Literary elements
and sound devices
Many examples are exerpts from
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.
Simile
•  A comparison of two unlike
things using “like” or “as”
•  He started to scream like a
banshee.
•  …it doesn’t matter how
coordinated you are if you’re as
blind as a bat. (also idiom)
Metaphor
•  A direct comparison of two
unlike things not using “like” or
“as”
•  He was a zombie at work after
staying awake all night.
•  I was a handkerchief at a crime
scene.
•  The traffic is a nightmare.
Personification
•  Giving human characteristics to
inanimate objects (non-human
things)
•  …with Dizzy’s horn flying high
above everything else.
•  The shoes in the window were
calling out my name.
Alliteration
•  A poetic device that is the
repetition of consonant sounds
at the beginning of the words.
•  The whirling wind wailed all
night long.
•  Stan sometimes sits with us at
lunch.
Assonance
•  A poetic device that is the
repetition of vowel sounds in a
series of words.
•  My emotions eventually ate
away at my stomach.
Consonance
•  The repetition of consonant
sounds that occur anywhere in
the word – not just at the
beginning.
•  Example: Mammals named Sam are
clammy.
•  We strung the strong string across
the pond.
Hyperbole
•  Extreme Exaggeration
•  My mom is going to kill me if I
miss curfew!
•  I’ve watched that movie a
million times!
Paradox (bonus material)
•  A statement that is
contradictory but true.
•  Why do we drive on a parkway
but park on a driveway?
•  My only love sprung from my
only hate.
Pun
•  A play on words where a word
has a double meaning.
•  To write with a broken pencil is
pointless.
•  I hear people are dying to see
the new funeral home.
Dialogue
•  Conversation occurring between
two or more characters
“Are you going to the game?’’
John asked.
“Only if you go, ” answered Katie.
Symbol
•  An object, person, or concept
used to represent something
else.
•  Heart=Love
•  Dove=Peace
•  Black=evil, death
•  Wedding ring = commitment
Onomatopoeia
•  When a word sounds like its
meaning: “sound words”
•  Boom
•  Screech
•  Whoosh
•  Pow!
Allusion
•  A reference to something in
history or literature.
•  …Annette was studying me like
she was Sherlock Holmes. (also
simile)
•  I wish I could just put on my
ruby slippers, click my heels
and be home.
Oxymoron
•  Pairing together two words
with opposite meanings
•  Pretty Ugly
•  Alone together
•  Icy hot
•  Jumbo Shrimp
Imagery
•  Writing that appeals to the senses
(taste, touch, hear, smell, sight)
•  Ex. From Charlotte’s Web, in the passage
describing the fair: "In the hard-packed dirt of
the midway, after the glaring lights are out and
the people have gone to bed, you will find a
veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen
custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by
tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted
almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream
cones and wooden sticks of lollipops."
Irony
•  When the opposite of what is
expected happens
There are three types of irony:
•  Verbal
•  Situational
•  Dramatic
•  Verbal -- Where what is said is the
opposite of what is meant. Ex: Looking
at her son's messy room, Mom says,
"Wow, you could win an award for
cleanliness!"
•  Situational – Where events turn out
opposite from what you expect. Ex: A
police officer gets a parking ticket.
•  Dramatic – When the reader knows what
is happening in the story and the other
characters do not. Ex: When you are
watching a scary movie and you know by
the character’s actions that they are
toast.
Flashback
• Recalling past events.
Ex. – I burst into the kitchen and
found Jeffrey doing his “cooking”
thing on the floor.
I remembered the look on her face
when I told her she had won the
contest.
Foreshadowing
• A hint of things to come
Ex. – If I had known that this would
basically be the last time I’d have
both parents paying attention to me
at once, I probably would have taken
the hug.
(Foreshadows something bad is probably
about to happen.)
Idiom
• A statement meant to be
taken figuratively not
literally.
•  Ex. – ... Except Jeffrey stopped us all
in our tracks. “Mommy, it hurts.”
•  The shocking news made my heart
stop in my chest.