Understanding Literary Style

Literary Devices or Figures of

Speech
IMAGERY
● In general, an image is used to help the reader see, hear, taste,
feel, think about or generally understand more clearly what is being
said
● Pictures through words
● Allows readers to make connections to their own emotional,
intellectual or spiritual experiences

E.g. The moon was clear and bright.

Figurative Imagery
● a.k.a. “non-literal” imagery
● Used frequently by writers
● Objects being described are compared to something else with which
they share something in common.
● It is a language that suggests more than it states (non-literal)
SIMILE *
● makes the direct comparison between two different things
clearly by using the words “like” or “as”
E.g. I snuggled in the grass like a bug basking in the
sun.
E.g. When the gates were opened, the mobs surged
forward like a burst dam.
E.g. Like a writhing snake, the broken electrical wires hissed and
twisted in the damp grass.
METAPHOR *
● creates a comparison between two different things WITHOUT
using the words “like” or “as”
E.g. He is a bull on the outside but a dove on the inside.
E.g. His fear was a prison, stronger than any more visible
barricade.
E.g. The cat’s eyes were jewels, gleaming out of the darkness.
Analogy
● a longer more detailed comparison of two ideas or situations

E.g. Some people live their lives like a sheet of scrapped paper
blown along a windy street; they are carried this way and that with
no apparent effort or ability to control their direction.
ALLUSION *
● a reference, within a literary work, to another work of fiction, a film,
a piece of art, or even a real event.

E.g. The baseball player hit four homeruns in a game; this took a
herculean effort to accomplish.

E.g. It rained so long, it felt like it rained 40 days and nights.

(reference to Noah’s ark)
APOSTROPHE *
● occurs when a poet addresses a dead or absent person, or an
abstract or inanimate object (used frequently in odes/elegies)

E.g. Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour.

PERSONIFICATION *
● occurs when an object or idea is given human qualities or actions.

E.g. The wind stood up and gave a shout!

E.g. The wind whistled through the trees.
E.g. The house on the hillside waited patiently for the master to
return.
E.g. Time stood still as the sun was smiling.
HYPERBOLE *
● an overstatement or extreme exaggeration, which is not meant to
be taken literally.

E.g. I have a million things to do today.

E.g. Gus makes so much money, there isn’t enough room in the
vault at the bank to store it.
E.g. I am so hungry I could eat a horse!
METONYMY *
● a figure of speech that replaces the name of one thing with the
name of something else closely associated with it.

E.g. “The pen is mightier than the sword” whose literal meaning is
that writing is more effective than fighting.
PARADOX *
● is found in a statement or phrase that is apparently
self-contradictory. The reader is forced to find a way or a context in
which the statement could be true.

E.g. The child is father of the man (“My Heart Leaps Up” – William
Wordsworth)

E.g. Sarah tells a lie to tell the truth.

E.g. Peace is war.

OXYMORON *
● similar to paradox, in that it describes a contradiction, but it is
compressed into two words or a short phrase. It places two
opposites together to create a particular effect.

E.g. bittersweet, living death, jumbo shrimp, act naturally, tragic

comedy, clearly confused, minor crisis, seriously funny, rolling stop,
plastic glasses, etc.
PUN *
● known as a “play on words” that is created by using a word that
reminds us of other words of similar or identical sound but of
different denotation. Often used to create humour.
E.g. Take arms (the weapon) with your arms (body part) to defend the
Canadian principles stated in the Coat of Arms!
(makes use of homonyms – same spelling/sound, different meaning)

E.g. The bear was bare because he had no hair or My son is like the sun.
(makes use of homophones – different spelling, same sound)

E.g. “I’ve always regarded archery as an aimless sport”, he said with a

quiver.
E.g. “You want some ribs? They’re on me!”

E.g. A doctor liked to

needle his patients
to make a point.
E.g. Mike entered the funeral home
and said, “Wow! It’s really dead in here”.

E.g. Lisa went to the cemetery yesterday.

She said it was just packed –
people were dying just to get in.
Aural Imagery
● Has a great impact on our sense of hearing
● Most common devices used to create aural images are alliteration,
assonance, consonance and onomatopoeia.
ALLITERATION *
● involves the repetition of the same consonant sound at the
beginning of each word over several words together

E.g. The fair breeze blew, while the foam flew and furrow followed
free.

E.g. Tongue Twisters: “She sells seashells by the seashore”, “Rubber

baby buggy bumpers”, etc.
ASSONANCE *
● involves the repetition of similar vowel sounds within the stressed
syllables of a series of words to create a particular effect.

E.g. the bows glided down, and the coast

Blackened with birds took a last look…

E.g. The sky’s brightness is high.

CONSONANCE *
● the repetition of the same consonant sound in a series of words in
which the vowel sounds are different; may occur in the middle or
end of a series of words.

E.g. All mammals named Sam are clammy.

ONOMATOPOEIA *
● occurs when the sound of a word reflects its meaning.

E.g. Slithering and pluck

E.g. “bang”, “boom”, etc.

ANAPHORA *
● the repetition of a phrase or a word at the beginning of successive
clauses.

E.g. I am a rose and I am a dove

E.g. I will pass this course. I will not quit. I will fight to the end.
REPETITION *
● the repetition of a word, phrase or line in a verse or poem.

E.g. An energizer battery keeps going, and going, and going, and
going…

E.g. I love St. Roch. I love St. Roch. I love St.Roch.

INTERNAL RHYME*
● a rhyme within the same line in a verse or poem.

E.g. The fat cat hit the ball with the bat before he sat down.
END RHYME *
● When a word at the end of one line of poetry rhymes (sounds the
same as) a word at the end of another line.
 Irony - 3 types

1. Situational irony –
when things don’t turn
out as expected.

E.g. the turtle wins

a race against
a hare (in the
tortoise and the
hare story)
2. Dramatic irony – when the audience knows something a
character in a story does not

E.g. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, we know Juliet is just

“sleeping”, but Romeo believes her to be dead and so kills
himself.
3. Verbal irony (sarcasm) – saying one thing but meaning
another

E.g. Watching it rain, he said, “Lovely day for a picnic!”

IS it really IRONIC, Alanis Morissette?
Foreshadowing
● hints or clues in a work of literature as to what is to come
later in the work.
E.g. When Nick proposes to Linda, a terrible lightning
bolt splits the tree they are sitting next to in half,
foreshadowing that their relationship will soon end too.

Here are some common indications of foreshadowing:

● Dialogue, such as “I have a bad feeling about this”
● Symbols, such as blood, certain colors, types of birds, weapons.
● Weather motifs, such as storm clouds, wind, rain, clearing skies.
● Omens, such as prophecies or broken mirror.
Symbolism
● The practice of using an object (symbol) to represent or suggest
something else, or abstract ideas/concepts.

E.g. a heart is used to represent love.

Diction
● the choice of words the author uses.
● Helps to establish the setting and context of a story; or reveal
something about the characters; or establish a narrative voice and
tone.
E.g. Bring that utensil to me stat.
(stat means right away among doctors)

Various types of diction:

● Formal diction - for formal situations such as a press conference
● Informal diction - informal or conversational words, such as writing
or talking to friends
● Colloquial diction - uses words common to everyday speech, which
vary from different regions, social groups or communities
Pathetic Fallacy
● When the weather or forces in nature mirror a character’s emotions or
feelings or the story’s events.

Eg. When a character is sad, it begins to rain.