Literary Devices or Techniques
Literary Devices
Literary Devices or
Techniques
Authors use them to make their
writing more interesting and vivid.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
These devices can be categorized
3 ways:
1. Figurative
2. Sound
3. Structure
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices or Techniques
Literary Devices or Techniques
Literary Devices or Techniques
1. Figurative devices are those
that require the reader to think
beyond the exact words used.
2. Sound devices are those that
create a certain audible effect for
the reader.
3. Structural techniques are those
that impact the format of the
poetry or prose.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
1. Figurative Devices or
Techniques
Simile
Personification
Irony
Allusion
Paradox
Symbolism
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Metaphor
Satire
Parody
Hyperbole
Idiom
Imagery
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Simile:
Compares 2 things that are not
really alike at all
uses the words “like” or “as”
Simile:
Compares 2 things that are not
really alike at all
uses the words “like” or “as”
Example: Life is like a box of
chocolates. You never know what
you’re gonna get. (Forrest Gump)
Example: I slither into traffic like a
trout. (Samuel Hazo)
Example: Peter is like a tornado.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
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Metaphor
Compares 2 things that are not
really alike at allWITHOUT using the words
“like” or “as”
Example: The clouds were
marshmallows.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Personification
-when authors make a thing, an
idea, or an animal do something
only humans can do.
Example:
1. My old necklace is a friend.
2. The branch stubbornly refused
to be cut.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Satire- Examples in pop culture
1. TV - Saturday Night Live, The
Simpsons
2. Film - Scary Movie, Borat
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Metaphor
Compares 2 things that are not
really alike at allWITHOUT using the words
“like” or “as”
Examples:
Bill is a walking encyclopedia.
Matt’s car is a dinosaur.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Personification -Example:
Jealousy stands by the blue flame
of the gas stove stirring obsession
stew… Jealousy is quite capable
of showing up anywhere,
unexpected, uninvited,
unwelcome.
- The Book of Qualities
Literary Devices Socha 2008
What’s the difference between
satire and parody?? Not much!!
The terms are often used
interchangeably.
Satire’s main purpose is to
criticize.
Parody’s main purpose is to create
humor.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Personification
-when authors make a thing, an
idea, or an animal do something
only humans can do.
You can remember this one by
the“person” in the term
“personification”
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Satire:
making fun of something or
making a statement about
something in another genre
Example:
Animal Farm is a political satire
(about Stalin’s Russia).
1984 is a also a satire (about
dystopia).
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Irony- There are three major types
of irony.
1. Situational: Simply, the
unexpected happens.
In a Asimov story, the detectives
actually eat the murder weapon!
Literary Devices Socha 2008
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1. Situational irony
(when the unexpected happens)
Example: Montresor says he
really is a mason. He is referring
to his skill in using a trowel.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
2. Verbal Irony: Someone says
something, but they mean
something different.
Examples:
use of the word “cask”
name of Fortunato
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Hyperbole
exaggeration
Example:
1.Joe has tons of money.
2. Sara has been waiting for
ages.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
2. Verbal Irony:
Someone says something, but
they mean something different.
(Think of soap opera characters betraying
each other. Promising to do one thing, but
doing another.)
Literary Devices Socha 2008
3. Dramatic Irony: The
reader/viewer knows something
that the character or characters
do not know. (Horror films, when
you see the bad guy behind the
door.)
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Paradox
contradictions in the wording
Examples:
1.I can resist anything except
temptation.
2. I never tell the truth
3. Bad things happen to good
people.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
2. Verbal Irony: Someone says
something, but they mean
something different.
Example: “The Cask of
Amontillado” - Fortunato says he
won’t die of a cough and
Montresor replies, “True, true.”
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Allusion
An author refers to someone
else’s work or to a literary figure.
-not to be confused with
“illusion”
Example: mythological figures
and Ahab in “The Utterly Perfect
Murder”
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Idiom
phrases that say one thing but
mean another
Example:
1.hit the nail on the head
2. raining cats and dogs
3. saved by the bell
Literary Devices Socha 2008
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Symbolism
sign or object representing a
thing, quality or idea
Example:
1.dove - peace
2. American flag - patriotism
3. School mascot - school spirit
What would these be symbolic of?
moon
ark
east
purple
dog
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
An ark usually symbolizes the
power to save.
East usually symbolizes new
beginnings.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
The moon is usually a feminine
symbol.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Purple is often used as a symbol
of royalty.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Imagery: using the senses
A dog is often used as a symbol of
loyalty.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Imagery: choosing words to create
strong pictures in the reader’s
mind- using the senses: touch,
taste, smell, hearing, sight
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Examples:
1. The sounds of the train in “The
Utterly Perfect Murder”
2. The description of the foulness
of the catacombs in “Cask…”
Literary Devices Socha 2008
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Literary Devices or Techniques
Literary Devices or Techniques
These devices can be categorized
3 ways:
1. Figurative
2. Sound
3. Structure
2. Sound devices are those that
create a certain audible effect for
the reader.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Alliteration:
repetition of initial sound.
Note: the words don’t have to be
right next to each other.
“fields ever fresh;
groves ever green”
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Examples: repetition and rhyme
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Assonance:
repetition of vowel sounds for
internal rhyming.
Note: it’s not exactly the same as
rhyme
Example:
He made his special spicy salami
sandwich
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Consonance:
repetition of consonant soundswithin or at the end of the word
(not the beginning)
“fleet feet sweep by sweeping
Greeks”
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Consonance:
repetition of consonant sounds-
Onomatopoeia:
using “sound” words
Example: Zealots song by the
Fugees: 'Rap rejects my tape
deck, ejects projectile/Whether
Jew or gentile I rank top
percentile.'
Examples:
1. Bang
2. Crunch
3. Buzz
4. creak
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Alliteration:
repetition of initial sounds of words
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices or Techniques
3. Structural techniques are those
that impact the format of the
poetry or prose.
Literary Devices Socha 2008
5
Foreshadowing:
warns of things to come;
giving a hint that something is
coming up in the story.
Foreshadowing:
warns of things to come;
giving a hint that something is
coming up in the story.
Example: “Little did I know I’d be in
the adventure of my life.”
Example: when Montresor shows
Fortunato a trowel (also ironic).
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Literary Devices Socha 2008
Flashback:
dream or memory of a past event;
often occurs in movies too
Example:
Charlie (Flowers for Algernon) has
flashbacks of when he was a child
and how his mother and sister
treated him. (His mother was in
denial; his sister ignored him.)
Literary Devices Socha 2008
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