LITERARY DEVICES

A quick reviewMr. Cook – English II Honors

Personification

Giving human characteristics to non human things. Example: The storm clouds threatened to

ruin our picnic.

If an animal is the non human object, it is only personification if the animal does not naturally possess the characteristic. The jealous dog would not stay away from the food.

(not personification) The malevolent dog tried to eat the children.

(personification)

Hyperbole

A great exaggeration. I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

(Hyperbole) I am so hungry I could eat a whole bag

of chips.(Not a hyperbole)

Alliteration

The repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of each word. Sally Sold Sea Shells at the Sea Shore. Can Kevin Create a Kite with Craft Paper?

Alliteration

The repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of each word. Sally Sold Sea Shells at the Sea Shore. Can Kevin Create a Kite with Craft

Paper?

Analogy

Comparing the relationship between one pair to the relationship between another.

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things (not using comparison words).

From The Odyssey: Her heart was iron in her breast. He brayed his refusal to leave

Simile

A comparison of two unlike objects using comparison words (Like, As)

He is as strong as an ox. She is as pure and clean as the wind

driven snow.

Theme

The underlying meaning of a literary work. Made of a motif (concept discussed by a

work) and a statement about that motif. Examples:

Motif – love Theme – it is better to have loved and lost,

than to have never loved at all Motif – War

Theme - War is a horrible thing to live through.

Symbol

An object that represents itself, and something greater than itself. Fahrenheit Symbols Flies Symbols

Imagery

Descriptive Language used by an author to paint a picture. Vivid adjectives and adverbs, long descriptions of people, places, objects.

Mood

The emotional quality of a piece of writing. How does the passage make you feel (if

you were a “normal” person It was a dark and stormy night The sun rose over a spring meadow

Connotation and Denotation Denotation(14) – literal meanings of

a word Connotation(14) – associations and

implications that go beyond a word’s literal meaning.

DenotationConnotation

US FlagCrossEvergreenPlatypusSoybean

Colored Cloth FreedomTwo Pieces of Wood SacrificeNature HolidaySemi Aquatic Mammal Secret AgentHealthy Bean Death Nugget

Internal Rhyme

In poetry, rhyme that happens inside a single line of poetry.

End Rhyme

In Poetry, rhyme that occurs at the end of poetry, linking lines together in a pattern called a rhyme scheme.

Refrain

A repeated part of a poem. Often lines at the end of a poem, or between stanzas.

Types of Poetry - haiku

A type of poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.

Example:I wake, reluctant;Too cold to get out of bedBut I need to pee

Subject Matter – Traditionally about nature.

Types of Poetry – free verse A poetic style that lacks specific

rhyme scheme. The poems may follow metrical patterns. (A haiku is typically a free verse poem because it does not rhyme, although it has the 5-7-5 structure.)

Types of Poetry - sonnet

A 14 line poem. Shakespearian – a 14 line poem of iambic

pentameter (10 syllables per line, in a unstressed, stressed pattern)

Two households both alike in dignity u s u s u s u s

u s Two house | holds both | a like | in dig | ni ty

Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Other Sonnet Writers: Petrarch, Longfellow, Spencer

Types of Poetry - Ballad

A long narrative poem that tells a story. Often features characters, actions,

events, or other elements of a story Usually told through the point of view of

one of the characters.