Literary Devices review

Personification is when you give an animal or object qualities or abilities that only a human can have.

Imagery

References that writers make to well known things: biblical, mythological, historical/topical.

He or she uses the pronoun “I” to tell the story and can tell us their inner thoughts. 

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. 

Juxtaposition is the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast.

Anaphora is the repetition of a certain word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines.

Assonance takes place when two or more words, that repeat the same vowel sound. Seems to beam rays of green.

Closing statements restating the major arguments in defense of a thesis (the claim) with a final challenge.

Metaphor

The narrator can reveal the thoughts, feelings, and motives of any other characters and describe their character traits

A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the end of lines in poems or songs.

Simile

Personification

The unfolding or solution of a complicated issue in a story.

We see the action from their point of view. We are shown only his or her thoughts or feelings

It is a structural part of a plot, and is at times referred to as a “crisis.”  

Onomatopeia

Consonance is the combination of consistently copied consonants. Ex. Tiffany's offensive staff laughed.

The atmosphere of a literary piece, as it creates an emotional setting that surrounds the readers. 

When the readers know more about the circumstances or future events than the characters (when you’re in on a secret)

When something turns out quite different than what was expected.

Hyperbole

Alliteration

Characterization occurs any time the author uses details to teach us about a person.

Introduces background information about events, settings, characters, or other elements of a work to the audience.

Refers to the distinctive way a writer uses language characterized by elements of diction, syntax, imagery, organization

A writer’s attitude toward something

Anything that represents it self but also stands for something else on a figurative level

The way words, phrases, and clauses are organized in a sentence. 

The lesson that the writer wants to get across in his or her story.

A literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces (ex. Man vs. Self)

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Ex. Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled