Literary Devices

• Literary devices and figurative language are tools that an author uses to draw in the reader. They help the reader to get a better understanding of what's happening in a story or a poem.
• Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.Example: My big brother bought a baseball
• A euphemism is a milder, less direct term that means the same thing as one that is considered harsh, blunt, or offensive. Example: senior citizen
• Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. Examples:

  ● This book weighs a ton.

  ● I could sleep for a year.
• An idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.

  Example: Don't put your eggs in one basket!
• Imagery is an author's use of descriptive and figurative language to create a picture in the reader's mind.
• Dramatic irony – This occurs when the reader or audience understands more about the events of a story than a character.
• Situational irony – This occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.
• Verbal irony (Sarcasm) – A person or character says one thing but really means the opposite.
• A metaphor states that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it DOES NOT use "like" or "as" to make the comparison.

  examples:

  • The river was a winding snake in the forest. This compares the river to a snake by stating that it is a snake.
  • The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it after a long day. This compares the pillow to a cloud by stating that the pillow is a cloud.
• Onomatopoeia is the formation or the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. Examples: moo, buzz, splat
• Personification is a figure of speech in which things are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form. Examples:

  ● a reference to thunder booming "angrily" personifies thunder by giving it emotion

  ● a smiling moon
• A simile is a comparison using "like" or "as." It usually compares two dissimilar objects. examples:

  • The man was as tall as a tree. This compares the man to a tree.
  • The necklace around her neck swung like a pendulum on a clock. This compares a necklace to a pendulum.
• A hyperbole is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated or extravagant. It implies strong feelings or is used to create a strong impression and is not meant to be taken literally.