Literary Devices Definitions
Simile
Is the 1st person or the 3rd person most common in literature?
3rd person
The Harry Potter Series
The snow was as cold as the freezer in her house.
Simile
He passed away
He died
A word or phrase that is used to show a likeness or comparison of an object to something different
Metaphor
"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship"
First person
Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin
Life is a highway
Metaphor
We have to let you go
Firing someone
Exaggerated claims that shouldn't be taken literally
Hyperbole
But Ender knew, even as he thought it, that Peter wouldn’t leave him alone. There was something in Peter’s eyes, when he was in his mad mood, and whenever Ender saw that look, that glint, he knew that the one thing Peter would not do was leave home alone.
Third person limited
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
The waves danced over the rocks.
Personification
I want to buy some adult beverages
Another word for alcohol, beer, etc.
When there is a contrast between what the speaker means to say and what is literally said
Contrast between expectation and reality
The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid.
“What should we drink?” the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
“It’s pretty hot,” the man said.
Third person objective
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
We need to talk about the birds and the bees
Euphemism
The dog has to be put down
When the name is supposed to mimic the actual sound (Buzz, pow, etc.)
Onomatopoeia
...Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.
Third person omniscient
Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle
The pretty princess petted the parrot.
Alliteration
He's a little thin on top
To be bald, have little hair