GETTING IT WRITE
HSC Middle School English Resource Centre
LITERARY DEVICES
Similes
Definition:
Comparing two different things with “like” or “as”
Examples:
That tree is as tall as a skyscraper.
She’s as pretty as a picture.
My love is like a red, red rose.
Metaphor
Definition:
Comparing two very different things NOT using “like” or “as”.
Examples:
Henry was a lion on the battlefield.
He is a pig.
Henry sailed his way through the crowd. (implies that he moved like a boat)
Alliteration & Consonance
Definition:
The repetition of the same CONSONANT sound. For alliteration at the start of words, and for consonance within words.
Example:
The river was running over the rocks, rapidly pushing the sticks through the stream.
Hyperbole
Definition:
Obvious and intentional exaggeration
Examples:
The stack of pancakes was piled a mile high.
She is as skinny as a toothpick.
If I don't get something to eat right now, I will die.
Onomatopoeia
Definition:
Words that sound like the thing they are or do
Examples:
sizzle, drip, buzz, whisper, giggle
Assonance
Definition:
The repetition of similar VOWEL sounds of neighbouring words.
Examples:
"It beats . . . as it sweeps . . . as it cleans!"
(advertising slogan for Hoover vacuum cleaners, 1950s)
The crumbling thunder of seas
on a proud round cloud in white high night
Irony
Definition:
Contradiction between what happens and what is expected; when the audience knows something the characters do not. It often creates humour, sadness, or suspense.
Examples:
In Romeo and Juliet:
Romeo believes Juliet is dead and then drinks the poison to end his own life. The audience knows she is only sleeping.
Allusion
Definition:
A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional.
Examples:
From “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay: “For some reason I can’t explain, I know St. Peter won’t call my name…”
St. Peter guards the gates of heaven. You need to know this in order to understand that the singer means that he thinks he will not be allowed into heaven.
Imagery
Definition:
The author uses words and phrases involving two or more of the five senses to create “mental images” for the reader or a certain mood or feeling.
Examples:
The gushing brook stole its way down the lush green mountains, dotted with tiny flowers in a riot of colours and trees coming alive with merrily chirping birds.
Personification
Definition:
Giving human qualities to animals or objects.
Examples:
That chocolate ice cream is really tempting me.
The sun is smiling.
The angry sky roared and threw lightning around.
Foreshadowing
Definition:
Hints and clues that tip the reader off about what is coming later in the story.
Examples:
Often takes the form of a warning; for example, in the Greek myth, Daedalus warns his son Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, foreshadowing that Daedalus will ignore his father’s warning.
In The Miracle Worker: Keller insists that Annie will not be able to teach Helen anything, which foreshadows that she will.
In the Klack Brothers Museum: The stranger offers to pick up the characters on their way back from the museum, and the fact that there is no other way to get back suggests that they will end up missing their ride.
Symbol
Definition:
Using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Examples:
In The Miracle Worker:
The water gushing from the pump symbolizes Helen’s flood of understanding as she finally discovers that sign language represents words and things.
The smoked glasses that Annie receives from the children symbolize that she will see Helen’s situation through a different lens/perspective than others.
Repetition
Definition:
Although we often tell you to avoid it, sometimes repetition is used in poetry or stories to stress a point. This is such a common literary device that it is often not pointed out or noticed.
Examples:
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender." (Winston Churchill)
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)