Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Metaphor, Simile,
Analogy & Allusion
 In literature, Imagery is one of the strongest devices where
the author uses words and phrases to create “mental
images”.
 Imagery helps the reader to visualize and more realistically
experience the author’s writings. The usage of metaphors,
allusions, descriptive words and similes etc. are used to
awaken the readers’ sensory perceptions – and this is
referred to as imagery. Think of the words on the page
affecting you – affecting your kinesthetic, olfactory, tactile,
thermal and auditory sensations as well.
 Songs are full of Imagery… take this 1980s classic from Teena Marie
On a starry winter night in Portugal
Where the ocean kissed the southern shore
There a dream I never thought would come to pass
Came and went like time spent through an hourglass
-Teena Marie, “Portuguese Love”
 All language is symbolizing one thing or another.
 Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by
giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal
sense.
 Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object
representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is
much deeper and more significant.
 Sometimes, however, an action, an event or a word spoken by
someone may have a symbolic value. For instance, “smile” is a
symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone smiling at you
may stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person
has for you.
 Symbols do shift their meanings depending on the context they are
used in. “A chain”, for example, may stand for “union” as well as
“imprisonment”. Thus, symbolic meaning of an object or an action is
understood by when, where and how it is used. It also depends on
who reads them.
 By giving human characteristics to things that do not have
them, it makes these objects and their actions easier to
visualize for a reader.
 By giving the inanimate objects characteristics, it makes
writing more interesting.
 One example of this is James Stephens’s poem "The Wind"
in which wind preforms several actions.
“The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled on his
two fingers “Kicked the withered leaves about….And
thumped the branches with his hand.” Of course the wind
did not actually "stand up, or use its foot to kick the leaves
about, just like a person would and using hands to thump
branches like a person would also.
 A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to
an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
 A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of
something else, especially something abstract.
 An image that suggests something else. A representation of
a person place, thing or idea by way of a visual image that
suggests a particular association or point of similarity.
 ***A phrase is a metaphor if it compares two things without
using the words "like" or "as."
A theater nerd who explains how he was once
depressed --- “I had fallen through a trapdoor
of depression” .
 A simile is a metaphor, but instead of a direct metaphoric comparison:
***It uses “like” or “as”
Like metaphors, similes are a type of figurative language, - figurative
language does not mean exactly what it says, but instead forces the reader
to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author's point.
Figurative language facilitates understanding because it relates something
unfamiliar to something familiar. It usually involves a comparison between
two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another.
 Similes allow an author to emphasize a certain characteristic of an object by
comparing it to something unrelated. There are specific clue words/phrases
that tell us it’s indeed a simile. The simile uses "like" or "as" in the
comparison
In a simile, an author may compare a person
to an animal:
Angry as a hornet.
Sly as a fox.
Cute as bunny.
Gentle as a lamb.
Or…
Her hair was like sunlight
 An analogy is a literary device that helps to establish a
relationship based on similarities between two concepts or
ideas. It can simplify a complex concept by comparing it to
something more understandable. By using an analogy we
can convey a new idea by using the blueprint of an old one
as a basis for understanding.
 With a mental linkage between the two, one can create
comprehension regarding the new concept in a simple and
succinct manner.
 “Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than Weasley, and
that's saying something.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Cleaning the house while your kids are still home is like shoveling
while it's still snowing.
-http://coolfunnyquotes.com
“As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one
puff is bad for you.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert
 Allusions are expressions designed to call something to
mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing
reference. Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a
person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or
political significance.
 It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it
refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects
the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the
allusion and grasp its importance in a text.
 “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – biblical allusion to
the beautiful garden with the tree of like and where Adam
and Eve lived
 who is “The Girl on Fire” ?
 who is “He Who Must Not Be Named” ?