literary devices

Literary Devices: :

Literary Devices: A General Introduction AJ Acosta English Department West Hills High School

Literary Devices:

Literary Devices Devices or conventions that storytellers have used throughout the timeline of literary history Include: Symbols and Imagery Figures of Speech, such as Metaphors , Similes , and Personification

Imagery:

Imagery Patterns in a literary work that create an image (or images) in a reader’s mind; (2) Language that appeals to the five senses

Example::

Example: Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” But at my back I always hear Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near; And yonder all before us lie Deserts of vast eternity. Thy beauty shall no more be found, Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound My echoing song: then worms shall try That long preserved virginity, And your quaint honor turn to dust, And into ashes all my lust: The grave's a fine and private place, But none, I think, do there embrace. Time's Deserts eternity. marble vault worms preserved dust ashes grave’s

Symbol:

Symbol Something that stands for or represents something else Take, as examples, an apple and the US flag.

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What ideas or feelings do you associate with the color red? Symbol (cont’d): Another Example

Symbol (cont’d): Another Example:

What ideas or feelings do you associate with the color blue? Symbol (cont’d): Another Example

Figurative Language (a.k.a figures of speech):

Figurative Language (a.k.a figures of speech) The intentional departure from the normal usage of words Writers use figures of speech to help readers visualize what is happening in their stories and/or poems. Figures of speech include metaphors, similes, and personification.

Metaphor:

Metaphor An indirect comparison between two seemingly different things Example: In my opinion, Phil is a computer. =

Simile:

Simile A direct comparison between two seemingly different things using words such as like or as Example: Without a doubt, Julie is like a cheetah on the track. =

Personification:

Personification When an author gives animals, ideas, or inanimate objects human qualities, such as emotions, intelligence, personality, etc. Example: The CD begged me to play it.

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