Literary Terms:

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Literary Terms A Review Another look at
hyperbole, alliteration, imagery,
personification, simile, metaphor, symbol, and
analogy.
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What is hyperbole (and how do you pronounce
it)? Hyperbole (hahy-pur-buh-lee) deliberately
exaggerates conditions for emphasis or
effect. Ex. I have a thousand reasons why I
dont have my homework done.
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What is the purpose of hyperbole? It can be used
to emphasize something.
Would Jeremy really rather be in the mouth of an
alligator instead of meeting a girlfriends
father?
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What is the hyperbole in the comic
below? What is the purpose of the
exaggeration?
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Alliteration What is alliteration and what is
its purpose? Alliteration is a pattern that
includes the repetition of consonant sounds
located at the beginning of successive words or
words that are close together. Writers may use
alliteration to call attention to a word or
phrase and fix it into the reader's mind thus,
it is useful for emphasis. Therefore, not only
does alliteration provide poetry or prose with a
unique sound, it can place emphasis on specific
phrases and even represent the action that is
taking place. Alliteration often makes the
reader read faster, thus adding a sense of speed
and intensity to the sentence.
WriteGuides Letter Writing Program
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Alliteration is often used in business when
people decide what the name should be. Consider
how easy it is to remember these
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Lets examine a couple lines from Edgar Allan
Poes poem The Raven. What sound is repeated in
the top line? And the silken sad uncertain
rustling of each purple curtain. Thrilled
mefilled me with fantastic terrors never felt
before What is Poe doing with the s
sound in that line? Does the sound imitate the
action?
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Alliteration is a sound device. There is another.
The one that is hard to pronounce and harder to
spell.
Onomatopoeia are words that sound like what they
are. WOW BUZZ
Ex. "Tis some visitor, I muttered, tapping at my
chamber door..." Other examples for onomatopoeia
Popping crack snap echo slap beating
rustling
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What is imagery and what is its purpose? Imagery
is the use of sensory images (those of sight,
sound, taste, smell, touch). Its purpose is to
create and convey a mental image to the reader of
a certain action, event, mood, or thought. The
writer wants the reader to see or hear or feel
the subject matter.
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Lets examine a poem by T.S. Eliot and find
examples of sensory images. What do you picture?
Determine what these images do to establish a
mood. 3. Preludes THE WINTER evening
settles down With smell of steaks in
passageways. Six oclock. The burnt-out
ends of smoky days. And now a gusty shower
wraps 5 The grimy scraps Of
withered leaves about your feet And
newspapers from vacant lots The showers
beat On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
10 And at the corner of the street A
lonely cab-horse steams and stamps. And then
the lighting of the lamps. T. S. Eliot
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Personification occurs when human thoughts,
actions, perceptions and emotions are directly
attributed to inanimate objects or abstract
ideas. Even animals are sometimes given human
traits in literature. Because humans have
emotions that we all can relate to, personifying
some object gives it meaning on a more human
level as well as often making it more interesting
or amusing. People frequently make
comments such as My computer hates me! or The
camera loves me! Obviously, objects such as
computers and cameras cannot feel emotion.
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Garfield is a cat that is personified in comic
strips. What emotions are shown by
Garfield? What is the humor in this
personification?
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Remember King Kong? He wasnt just a big,
vicious gorilla. What other emotions did he
exhibit. What was the purpose in showing him
express these emotions?
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Emily Dickinson used personification in this
poem Because I could not stop for
Death, He kindly stopped for me The
carriage held but just ourselves And
Immortality. What concept does the poet
personify? What does this personification tell
the reader about the attitude of the speaker?
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What is a simile and what is its purpose? A
simile is a comparison that uses 'like' or 'as'
for the purpose of explanation, allusion or
decoration. Similes (and metaphors) are used to
describe the new or the nearly-indescribable, to
make new connections, to surprise and interest
the reader, and to provide a comic effect. Elton
eats like a pig.
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In this case, Elton and pig are being compared.
