UNIT I

Lesson 2 Literary Devices

 
Intended Learning Outcomes
 Evaluate the elements and devices of a literary piece
 

Introduction
Literary Devices are techniques and elements that writers use to express their
purpose, emotions, and ideas in an artistic or simple manner. In addition, it highlights the
importance of relevance and relationship of a text to themes (social issues) and
characters (social status). These devices can challenge and motivate our mental and
emotional ability, as each reader has the capacity to think internally and externally,
identify and analyze texts in depth.

 
 
And so we begin!

1. Presentation
Alliteration (a‐LIT‐uh‐RAY‐shuhn): a pattern of sound that includes the repetition
of consonant sounds. The repetition can be located at the beginning of successive
words or inside the words. Poets often use alliteration to audibly represent the
action that is taking place (Borges, p22).
More examples:

"Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite" (Line 13). - Sir Phillip Sidney's
Atrophel and Stella

The peasantry prospered in Israel,

they grew fat on plunder,
because you arose, Deborah
arose as a mother in Israel
- Judges 5:7 (NRSV)

Elegy (EL‐e‐je): a type of literature defined as a song or poem, written in elegiac

couplets, that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who has died. This
type of work stemmed out of a Greek work known as a "elegus," a song of
mourning or lamentation that is accompanied by the flute. Beginning in the 16th
century, elegies took the form we know today (Padgett p62).

Two famous elegies include Thomas Gray’s "Elegy Written in a Country

Churchyard" and Walt Whitman’s "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard
Bloom’d".
Gray’s elegy is notable in that it mourned the loss of a way of life rather than the loss of an
individual. His work, which some consider to be almost political, showed extreme
discontent for strife and tyranny set upon England by Oliver Cromwell. This work also acted
as an outlet for Gray’s dissatisfaction with those poets who wrote in accordance with the
thoughts and beliefs of the upper class. In his elegy, Gray mourned for his country and
mourned for its citizens. Whitman, inspired by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, wrote
his elegy in its classic form, showing sorrow for the loss of an individual. See A Reader’s
Companion to World Literature, and Dictionary of World Literature.  

Free Verse is made up of lines of poetry that are written without rules: no
regular- beat and no rhyme. The vers libre (French for "free verse") movement
began in late nineteenth-century Europe, especially in France. But unrhymed
poetry without a regular rhythm had appeared in translations of the Bible, and one
of the first great poets to use the form was Walt Whitman, an American. Whitman
thought that American poetry should be free of European influence. His collection
of poems, Leaves of Grass (1855), is America's great poetic Declaration of
Independence. All of it is in free verse. Here is an excerpt from the long poem that
came to be called "Song of Myself" (Padgett p85).
The point of free verse is not that it has thrown the traditional rules of poetry out
of the window; it means that every poet who writes in this form must work to
create his or her own rules. These rules are based on our personal thought
patterns, our breath patterns, our sense of how the poem should look on the page,
our deepest feelings about life itself. Free verse grants us the freedom to find our
own rhythm, our own heartbeat, rather than traditional rhymed-and metered
poetry, which insists that we follow the patterns laid down by others.

Hyperbole (hi‐per‐bo‐lee): an extravagant exaggeration. From the Greek for

"overcasting," hyperbole is a figure of speech that is a grossly exaggerated
description or statement. In literature, such exaggeration is used for emphasis or
vivid descriptions (Borges p24).

In drama, hyperbole is quite common, especially in heroic drama. Hyperbole is a

fundamental part of both burlesque writing and the “tall tales” from Western
America. The conscious overstatements of these tales are forms of hyperbole.
Many other examples of hyperbole can be found in the romance fiction and
comedy genres. Hyperbole is even a part of our day‐to‐day speech: ‘You’ve grown
like a bean sprout’ or ‘I’m older than the hills.’ Hyperbole is used to increase the
effect of a description, whether it is metaphoric or comic. In poetry, hyperbole
can emphasize or dramatize a person’s opinions or emotions. Skilled poets use
hyperbole to describe intense emotions and mental states.
Othello uses hyperbole to describe his anger at the possibility of Iago lying about
his wife’s infidelity in Act III, Scene III of Shakespeare’s play Othello:
In this passage, Othello is telling Iago that if he is lying then Othello will have no
pity and Iago will have no hope for salvation. Adding horrors with still more
horrors, Othello is describing his potential rage. Othello even declares that the
Earth will be confounded with horror at Othello’s actions in such a state of
madness.

Metaphor (met‐AH‐for) [from the Gk. carrying one place to another]: a type of
figurative language in which a statement is made that says that one thing is
something else but, literally, it is not. In connecting one object, event, or place,
to another, a metaphor can uncover new and intriguing qualities of the original
thing that we may not normally notice or even consider important. Metaphoric
language is used in order to realize a new and different meaning. As an effect, a
metaphor functions primarily to increase stylistic colorfulness and variety (Borges
p25).

Metaphor is a great contributor to poetry when the reader understands a likeness

between two essentially different things. In his Poetics, Aristotle claims that for
one to master the use of metaphor is “…a sign of genius, since a good metaphor
implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars” (The Poet's
Dictionary).
Personification {PER‐son‐E‐fih‐ka‐shEn): A figure of speech where animals, ideas
or inorganic objects are given human characteristics (Borges p25).

One example of this is James Stephens’s poem "The Wind" in which wind
preforms several actions. In the poem Stephens writes, “The wind stood up and gave
a shout. He whistled on his two fingers.” Of course the wind did not actually "stand
up," but this image of the wind creates a vivid picture of the wind's wild actions.

Another example of personification in this poem is “Kicked the withered

leaves about….And thumped the branches with his hand.” Here, the wind is kicking
leaves about, just like a person would and using hands to thump branches like a
person would also. By giving human characteristics to things that do not have them,
it makes these objects and their actions easier to visualize for a reader. By giving the
wind human characteristics, Stephens makes this poem more interesting and
achieves a much more vivid image of the way wind whips around a room.
Personification is most often used in poetry, coming to popularity during the 18th
century.

Rhyme (rime): repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a

work. Lyricists may find multiple ways to rhyme within a verse. End rhymes have
words that rhyme at the end of a verse‐line. Internal rhymes have words that
rhyme within it (Borges p26).
. Algernon C. Swinburne (1837‐1909), a rebel and English poet, used internal
rhymes in many of his Victorian poems such as “sister, my sister, O fleet sweet
swallow.” There are cross rhymes in which the rhyme occurs at the end of one
line and in the middle of the next; and random rhymes, in which the rhymes
seem to occur accidentally in no specific combination, often mixed with
unrhymed lines. These sort of rhymes try to bring a creative edge to verses that
usually have perfect rhymes in a sequential order.
Historically, rhyme came into poetry late, showing in the Western world around AD
200 in the Church Latin of North Africa. Its popularity grew in Medieval Latin
poetry. The frequently used spelling in English, r*h*y*m*e, comes from a false
identification of the Greek word “rhythmos.” Its true origin comes from
Provencal, which is a relation to Provence, a region of France.

The traditional Scottish ballad, “Edward,” uses end rhymes to describe what he
has done with his sword and property: And what wul ye doe wi’ your towirs and
your ha’ That were sae fair to see, O? Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa’
Rhyme gives poems flow and rhythm, helping the lyricist tell a story and convey a
mood.

Rhythm (''RITH-urn") (or "measure") in writing is like this beat in music. In

poetry, rhythm implies that certain words are produced more forcefully than
others, and may be held for longer duration. The repetition of a pattern of such
emphasis is what produces a "rhythmic effect." The word rhythm comes from the
Greek, meaning "measured motion." In speech, we use rhythm without consciously
creating recognizable patterns. For example, almost every telephone conversation
ends rhythmically, with the conversant understanding as much by rhythm as by the
meaning of the words, that it is time to hang up. Frequently such conversations
end with Conversant A uttering a five- or six-syllable line, followed by Conversant
B's five to six syllables, followed by A's two- to four-syllable line, followed by B's
two to four syllables, and so on until the receivers are cradled.

Sonnet (sonn‐IT): a sonnet is a distinctive poetic style that uses system or pattern
of metrical structure and verse composition usually consisting of fourteen lines,
arranged in a set rhyme scheme or pattern. There are two main styles of sonnet,
the Italian sonnet and the English sonnet. The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, named
after Petrarch (1304‐1374) a fourteenth century writer and the best known poet to
use this form, was developed by the Italian poet Guittone of Arezzo (1230‐1294) in
the thirteenth century (Borges p27).
Usually written in iambic pentameter, it consists first of an octave, or eight lines,
which asks a question or states a problem or proposition and follows the rhyme
scheme a‐b‐b‐a, a‐b‐b‐a. The sestet, or last six lines, offers an answer, or a
resolution to the proposed problem, and follows the rhyme scheme c‐d‐e‐c‐d‐e.

Simile (sim‐EH‐lee): a simile is a type of figurative language, language that does

not mean exactly what it says, that makes a comparison between two otherwise
unalike objects or ideas by connecting them with the words "like" or "as." The
reader can see a similar connection with the verbs resemble, compare and liken
(Borges p26). Similes allow an author to emphasize a certain characteristic of an
object by comparing that object to an unrelated object that is an example of that
characteristic. An example of a simile can be seen in the poem “Robin Hood and
Allin a Dale”:

In this poem, the lass did not literally glisten like gold, but by comparing the lass
to the gold the author emphasizes her beauty, radiance and purity, all things
 associated with gold. Similarly, in N. Scott Momaday’s simple poem, “Simile.” he
says that the two characters in the poem are like deer who walk in a single line
with their heads high with their ears forward and their eyes watchful. By
comparing the walkers to the nervous deer, Momaday emphasizes their care and
caution. Another example of simile:

2. Practice

Instructions: Share a part of yourself through a poem. Choose only two of the
literary devices. Underline these
I Love Life and identify the type of each.
I love life, for every little things,
ANSWERS HERE Whatever problems, life may brings.
Life is full of challenges and pain,
Just rid that negativity in your brain.

Love whatever you're doing,

Never surrender, like tomorrow's never ending
Love yourself fearlessly,
Like it's burning endlessly.

The first underlined stanza is Rhyme and the last stanza is Simile.
3. Performance

Instructions: Compose your own poem and use five types literary devices in
writing it. Underline these and identify its type. Be guided by the
rubrics given. Make sure to create an original composition.

Life's A Battle

Life's a battle we must conquer, ] Rhyme

Never surrender, strive harder. ] Rhyme
Like a turtle in a race, ] Simile
Never giving up, like a fighter. ] Simile

Dream big, aim high in life,

Like a rainbow, bringing light to life. ] Simile
Be that star in galaxy, ] Hyperbole
Twinkling and shining endlessly. ] Hyperbole

When danger attacks our dreams, ] Personification

Stand tall, kill that threatening distress. ] Personification
Success may be so fleeting, ] Metaphor
It isn't perennial, but there's no loss in
fighting. ] Metaphor

RUBRIC: Poetry Writing

10 9-8 7-5 4-0 Remarks

WORD CHOICE

Writer uses vibrant Writer use language Writer uses words Writer uses a
language that that allows the communicatively, limited vocabulary
lingers the reader’s reader to understand but writing lacks that does not capture
mind to see what is variety. the reader’s interest.
being written about.

USE OF
LITERARY
DEVICES
 The literary devices There’s a missing There are no devices
The use of literary are present, though literary device from being used.
devices is creative the use is not the lines.
and logical. entirely creative or
even logical.

CONTENT

Writer fully aware The supporting The supporting The supporting

the concept of the details are relevant details are relevant, details are
poem with relevant however; one point but several portions completely unclear.
details. of the poem is are not cited in the
unsupported. poem.

SPELLING

Writer makes no Writer makes one Writer commits few Writer commits
errors in spelling. error in spelling. errors in spelling. several errors in
spelling.

TOTAL SCORE: ________________

References
Abarabar, Maria Teresa A., Estipona, Michael Ian Benedict P., Galvez, Nicolas M.,
Magbitang, Virna-Angelly D., Ribo, Lourdes M. (2016). Language in Literature
World Literature. Vibal Group, Inc. 0290 Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City
Borges, Leila. British and American Literature. Univercidadi, Centro Universitario
Da Cidade.
Carbonell, Victoria L., Ribo, Lourdes M. (2016). Language in Literature Philippine
Literature. Vibal Group, Inc. 0290 Nivel Hills, Lahug, Cebu City
Padgett, Ron. (1987).The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. New
York, N.Y. 10003