Sometimes my kids ask why they need to learn something. Often I tell them they need to learn it in order to be an educated human. This usually does the trick. But literary devices are all around us in the books we read, the conversations we have, and even in the analyses we make. We need to know these literary devices to be successful in school and in life.
Here are the 10 most useful literary devices:
10. Irony
words used that often mean something different or the opposite of what they mean
A man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for unpaid parking tickets.
9. Parallelism
repetition of words or phrases to emphasize a point
My favorite foods are pizza, chocolate, steak and donuts.
8. Metaphor
compares two things where one is the other
He is the apple of my eye.
7. Simile
compares two things using like or as
He is as fast as a cheetah.
6. Oxymoron:
the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated words
The paper tablecloth flapped in the wind.
5. Onomatopoeia
words that represent sounds
The floor board squeaked as I ran across it.
4. Personification
using animals or inanimate objects are given human qualities
The clock screamed the time.
3. Alliteration
repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Sister Susie sat in the sun.
2. Hyperbole
an exaggeration
The dog weighed a ton.
1. Imagery
descriptive language that attempts to invoke one or more of the five senses
The azure sky melted into the horizon across the tumbling waves.