Literary DevicesLiterary Devices

• The following are artful additions to writing that author’s use to make their work more interesting and literary. These are just ten of >60

MetaphorMetaphor

• Compares two unlike things, implying shared characteristics, where one thing is said to be the other.• A book is a window to past and

future worlds.

SimileSimile

• Compares two unlike things using the words like or as.• Then join you with them, like a

rid of steel, to make strength stronger.

HyperboleHyperbole

•An exaggeration•This backpack weighs a ton!

PersonificationPersonification

• Giving human characteristics to nonhuman things or ideas.• The wind played with her hair as

she stood on the dock.

DenotationDenotation

• The dictionary definition of a word.• Pig: any of a family of stout

short legged hooved mammals with brisely skin and a long flexible snout.

ConnotationConnotation

• All the feelings and ideas associated with a word.• Pigs are smelly, dirty, greedy,

and poorly behaved animals.

SymbolismSymbolism

•When something you can sense takes the place of something you can’t.• The Statue of Liberty is a symbol

of freedom.

ImageryImagery

•When the author paints a mental picture.• The tree was a dried and

cracked mess against the sky, tearing the blue sky into blue strips.

ForeshadowingForeshadowing

• Provides a hint about future events in the story.• The men call the island

dangerous, a man eater. All those go there are doomed never to return.

IronyIrony

•When the opposite of what is expected is said or occurs.• Saying “We should go for a

walk!” on a rainy day.• Three Types: Verbal, Situational,

and Dramatic

IronyIrony

• Three Types:– Verbal- saying one thing and

meaning another; sarcasm is a form of verbal irony Situational, and Dramatic

IronyIrony

• Three Types:– Situational-When you expect one

thing to happen and the opposite occurs.–Dramatic- When the audience

knows something that the character does not know

IronyIrony

• Three Types:– Verbal- saying one thing and

meaning another; sarcasm is a form of verbal irony