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Literary Devices

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3 views

Literary Devices

Uploaded by

ayingalexis
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Literary

Devices
Everything you need to know to
Figurative
Language
language that is not meant to be
taken literally, or word for word
Imagery/Sensory
Language
• the use of language to create
mental images and sensory
impressions for emotional effect
and intensity
• Example—
o He could hear his world crashing down when
he heard the news about her.
o A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the
breeze. Continuous as the stars
that shine And twinkle on the
Milky Way
Simile

• a comparison of two things


that are essentially different,
using the words like or as
• Example
o O my love is like a red, red rose
from Robert Burn’s “A Red,
Red Rose”
Metaphor
• a subtle comparison in which an
author describes a person or
thing using words that are not
meant to be taken literally
• Examples—
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely
players:
They have their exits and
their entrances
from As You Like It by William
Shakespeare
Personification
• figurative language in
which nonhuman things or
abstractions are
represented as having
human qualities
• Example—
o Necessity is the mother
of all invention.
Hyperbole
• an intentional and
extreme exaggeration for
emphasis or effect
• Example—
o This book weighs a ton.
Idiom
Phrases people use in
everyday language which
do not make sense literally,
but the meaning is
understood
Examples—
Just hold your horses if you
think idioms are hard! I’m
here to let the cat out of the
bag. Idioms are
a dime a dozen, and learning OK…now
what?
them is a piece of cake.
Sound
Devices
Focus on the sound of words, rather
than their meaning
Repetitio
n or stanza for effect or
• Repetition is when an author repeats a word,
phrase, sentence,
emphasis.

• Examples:
o The chorus or refrain of almost any song
o This poem, by Shel Silverstein:
Rhym
e Rhyme is the repetition of
end sounds in two or more
words or phrases that
appear close to each other
in a poem.

A
B
C
B
Alliteratio
nof words.
• Alliteration is the repetition of a sound at
the beginning

• Common examples:
Coca-cola, Tiny Tim, Mickey Mouse
Assonan
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel

•
sounds ce
Often creates near-rhyme

“The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe


“mellow
wedding
bells” –
short e sound

“molten-
golden
notes” –
long o
sound
“
l
i
Consonan
ceend or middle of words (not
• Consonance is the repetition of consonant
sounds at the
rhyme).
• For example:
“Do Not Go
Gentle into
that Good
Night”
by Dylan
Thomas

“blind eyes
could blaze” –
z sound

“curse, bless
me now with
your fierce
Onomatopoe
it makes ia
• Onomatopoeia- a word that sounds like the sound

• For example: pop, crackle, screech, zip, fizz


• Not just sound effects!
Other Literary
DevicesEven
more…
Symb
olin itself, and that also
• A symbol is an object, person, place, or action
that has a meaning
stands for something larger than itself.

For example:
A dove symbolizes peace.

A black crow or raven symbolizes

death. A wedding ring symbolizes...???


Allusio
nliterary work that a writer
• An allusion is a reference to a person,
place, event, or
expects the reader to recognize and
understand. It
may come from history, geography, literature,
art, music, or religion.
For example:

You were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles


And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet”

“Love Song”, by Taylor Swift


Oxymoro
npaired for effect.
• An Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which
opposites are
Irony
• a literary technique used to
create meaning that seems
to contradict the literal
meaning or events
o Verbal
o Situational
o Dramatic
Parado
x
• a seemingly contradictory
statement that on closer
analysis reveals a deeper
truth
• Example—
o “I’m nobody.” --anonymous
o “I can resist anything but temptation.”
--Oscar
Wilde
o “Nobody goes to that restaurant;
For Analyzing
Poetry Review
Rhythm
• the BEAT created by the
sounds off the words in a
poem
• Rhthym can be created by
meter, rhyme scheme,
alliteration, assonance, and
refrain.
Stanz
• A stanza is a group of related words in a
poem, similar to a
a paragraph of prose but
does not have to have complete sentences.
• It’s like a poetry paragraph!

“When the Teacher’s Back is Turned” by Ken


Nesbitt

When the teacher’s back is


Stanza
turned
Never doWewenever
dropscream and
our books 1
shout
and try to freak her out.

No one throws a pencil


At the ceiling of the
Stanza
class. 2
No one tries to hit the fire
Styl
e
• Style is a manner or “way” of writing.
• It involves HOW something is said rather that what
is
actually said.
• A writer’s style is determined by the way he/she
uses words.
o Ex: vivid verbs, imagery, sentence structure
Ton
• Tone is the writer’s attitude toward a subject,
echoice of diction, imagery,
character, or audience and is conveyed
through the author’s
figurative language, details, and syntax.

• (In other words, tone is how the author feels


about his subject, character, or audience, and
he shows it through the words he chooses, and
how he puts them together.)
Ton
Some wordsethat can describe
tone are:

happy excited angry


Nervou Sa
s d
sad fearful threatenin
g
thoughtful nervous agitated

ecstatic worried depressed


Belligere Ecstat
ic
Moo
d is supposed to feel about
• The feeling that the writer creates for the reader.
• This is how the reader
the subject.
• Descriptive words, imagery, and figurative
language all influence the mood of a literary
work.
Them
• Theme is the central message of a literary work,
that subject. e
or the idea the author wishes to convey about
It is not
the same as the subject, which can be expressed
in one or two words. (This is a
lot like a truism.)

• Possible themes for The Outsiders:


o Not all kids who are in gangs are bad.
o People may come from different backgrounds, but
we’re all the same people.
o If something bad happens to someone, don’t blame
it on yourself if it’s not really your fault.

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