In a simile, usually the characteristics of the
second word are applied to the first. What is
this simile saying about Elton? First consider
whether it is positive or negative. Then think
of the traits of a pig and its eating habits.
What might Elton be doing with his food? What is
the purpose of this simile? Can you think of
other similes in which animal characteristics are
applied to a person?
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Examine this sentence, find the simile, and
describe the impression it creates. Her face
was quiet and a curious look was in her eyes,
eyes like the timeless eyes of a statue. The
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
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Analyze the simile in this sentence His face
was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard
like drawn wires. Dracula by Bram Stoker.
What purpose does this simile serve?
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What is a metaphor and what is its purpose? A
metaphor is a comparison that is implied or
stated between two usually unconnected objects by
speaking of one in terms of the other. Unlike a
simile or analogy, metaphor asserts that one
thing is another thing, not just that one is like
another. Very frequently a metaphor is invoked by
the to be verb. His new business is
blossoming. What is business compared to? What
makes this an effective metaphor?
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What is the metaphor in this comic strip?
Rose isnt really in a dungeon. Explain the
comparison. What makes this metaphor effective?
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Symbol A symbol is the use of a concrete object
to represent an abstract idea. For instance, a
sword may be simply a sword, but it could also
represent the concept of justice. Sometimes
symbols are universal these types have widely
recognizable meanings, such as light to symbolize
knowledge or a skull to symbolize death or spring
to represent life, growth or rebirth. In
literature, we often have constructed symbols
that are given symbolic meaning by the way an
author uses them, such as the white whales
becoming a symbol of evil in Moby Dick.
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Examine this watch. Is it also a symbol? If so,
what does it symbolize? For what groups of people
could it be a symbol?
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Below is a well known symbol for Marlboro
cigarettes.
What does he symbolize?
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Analogy An analogy compares two things, which
are alike in several respects, for the purpose of
explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or
difficult idea or object by showing how the idea
or object is similar to some familiar one. While
simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is
generally a more artistic likening, done briefly
for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the
more practical end of explaining a thought
process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in
terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more
extended. Lets examine part of a movie
script.
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Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter You know what's goin' on
here? Petty Officer Vossler Yes, sir. Hunter
No, I don't think you do. Let me explain it to
you. If we launch and we're wrong, what's left of
Russia is gonna launch at us. There will be a
nuclear holocaust beyond imagination, so it's all
about knowing, Mr. Vossler. We have to know
whether or not our order to launch has been
recalled or not. The only way we're gonna know is
if you fix that radio. You understand
me? Vossler Yes, sir.
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Hunter You ever watch Star Trek? Star Trek...you
know Star Trek, the USS Enterprise? Vossler
Yeah.... Hunter Alright. You remember when the
Klingons were going to blow up the Enterprise and
Captain Kirk calls down to Scotty? He says
"Scotty, I gotta have more power --" Vossler He
needs more, more warp speed.... Hunter Warp
speed, exactly. Vossler Yeah.
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Hunter Well I'm Captain Kirk. You're Scotty. I
need more power. I'm telling you, if you do not
get this radio up a billion people are going to
die. Can you handle it? Scotty? Vossler Aye,
Captain. -- delivered by Denzel Washington and
Lillo Brancato (from the movie Crimson
Tide) Note In this case a comparison is made
between the current situational crisis and a
similar situation in Star Trek. The comparison is
made to further the line of reasoning that a) the
present situation is critical and b) Vossler
(like Scotty) must get the job done or else....
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Test Yourself Read the following poem by Carl
Sandberg and identify any literary term that
applies and describe its purpose. FOG The
fog comes on little cat feet. It sits
looking over harbor and city on silent
haunches and then moves on.
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In the poem "Fog" Sandburg helps us visualize his
description of the fog by using the figurative
language of a cat tiptoeing in on tiny cat feet,
patiently sitting and watching, and then silently
moving off. The slow, quiet fog is compared
figuratively to a delicate cat. There is a sense
of touch, sound and sight which adds to the
imagery.