All literary devices pdf

Take note of this masterful repetition, and see where you can strategically repeat lines in your own poetry, too.

The other half of this article analyzes the different sound devices in poetry. What are sound devices in poetry, and how do you use them? Internal rhyme is just what it sounds like: two rhyming words juxtaposed inside of the line, rather than at the end of the line.

Each of the rhymes have been assigned their own highlighted color. Not only does it draw readers into the poem, it makes the poem memorable—after all, poetry used to rhyme because rhyme schemes helped people remember the poetry, long before people had access to pen and paper.

Why does contemporary poetry frown at rhyme schemes? One of the more defining sound devices in poetry, alliteration refers to the succession of words with similar sounds. Alliteration can be further dissected; in fact, we could spend this entire article talking about alliteration if we wanted to. Along with alliteration, consonance and assonance share the title for most important sound devices in poetry. Alliteration refers specifically to the sounds at the beginning: consonance and assonance refer to the sounds within words.

Technically, alliteration is a form of consonance or assonance, and both can coexist powerfully on the same line. Consonance refers to consonant sounds, whereas assonance refers to vowel sounds.

You are much more likely to read examples of consonance, as there are many more consonants in the English alphabet, and these consonants are more highly defined than vowel sounds. Though assonance is a tougher poetic sound device, it still shows up routinely in contemporary poetry. Internal rhymes often require assonance for the words to sound similar. Poems that master musicality will sound either euphonious or cacophonous.

Cacophony is a bit harder to find in literature, though certainly not impossible. Usually, cacophony occurs when the poet uses harsh, staccato sounds repeatedly. Who else might sing in cacophony than the emotive, sea-worn sailor? Metrical considerations are often reserved for classic poetry. Still, meter can affect how the reader moves and feels your poem, and some contemporary poets write in meter. All syllables in the English language are either stressed or unstressed.

Finding these prosodic considerations in contemporary poetry is challenging, but not impossible. Many poets in the earliest 20th century used meter, such as Edna St. Vincent Millay. Perhaps the next important metrical poet is you? Every element of this poetic devices list could take months to master, and each of the sound devices in poetry requires its own special class. Luckily, the instructors at Writers. Take a look at our upcoming poetry courses , and take the next step in mastering the literary devices in poetry.

Very interesting stuff! Can the above be described as being an example of any particular kind of literary or poetic device? Hi Louis, good question! Scholars continue to debate the full extent of what constitutes a zeugma. They photocopied it all over the bulletin boards and they even read it over the PA, and Jennifer got two extra brownies at lunch. Try your own!

Ekphrasis refers to a poem or story that is directly inspired by another piece of art. O Attic shape! Fair attitude! Ekphrasis can be considered a direct allusion because it borrows language and images from other artwork. For a great example of ekphrasis—as well as a submission opportunity for writers!

Try your hand at ekphrasis by picking a piece of art you really enjoy and writing a poem or story based off of it. For example, you could write a story about Mona Lisa having a really bad day, or you could write a black-out poem created from the lyrics of your favorite song. An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the noise it describes. Conveying both a playfulness of language and a serious representation of everyday sounds, onomatopoeias draw the reader into the sensations of the story itself.

Onomatopoeia words are most often used in poetry and in comic books, though they certainly show up in works of prose as well. The onomatopoeias have been highlighted in bold. These common literary devices help make your writing fresh, interesting, and vivid, creating a sonic setting that the reader can fall into. Learn more about onomatopoeias here! Onomatopoeias are fun literary devices to use in your work, so have fun experimenting with them.

In this exercise, take a moment to listen to the noises around you. Pay close attention to the whir of electronics, the fzzzzzzz of the heater, the rumbling of cars on the street, or the tintintintintin of rain on the roof. Whatever you hear, convert those sounds into onomatopoeias. Make a list of those sounds. Try to use a mix of real words and made up ones: the way you represent noise in language can have a huge impact on your writing style.

The following 12 devices apply to both poetry and prose writers, but they appear most often in verse. Learn more about:. The following 10 devices show up in verse, but are far more prevalent in prose. While these literary elements pertain primarily to dialogue, writers use euphemisms, idioms, and neologisms all the time in their work.

How to Write Dialogue in a Story. The instructors at Writers. Through masterful instruction and personal expertise, our instructors can help you add, refine, and improve your literary devices, helping you craft great works of literature. Check out our upcoming courses , and join our writing community on Facebook! This was put together profoundly; thank you! As a writer, you can never learn enough.

I will begin incorporating these into my stories. Thank you for this article! It really helped a lot! But I would have one last question: Would any sort of intertextuality be considered an Allusion? Also when you refer to the author for example? Great questions! And yes, because an allusion is anything referential, then a reference to another author also counts as an allusion.

This article really helped me, the techniques are amazing, and the detail is incredible. Thank you for taking your time to write this! Hi Nate! Juxtaposition simply describes when contrasting ideas are placed next to each other. The effect of juxtaposition depends on the ideas that are being juxtaposed, but the point is to surprise or provoke the reader.

Here, happy and unhappy families are being juxtaposed, and the contrast between the two is meant to provoke the reader and highlight the differences between those families. This juxtaposition sets up the novel as a whole, which often discusses themes of family and happiness among many other themes. Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Writing Tips. Contents What are Literary Devices? Writing with Tarot with Sandra Novack January 12th, Jump-start your creative juices, and explore a world of divination, symbolism, and imagery right at your fingertips: learn short story and novel writing through Tarot. Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life with Rosemary Tantra Bensko January 19th, Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life.

