What are Literary
Devices?
Techniques/creative language used by writers to
capture the reader’s imagination.
Make the story come alive and jump off the
page.
Similes
A comparison between two very different objects that uses “like”
or “as” (Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms)
Examples:
Snow White: “Once upon a time, there was a princess fair as
snow, with lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony…”
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”: “…Like a diamond in the sky.”
Metaphors
Comparison between two very different objects; does not use
“like” or “as” to make that comparison (Oxford Dictionary of
Literary Terms).
Examples:
1. The earth was covered by a blanket of snow (Website:
enchantedlearning.net).
2. Trick-or-treaters were running from door to door on that pitchblack Halloween night.
Personification
Literary device in which inanimate objects, ideas, animals are
given human qualities/actions (Oxford Dictionary of Literary
Terms).
Examples:
1. The wind was whistling cheerfully through the branches of the
trees on that breezy day.
2. The sun smiled down at everyone on the first day of summer.
Hyperbole
Exaggeration: used to emphasize an idea, and show its importance
(Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms).
Examples:
1. “Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward
and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night,
it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard.
People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about
the night before.” (Folklore: Paul Bunyan; example found at
literarydevices.net)
Onomatopoeia
Words that create sounds and noises.
Sound Effects!
Examples:
1. The rain fell in a gentle plink! plink! on the rooftops.
2. The autumn leaves crackled and crunched underneath my
feet.