on
its different meanings. ExampleNoticing the
bunch of bananas, the hungry gorilla went ape.I
recently spent money on detergent to unclog my
kitchen sink. It was money down the drain.
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Symbolism The use of one thing to represent
another. ExampleA dove is a symbol of
peace.
The donkey symbolizes The elephant symbolize
The flag the Democratic Party. the
Republican Party. represents

freedom.
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Idiom
Idioms are phrases or expressions that have
hidden meanings. The expressions don't mean
exactly what the words say. NOT LITERAL The
language peculiar to a people or to a district,
community, or class dialect Example Its
raining cats and dogs. Things got a little out of
hand. Does the cat have your tongue.
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Irony

• Language that conveys a certain idea by saying
  just the opposite.
• Examples
• The Titanic was promoted as being 100
  unsinkable but, in 1912 the ship sank on its
  maiden voyage.
• You beg your parents to let you have a kitten,
  then you discover youre deathly allergic
  to them.

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Analogy

• A comparison made between two things that may
  initially seem to have little in common
• Used for illustration and/or argument.
• Example
• Hand is to glove Foot is to sock
• Happy is to sad Hot is to cold

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BONUS Words
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Allusion

• Reference to a statement, person, place, event,
  or thing that is known from literature, history,
  religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or the
  arts
• Examples
• "Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no
  Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except
  the bare necessities".

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• Allusion
• Ex The students were sure that their teacher had
  drunk from the river Styx because of her complete
  inattention to their pranks.
• Your examplethink of a recent example youve
  heard or seen in which someone references a
  well-known work

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Euphemism

• to speak well in the place of the blunt,
  disagreeable, terrifying or offensive term.
• Example
• death becomes to pass away
• Victorians first used limb for leg
• Letting someone go instead of firing someone
• Use the rest room instead of go to the bathroom

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Extension Terms
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AssonanceThe repetition of vowel sounds.
Example Days wane away Each beach beast thinks
he's the best beast The only other sound's the
sweep
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Assonance

• Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert
  Frost
• He gives his harness bells a shake
• To ask if there is some mistake.
• The only other sound's the sweep
• Of easy wind and downy flake.
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• The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
• But I have promises to keep,
• And miles to go before I sleep,
• And miles to go before I sleep.

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Didactic

• Fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific
  lesson or moral or provides a model of correct
  behavior or thinking.
• Examples
• Aesops Fables-The Tortoise and the Hare
  (Plodding wins the race.)
• The Lion and the Mouse-(Little friends may
  prove great friends)

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DIDACTIC

• The Ant and the Grasshopper ?An Aesop's Fable
• In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was
  hopping about, chirping and singing to its
  heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along
  with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to
  the nest.??"Why not come and chat with me," said
  the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling
  in that way?"??"I am helping to lay up food for
  the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to
  do the same."??"Why bother about winter?" said
  the Grasshopper we have got plenty of food at
  present." But the Ant went on its way and
  continued its toil. When the winter came the
  Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of
  hunger, while it saw the ants?distributing every
  day corn and grain from the stores they had
  collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper
  knew
• Moral of Aesops Fable It is best to prepare for
  the days of necessity

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Paradox

• A seeming contradiction.
• Examples
• It was the best of times. It was the worst of
  times.
• You shouldn't go in the water until you know how
  to swim.
• Be cruel to be kind.-from Hamlet by
  Shakespeare
• "Some day you will be old enough to start reading
  fairy tales again."?(C.S. Lewis to his godchild,
  Lucy Barfield, to whom he dedicated The Lion, the
  Witch and the Wardrobe)

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Satire

• A work that makes fun of something or someone.
• Examples
• Weekend Update from Saturday Night Live
• Most political cartoons in newspapers and
  magazines

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Satire

• The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry is a story of
  two people, much in love, who are very poor and
  want to give a Christmas gift to one another. She
  is very proud of her long, beautiful hair and he
  is equally proud of his pocket watch. The irony
  comes in to play when she cuts and sells her hair
  to buy him a chain for his watch, and he sells
  the watch to buy her combs for her hair.

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Soliloquy

• A monologue in which a character expresses his or
  her thoughts to the audience and does not intend
  the other characters to hear them.
• Examples
• To be or not to be, that is the question. from
  Hamlet written by Shakespeare