Name: _____________________________________ Block: ______

Literary Devices + Techniques

 Allusion- A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary of political
significance.
o “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate
lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.
o The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes. – This is an allusion to one of Greek
Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
o “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a biblical allusion to the garden in the Book of Genesis.

 Simile- A kind of figurative language which makes a comparison between two things using the words “like” or
“as”
o John is as slow as a snail.
o Love is like a rose.

 Metaphor- A kind of figurative language which makes a comparison between two things without using the
words “like” or “as”
o John is the black sheep of the family.
o Love is a rose.

 Imagery- Detailed descriptions that appeal to the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell)
o "The golden yellow sunlight filtered down through the pale new leaves on the oak trees, coming to rest
on Jessica's brown toes that were splayed in the red Georgia mud." – This describes color and includes
visual descriptions(sight)
o "I could hear the popping and crackling as mom dropped the bacon into the frying pan, and soon the
salty, greasy smell wafted toward me." – This describes sounds and smells

 Foreshadowing- When an author gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story
o Anton Chekhov (A Russian writer, playwright and doctor) once said “One must not put a loaded rifle on
the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.”

 Personification- A figure of speech in which a thing is given human attributes.

o The wind whispered through dry grass.
o The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.

 Hyperbole- An exaggeration.
o Your book bag weighs a thousand pounds!
o I have a million things to do.

 Onomatopoeia- A word which imitates a sound.

o The buzzing bee flew away.
o The books fell on the table with a loud thump.
 Alliteration- When the same letter or sound repeats at the beginning of words.
o Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.
o She swam smoothly into the sea.

 Rhyme- Words, lines, or syllables that end with the same or similar sound.
o Cat, bat, rat, sat, mat
o I sent my balloon to the moon!

 Synonyms- A word that has the same or similar meaning to another word.
o Beautiful  Pretty, attractive, stunning, gorgeous
o Sad  Melancholy, depressed, upset, unhappy, gloomy

 Idiom- Words or phrases that have a meaning that are not meant to be taken literally. Idioms are unique to each
human language.
o That test was a piece of cake.
o I didn't do my homework, so now I have to face the music.

Literary Elements

 Characterization- The process by which an author reveals a character’s personality traits. Characterization can
be direct (the author tells us something about a character) or indirect (the author shows us something about a
character).
o Direct: The character Harry Potter is described as someone who is “brave and cares about his friends”
o Indirect: The character Harry Potter is shown fighting dragons in order to save his friends.

 Plot- A literary term used to describe the events that make up a story. Typically plot is divided as follows:
o Exposition- The beginning of the story where characters and setting are established
o Rising Action- A series of events build up to the conflict.
o Climax- The turning point of the story, meant to be the moment of highest interest and emotion.
o Falling Action- Events begin to resolve and tension decreases
o Resolution- The end of the story, can be tragic or happy.

 Conflict- A literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces. Conflict can be internal (inside
of a character) or external (outside of a character).
o Batman suffers from internal, psychological conflict about whether he is a good or bad person.
o Batman also deals with external conflict, for example, if he’s battling the Joker.

 Setting- An environment or surrounding in which a story takes place. Can be a location, time period, geographic
setting, etc.
o The novel The Hunger Games takes place in a futuristic, dystopian setting in North America.