Browse our full course calendar ». Example of metaphor: This tree is the god of the forest. Sight imagery: The tree spread its gigantic, sun-flecked shoulders.

Touch imagery: The tree felt smooth as sandstone. Smell imagery: As we approached the tree, the air around it smelled crisp and precise. The down blanket lay crumpled, unused, on the empty side of our bed.

Personification using sight : The car ran a marathon down the highway. Personification using sound : The car coughed, hacked, and spluttered. Personification using taste : The car tasted the bitter asphalt. Personification using smell : The car needed a cold shower. The ancient, threadbare rug was clearly tired of being stepped on. It was a brutally hot 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The April spring sun boiled blood and sent birds exploding.

The triple bacon cheeseburger glistened with health and good choices. Across the town from her wedding, the bank robbers were tying up the hostages. I put the box of chocolates on the coffee table, next to the gas mask. Catullus 85 translated from Latin I hate and I love. The trombone pony neighs and the tuba jackass snorts. The banjo tickles and titters too awful. The chippies talk about the funnies in the papers. The cartoonists weep in their beer. Take your next online writing course with our award-winning instructors!

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tumblr. Comments Very nice the litrery divices. One or several conjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of related clauses. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was thick, warm, heavy, sluggish. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas, typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next.

An amusingly failed attempt at presenting artistic greatness. So past the strong heroic soul away. And when they buried him the little port Had seldom seen a costlier funeral.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, Enoch Arden A work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal Talking in circles, using many more words than necessary. She who must be obeyed. An expression so overused that it loses its original meaning or novelty. He is a diamond in the rough. The highest point of tension in a plot.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. A word or phrase that is not formal or literary and is used in ordinary or familiar conversation. A device in which a writer compares or contrasts two people, places, things, or ideas. Comparisons may include: analogy, juxtaposition, metaphor, simile, pun, and allegory.

Shakespeare, Sonnet 18 Uses an extended metaphor that compares two very dissimilar things. My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red. Shakespeare, Sonnet A literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces, usually a protagonist and an antagonist. To be, or not to be — that is the question. Any difference between two or more tangible or abstract entities, such as characters, settings, opinions, tones, and so on.

Contrast generally involves a juxtaposition of two unlike things in order to showcase their differences. To compare is to find things that are similar, while to contrast is to find differences.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. A long syllable followed by two short syllables Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Charge for the guns! Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

William Wordsworth, A Character Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde A literary device used in narratives to omit some parts of a sentence or event, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while acting or reading it.

I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby A phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document. Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem.

There is only an American problem. Lyndon B. Johnson A descriptive term or qualifier that identifies an attribute. It is a useful literary or rhetorical device when describing a character for the reader. While a modern use of epithets can be derogatory, classic literary epithets are an important element of literature.

Thou mad mustachio purple-hued maltworms! Shakespeare, Henry IV A mild, indirect, or vague term that often substitutes for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term.

It was being economical with the truth. A statement that makes something worse, or better, than it really is. He should! A short expression writers use to express emotion. It can stand alone or appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. It can convey emotions without necessarily connecting to the main idea, and neither a subject nor verb needs to be present in order to define an interjection.

Slow and steady wins the race. Aesop, The hare and the tortoise. A literary genre and type of comedy that makes use of highly exaggerated and funny situations aimed at entertaining the audience.

Farce is also a subcategory of dramatic comedy, which is different from other forms of comedy as it only aims at making the audience laugh. In Comedy of Errors, for instance, there are two sets of identical twins who frequently get confused for one another.

A device that moves an audience from the present moment in a chronological narrative to a scene in the past. Often, flashbacks are abrupt interjections that further explain a story or character with background information and memories.

So was I once myself a swinger of birches. And so I dream of going back to be. Robert Frost, Birches The audience receives hints or signs about the future. It suggests what is to come through imagery, language, or symbolism. It does not directly give away the outcome, but rather, suggests it. A figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea.

Excessive pride or overconfidence. As a result, they make foolish decisions that ultimately bring about their defeat. In the novel, Dr. Victor Frankenstein decides to create sentient life in his laboratory, a task that would put him on a par with the other great creator of life — God. There are several types of devices that create humor. Humor is, in fact, the end product and not the device itself.

You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least. The typical, natural order of words is changed as certain words are moved out of order. Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. Shakespeare, Measure for Measure Exaggeration for emphasis. This my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. A foot containing an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable in a single line of a poem.

Lord Byron, She walks in beauty Descriptive language that can function as a way for the reader to better imagine the world of the piece of literature and also add symbolism to the work. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. Robert Frost, Stopping by woods on a snowy evening.

A literary device by which a statement is made in the form of a question to give the idea more rhetorical force. What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet? Langston Hughes, Harlem There is a contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between appearance and reality. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; and Brutus is an honorable man.

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar A sentence or series of sentences composed of two or more phrases of similar structure and length. Lewis, Till We Have Faces Two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side to develop comparisons and contrasts.

Merry and tragical? Tedious and brief? That is hot ice, and wondrous strange snow! How shall we find the concord of this discord?