Literary Devices

Literary Devices

Allegory Definition: A story that has a much deeper underlying meaning • In C.S. Lewis’s novel “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe”, he tells the story of a family of four children who are transported into a magical world. While there the King Lion (Aslan) sacrifices his life for one of the children. But because of his innocence he comes back to life This story can be interpreted as a retelling of the Christian story of Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified and came back to life three days later.

Allusion Definition: a reference to another person, character, idea or work of literature. • “Who is the new Einstein?” • “Okay Romeo, enough with the pick up lines.” • “Wow…slow down Speedy Gonzalez!”

Analogy Definition: A comparison between two unlike things in order to explain a thought, concept or idea. “The atom can be compared to the solar system. The Sun is the nucleus and the planets are like the electrons that circle around the nucleus”

Anecdote Definition: a short amusing story (usually true) • “When I was in High School ,we didn’t have the internet. We had a go to the library and do research the old fashion way. One book at a time…One time I climbed on the shelves to reach a book on the top shelf and I pulled the entire shelf down on top of me.”

Archtype Definition: The outline of a character type that can be found again and again in stories • Wicked Step Mother • Hero • Sidekick • Magical Sword • Warrior princess

Foreshadowing Definition: When the author give the reader a hint of what is going to happen next. • As she watched her son, dressed in his “Go Army” T-Shirt, pull out of the drive way, she had a feeling that she would never see him again. • As the men boarded the plane, little did they know of the challenges they would soon face.

Hyperbole Definition: An extreme exaggeration • You are as big as an ox • Your suitcase weights a ton. • I am going to die I am so tired. • My legs feel like they are going to fall off.

Imagery Definition: when the author uses descriptive language in order to give the reader a visual picture. • “The leaves were turning red, orange and brown and falling from the tree. As I looked out over the rolling hills I could see that winter was coming.”

Irony Definition: when one thing is said or thought but the opposite happens. • A police officer was arrested for speeding • A firehouse caught on fire • The titanic was called the “unsinkable ship”. But 4 days into its maiden voyage it hit an iceberg and sunk.

Metaphor Definition: A comparison between two unlike things without using “like” or “as”… (A is B) • She is a beast • My teacher threw me a curve ball • You are a star

Motif Definition: A common feature, idea, concept, subject, or topic that occurs again and again in a story or in many stories. Examples: • A recurring symbol (such as a rose) • Time travel • Prince who must rescue a damsel in distress • Poor girl who later finds out she comes from royalty

Personification Definition: to give human qualities to a non-human thing. • The Sun smiled on us • The flowers danced in the wind • The trees whispered • The wind ran through the trees

Simile Definition: a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”. • “My love is like a red, red rose…” • “You eat like a pig” • “You are as pretty as a peach”

Symbolism Definition: an object that has a deeper meaning associated with it • The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states • The olive branch represents peace • The color red usually represents danger or anger

Theme Definition: The Main Idea of a story One of the main ideas in the Pixar movie Wall-E is the importance of protecting the environment.

Literary Devices (#16-30)

Tone • Definition: an attitude of a writer towards a subject or an audience. Tone is usually conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer. Example: “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on!!??”

Anthropomorphism • Definition: the act of lending a human quality, emotion or ambition to a non human object in order to make that thing seem human like Example: “My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian. This is what my mother told me, I do not know these nice distinctions myself. To me they are only fine large words meaning nothing. My mother had a fondness for such; she liked to say them, and see other dogs look surprised and envious, as wondering how she got so much education…. When I was well grown, at last, I was sold and taken away, and I never saw her again. She was broken-hearted, and so was I, and we cried; but she comforted me as well as she could….” • (A Dog’s Tale by Mark Twain)

Antithesis: • Definition: a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect. Example: “Setting a foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind.”

Connotation • Definition: a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes. Example: “Wall Street” literally means a street in New York, but it connotatively refers to “wealth and power”

Denotation • Definition: a literal or dictionary meaning of a word. Example: I work on “Wall Street”…this literally means that you work on a specific street in New York City

Inversion • Definition: a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect or emphasis • placing adj before noun • placing verb before subject • placing noun before preposition Example: The soldier, strong and brave, returned hometo his family after the war.

Kenning: • Definition: from Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry, it is a stylistic device where a two-word phrase describes an object through metaphor. Example: … “whale-road” (sea) …”breast-hoard” (heart) ….”pedal-fall” (autumn)

Metonomy Definition: a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with something else that is closely associated. Example: “Washington decided on a new immigration policy yesterday”

Synecdoche • Definition: a part of something represents the whole or a whole may represent a part Example: President Obama assured the public that there would be no “boots” on the ground

Superlative: • Definition: a literary device which is usually an adjective or adverb used to distinguish an object from three or more objects of its type. It is usually formed by adding the suffix –est or “most” to adjectives and adverbs. Example: Marks dog is big, Maggysdog is the biggest dog at the park.

Onomatopoeia • Definition: a word which imitates the natural sound of a thing • Example: “boom” went the sound of thunder

Soliloquy • Definition: often used in drama to reveal the innermost thoughts of a character to the reader or audience (no one else is present to hear the character speak) • Example: • “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?Deny thy father and refuse thy name;Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”

Puns • Definition: a play on words in which humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggest more than one meaning or by using similar sounds of words to produce meaning • Example: “I am glad I know sign language, it is pretty handy”

Alliteration • Definition: a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series • Example: “But a better butter makes a batter better”

Juxtaposition • Definition: two or more ideas, places characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts Example: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!It seems she hangs upon the cheek of nightLike a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;” Here, the radiant face of Juliet is juxtaposed with a black African’s dark skin. Romeo admires Juliet by saying that her face seems brighter than brightly lit torches in the hall. He says that at night her face glows like a bright jewel that shines against the dark skin of an African.

Literary Devices