Literary Devices PDF

Literary Devices Commit to Memory Literary / Rhetorical devices 1. Metaphor: implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words. That football player is a tank! You are my sunshine, my only sunshine – (A children’s song) Your example: ___________________________________________________...

Literary Devices Commit to Memory Literary / Rhetorical devices 1. Metaphor: implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words. That football player is a tank! You are my sunshine, my only sunshine – (A children’s song) Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2.Simile: an explicit comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'. “My love is like a fever, longing still for that which will feed the disease” (This is also a good example of a paradox.) (Shakespeare) “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get” (Forrest Gump) “Cindy is as calm as a sunny summer Saturday.” Your example: I’m as determined as a cat chasing a mouse ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Alliteration: repetition of the initial consonant sounds beginning several words in sequence. “I love you like a love song” (Selena Gomez) “When do I count the clock that tells the time?” – Sonnet 12 (William Shakespeare) Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ This list is very modified and abridged from a fuller version prepared by James Tomlinson. Available at: http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/jtomlins/rhetorical_devices.htm#top 3b. Sibilance: a subgroup of Alliteration, sibilance is the repetition of the ‘s’ and the ‘sh’ sounds within several words in a sequence “Susie sells seashells by the seashore” ; “Clarice is a sensational singer.” “Cindy is as calm as a sunny summer Saturday.” Your example: Snowy snow swirls silently, settling subtly on the city ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Anaphora: the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines. (It works best in 3’s!) “We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings. We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty.” (Barack Obama) Your example: I am calm. I am focused. I am peace. I am a liar. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 5. Antistrophe: repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. “Hey, slow it down… Whatdoya want from me Whatdoya want from me? Yeah, I'm afraid… Whatdoya want from me? Whatdoya want from me?” (Adam Lambert) Your example: Do you know how grateful I am ___________________________________________________________________ How well surrounded I am ___________________________________________________________________ How lucky I am This list is very modified and abridged from a fuller version prepared by James Tomlinson. Available at: http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/jtomlins/rhetorical_devices.htm#top 6. Climax: arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of ascending power. Often the last emphatic word in one phrase or clause is repeated as the first emphatic word of the next. “When you teach, you plant a seed. Inside that seed is a tree. Inside that tree is fruit. Inside that fruit is a forest and inside that forest is food, shelter and oxygen for the world.” "In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria -- without warning. In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia -- without warning. Later in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland – without warning. And now Japan has attacked Malaya and Thailand -- and the United States -- without warning." (President Franklin D. Roosevelt) Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 7. Paradox: an assertion with a singular underlying meaning that is expressed through a superficial contradiction of ideas. “I must be cruel only to be kind.” Shakespeare, Hamlet “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” George Bernard Shaw “No pain; No gain!” Everyone’s gym coach Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ This list is very modified and abridged from a fuller version prepared by James Tomlinson. Available at: http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/jtomlins/rhetorical_devices.htm#top 8. Oxymoron: apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of words which contradict one another. Consider it to be a two-word paradox usually used like an adjectival phrase "Hurts so good" John Cougar Melancamp "Jumbo Shrimp”; “Pretty ugly”; “Living dead” Your example: The silence is loud ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 9. Antithesis: opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. “Cause you're hot then you're cold You're yes then you're no You're in then you're out We fight, we break up ; We kiss, we make up” (Katy Perry) Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 10. Personification: the attribution of sentient-like traits to an idea/object/. “England expects every man to do his duty.” (Lord Nelson) “I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping While my guitar gently weeps” (The Beatles) Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ This list is very modified and abridged from a fuller version prepared by James Tomlinson. Available at: http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/jtomlins/rhetorical_devices.htm#top 11. Hyperbole: strong exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect. "I’ve told you a hundred times to keep your room clean!" (Everyone’s mother) Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 12. Allusion: A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. “Gaston may never become Cindy-Lou’s Romeo but he’ll always be her Cyrano.” “That Timmy is such a liar! It’s amazing his nose hasn’t started growing longer!” Your example: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ This list is very modified and abridged from a fuller version prepared by James Tomlinson. Available at: http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/jtomlins/rhetorical_devices.htm#top