Literary Devices

Figurative language is a tool that an author uses to help the reader see what is happening in a story or poem. Some common types of figurative language are: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and personification. Below are some definitions and examples of these types of figurative language.

Flashback

A flashback interrupts the plot of a story and goes back to a past event. When a story is told in flashbacks, it's usually done to show how something or someone was before the story took place.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is where future events in a story, or sometimes the outcome, are suggested or hinted to by the author before they happen.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.

examples:

• This book weighs a ton.

• I could sleep for a year.

Imagery

Imagery is an author's use of descriptive and figurative language to create a picture in the reader's mind.

Irony

Irony is the difference between reality and the way things in a story appear to be.

example:

• In the movie Home Alone, a young boy's parents leave for vacation and accidentally forget to bring the boy along. He is left home all alone. Reality would suggest we worry about his safety. It is ironic that while we worry about him, he is able to stop two adults from robbing his house. We should worry about the robbers.

Metaphor

A metaphor states that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it does not use "like" or "as" to make the comparison.

examples:

• The river was a winding snake in the forest. (This compares the river to a snake by stating that it is a snake.)

• The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it after a long day. (This compares the pillow to a cloud by stating that the pillow is a cloud.)

Personification

Personification is a figure of speech in which things are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form.

examples:

• A reference to thunder booming "angrily" personifies thunder by giving it emotion.

• a smiling moon

Satire

Satire is irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity.

Simile

A simile is a comparison using "like" or "as." It usually compares two dissimilar objects.

examples:

• The man was as tall as a tree. (This compares the man to a tree.)

• The crater was as wide as a football field. (This compares the crater to a football field.)