What are literary devices? Literary devices are techniques writers use to engage their readers beyond the literal meaning of the text Alliteration Repetition of the same beginning sound in a sequence Examples : Drew drew Drew Reshetar rides rollercoasters drowning in debt a sea of sea shells Example #1: “From the time I was really little-maybe just few months old-words were like sweet, liquid gifts, and I drank them like emonade.” ~Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper Example #2: Tongue Twisters are great examples of alliteration… Three grey geese in a green field grazing, Grey were the geese and green was the grazing Hyperbole A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect An extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally Examples: I waited an eternity for summer to get here! He could have slept for a year This book weighs a ton Listen to the hyperbole of the next poem by Jack Prelutsky I am making a pizza the size of the sun, a pizza that’s sure to weigh more than a ton, a pizza too massive to pick up and toss, a pizza resplendent with oceans of sauce I’m topping my pizza with mountains of cheese, with acres of peppers, pimentos, and peas, with mushrooms, tomatoes, and sausage galore, with every last olive they had at the store My pizza is sure to be one of a kind, my pizza will leave other pizzas behind, my pizza will be a delectable treat that all who love pizza are welcome to eat The oven is hot, I believe it will take a year and a half for my pizza to bake I hardly can wait till my pizza is done,Jack my wonderful pizza the size of the sun Prelutsky Imagery Descriptive words or phrases that appeal to the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell- creating a picture in the reader’s mind What is the mental picture or image you are left with after reading the passage from “The Most Dangerous Game” “He leaped upon the rail and balanced himself there, to get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a rope, was knocked from his mouth He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and had lost his balance The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea closed over his head.” “He struggle up to the surface and tried to cry out, but the wash from the speeding yacht slapped him in the face and the salt water in his open mouth made him gag.” “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell Metaphor A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected Examples : the world's a stage he was a lion in battle drowning in debt a sea of troubles God looked around His garden And saw an empty space He then looked down upon this Earth And saw your tired face He knew that you were suffering He knew you were in pain He knew that you would never Get well on Earth again He knew the roads were getting rough The mountains hard to climb So he puts his arms around you and Whispered Peace be Thine He closed your weary eyelids And lifted you for rest This garden must be beautiful He only takes the best Written by an anonymous teenager Language that conveys a certain idea by saying just the opposite Examples: The Titanic was promoted as being 100% unsinkable; but, in 1912 the ship sank on its maiden voyage You beg your parents to let you have a kitten, then you dis cover you’re deathly aller gic to them Analogy A comparison made between two things that may initially seem to have little in common Used for illustration and/or argument Example: Hand is to glove : Foot is to sock Happy is to sad : Hot is to cold BONUS Words Allusion Reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or the arts Examples: "Christy didn't like to spend money She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities" Allusion: Ex: The students were sure that their teacher had drunk from the river Styx because of her complete inattention to their pranks Your example—think of a recent example you’ve heard or seen in which someone references a well-known work to speak well in the place of the blunt, disagreeable, terrifying or offensive term Example: death becomes “to pass away” Victorians first used “limb” for leg Letting someone go instead of firing someone Use the rest room instead of go to the bathroom Extension Terms Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds Example: Days wane away Each beach beast thinks he's the best beast The only other sound's the sweep “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost “He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake The woods are lovely, dark and deep But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” Fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking Examples: Aesop’s Fables-“The Tortoise and the Hare” (Plodding wins the race.) “The Lion and the Mouse”-(Little friends may prove great friends) The Ant and the Grasshopper An Aesop's Fable In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart 's content An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest."Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?""I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to the same.""Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer Then the Grasshopper knew: Moral of Aesops Fable: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity A seeming contradiction Examples: “It was the best of times It was the worst of times.” “You shouldn't go in the water until you know how to swim.” “Be cruel to be kind.”-from Hamlet by Shakespeare "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." (C.S Lewis to his godchild, Lucy Barfield, to whom he dedicated The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) A work that makes fun of something or someone Examples: “Weekend Update” from Saturday Night Live Most political cartoons in newspapers and magazines “The Gift of the Magi”, by O Henry is a story of two people, much in love, who are very poor and want to give a Christmas gift to one another She is very proud of her long, beautiful hair and he is equally proud of his pocket watch The irony comes in to play when she cuts and sells her hair to buy him a chain for his watch, and he sells the watch to buy her combs for her hair A monologue in which a character expresses his or her thoughts to the audience and does not intend the other characters to hear them Examples: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” from Hamlet written by Shakespeare