Literary Devices Notes Organizer Alliteration Repetition of the

Literary Devices Notes Organizer

Alliteration • Repetition of the initial consonants in words Examples: terrible truths lullaby lies Breaking Bad Walter White

Allusion • A brief reference to some historical person/event; work of art; Biblical or mythological character or event. Examples: “His luck changed reflecting that of poor old Job. ” “Recent cyber-attacks used a Trojan Horse virus. ”

Apostrophe • Speaking directly to a real or imagined listener or inanimate object; addressing the person or thing by name. Examples: “Wilson! Come back!” “O, Captain! My Captain! our fearfully trip is done…” “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder…”

Assonance • Repetition of vowel sounds found initially and within words. Examples: instantly it implies initials “A neat sweet treat sat beneath his feet. ”

Consonance • Repetition of consonant sounds within words. Examples: Gloomy woman in a womb “Make the fake cake, Jake the Snake. ”

Euphemism • An understatement, used to lessen the effect of a statement; substituting something harmless for something offensive or hurtful. Examples: “She is at rest. ” (meaning: she’s dead) “My dog just passed away. ” (meaning: it died)

Hyperbole • An outrageous exaggeration used for effect. Examples: “This bag weighs a ton. ” “I am so hungry I could eat a horse. ”

Imagery • Language that evokes sensory images Examples: drip of tiny teardrops (aural/sound) where the green grass grows (visual/sight) lips like cool sweet tea (oral/taste)

Metaphor • Comparison of unlike things (made without using “like” or “as”). Examples: “I am a lone star shining. ” “…the war, the red animal— the blood-swollen god. ”

Onomatopoeia • A word that imitates the sound that it represents. Examples: “The quack of the duck. ” “The engine’s constant whirr!”

Parallelism • Repeating the structure of a sentence, stanza or paragraph. Examples: “Janet yelled when the walls all fell. ” “He ran into their room, into their garden, and into their hearts. ”

Personification • Giving human qualities to non-human things. Examples: “The wind whispered in my ear. ” “At precisely 6: 30 my alarm clock sprang to life. ”

Repetition • The repeating of words, phrases, or lines. Examples: “Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore. ” “…always watching, always waiting, always singing. ”

Simile • Comparison of unlike things using “like” or “as. ” Examples: “My love is like a red, red rose. . . ” “They are as different as night and day. ”

Symbolism • An object or action that means more than its literal meaning. Examples: “The horse was pure white. ” (innocence) “Her life was a roller-coaster. ” (unsteady)

Synecdoche • Indicating a person or object by having only a certain part represent the whole. Examples: “All hands on deck. ” “Let me have your eyes and ears. ” “Do you like my new wheels? ”