Literary Devices PDF

What are Literary Devices?  2 What are Literary Devices? ✘ Literary devices are tools for hinting at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in stories. ✘ They work alongside Literary Elements to elevate a story and prompt reflection. ✘ W...

What are Literary Devices?  2 What are Literary Devices? ✘ Literary devices are tools for hinting at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in stories. ✘ They work alongside Literary Elements to elevate a story and prompt reflection. ✘ Writers will often use many devices at the same time to expand their message.  3 Types of Devices ✘ Writers use a wide variety of literary devices across many genres. ✘ Each serves a specific purpose, so understanding how to identify and use them is important. ✘ There are a lot of minor and major devices that exist in literature, but we’ll be looking at just a few.  4 Allusions ✘ An allusion is a figure of speech that refers to a famous person, place, or historical event. ✘ By referencing something recognizable, writers can contextualize a story without worrying about explanation. ✘ For example, “Jason is a real Einstein”. - Einstein is a famously smart figure, so Jason is smart.  5 Metaphor ✘ A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares one thing to another. ✘ It’s mainly used to illustrate a specific quality that the two things share. ✘ For example, “Time is a thief”. - It suggests that time steals moments like a thief would steal valuables.  6 Simile ✘ Unlike metaphors, similes are comparisons that specifically use like and as. ✘ This device creates direct comparisons that are obvious to the reader. ✘ For example, “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know which one you’re going to get”. - As the audience, you are immediately aware of the comparison and can quickly figure out its meaning.  7 Analogy ✘ An analogy also involves comparison, but with the ultimate goal of making a point. ✘ The device is a more complex option because of the explanation it provides. ✘ For example “what you’re doing is as useful as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic”. - The goal is to communicate that your actions are useless – by comparing it to a similarly useless task.  8 Foreshadowing ✘ Foreshadowing is a hint of what is to come later in a story. ✘ It’s useful for creating suspense, a feeling of unease, or a sense of curiosity. ✘ For example, Romeo feels uneasy attending the Capulet party In Act I Sc. 4, where he says “my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars…”  9 Imagery ✘ Imagery is the use of figurative language to evoke an experience in the reader. ✘ It lets us clearly see, touch, taste, smell, and hear what is happening. It is also a very flexible device, used to: - Evoke emotions; - Enhance descriptions; - And reinforce symbols or themes – making abstract ideas more relatable.  10 Satire ✘ Satire is both a genre and a literary device that points out the flaws of society, people, or ideas. ✘ It relies on exaggeration, irony, and ridicule to criticize the things we’ve all accepted as normal. ✘ It’s like a comedic mirror that shows us our own ridiculousness in a funny yet thought-provoking way.  11 Irony ✘ Irony is the difference between expectation and reality; when the intended meaning and the actual meaning don’t line up. ✘ There are three main types of Irony: - Verbal Irony: when someone says the opposite of what they mean; - Situational Irony: when the expected outcome is different from the actual outcome; - Dramatic Irony: When the audience knows something that the characters do not.  12 Irony Examples ✘ Verbal Irony Example: - In a scene with a thunderstorm, someone says “Lovely weather we’re having!” ✘ Situational Irony Example: - A police station gets robbed; a place that’s supposed to prevent crime is now a site for crime. ✘ Dramatic Irony Example: - Imagine Romeo & Juliet; we know how the story ends, but the characters don’t.