LITERARY

DEVICES
 
are all essential in bringing out creative and sound writing.
Though literary devices (i.e. figurative language) are much used
in language, many students still have difficulty in identifying them.
 Simile vs. Metaphor
A simile uses the words like or as to link two different
items on the basis of certain shared qualities.
USING SIMILES TO EMPHASIZE THE SHARED
QUALITIES OF OTHERWISE DISSIMILAR ITEMS.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO USE METAPHORS TO

ENHANCE AN IMAGINATIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN
TWO ITEMS.
a metaphor compares two dissimilar items. However, it
draws the comparison by identifying one item completely
with another, imaginatively overstating the similarity and
equating them: It says one item is another.

The umbrella turned inside out as limply as a flower.

Her hair was a bridal veil around her face, shimmering, pale, and
still.
 Analogy and Personification
Analogy is a comparison between two things. Analogies function to describe or
explain one thing by examining its similarities with another thing. The two things
may be very dissimilar and the analogy forces the reader or listener to understand
the connection between them.
ANALOGIES ARE USED TO CLARIFY AN ITEM,
EXPERIENCE, OR SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES BY
LIKENING IT POINT BY POINT TO ANOTHER.

•GREEN : COLOR :: ORCHID : FLOWER

•SCIENTIST : EINSTEIN :: MUSICIAN : MOZART
•HUMAN : FINGERNAIL :: TIGER : CLAW

Personification also works as kind of metaphor by attributing

human qualities to nonhuman things. This type of literary device can be
humorous however it can also be serious in terms of emotional impact on
a reader.

The welcoming hands of sunlight touched my shoulders,

and I looked up.
 Setting Moods & Sensory Impressions

Setting Moods
In descriptive writing, you can often want to create a special mood or feeling
about a place, or series of events. You can do this by using sensory
impressions or symbols.
Sensory impressions are words that
appeal to sight, sound, smell, taste, and
touch.

USE SENSORY IMPRESSIONS TO CREATE A MOOD

OR RECREATE A PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE FOR
YOUR AUDIENCE.
Passage with sensory impressions:
The night was coolly lit by a crystalline full moon,
As crunched through the pile of leaves, we cast silver

Shadows on the ground before us, I shivered as a

small sharp wind nipped at my face.
Using Symbols.
Within a description you can include a symbol – a person, object, or
action that the writer invests with significance beyond its literal
meaning. Some symbols are natural symbols because of their built-in
associations – for example, the sea, the sun, and the change of seasons.

Symbols have more impact if they grow naturally

and subtly out of the situation described. The
objects that take on deeper meanings should fit into
the context of the passage. A writer lays the
groundwork for the symbols by establishing a
mood from which the symbol’s special meaning
 What I Have Learned

In _________________writing, you can often want to create a special mood or

feeling about a place, or series of events. You can do this by using sensory
impressions or symbols.

Within a description you can include a _______________ – a person, object, or

action that the writer invests with significance beyond its literal meaning.

____________________ are words that appeal to sight, sound, smell, taste, and
touch.
 A/An ______________ is an extended comparisons, which develops and
explains the various points of similarity between the things compared.

________________ also works as kind of metaphor by attributing human qualities

to nonhuman things. This figure of speech lends itself readily to humour, but it can
also be serious in its emotional impact on a reader.

___________________ uses the words like or as to link two different items on

the basis of certain shared qualities.

____________________ compares two dissimilar items. However, it draws the

comparison by identifying one item completely with another, imaginatively
overstating the similarity and equating them: It says one item is another.