Literary Devices
AKA Figurative Language
Alliteration
Definition: The repetition of the beginning consonant sounds in words
Examples: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Allusion
Definition: A reference in literature to a familiar person, place, thing,
or event.
Examples: A story that mentions Abraham Lincoln, the White House,
the Bible, or the Revolutionary War.
Hyperbole
Definition: An exaggeration or overstatement
Examples: I was so embarrassed I could have died.
Idioms (Idiomatic Language)
Definition: A phrase that cannot be taken literally; understood only
by native speakers
Examples: It was raining cats and dogs.
Irony
Definition: 1. the outcome of events is opposite of what was
expected; 2. the use of words to mean the exact opposite of its literal
meaning.
Examples: 1. You studied all night for a test, but you ended up
failing. 2. When you tell someone you had to work all weekend, and
they say “How nice!”
Metaphor
Definition: comparing two unlike things without using “like” or “as”
Examples: Her eyes were two stars shining brightly.
Paradox
Definition: A statement that appears to contradict itself.
Examples: The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot (Thoreau)
Personification
Definition: Giving an inanimate object human-like qualities.
Examples: The flowers danced in the breeze.
Satire
Definition: Ridiculing or making fun of human weaknesses.
Examples: Think of Saturday Night Live-- the actors make fun of the
celebrities for their worst qualities.
Simile
Definition: comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as”
Examples: Her eyes were like stars shining brightly.
Symbol
Definition: Making an object stand for something else
Examples: A white dove stands for peace