Literary Tools

Literary
Tools
#1
 
 ALLITERATION
–
The
repetition
of
the
same
consonant
sounds
at
the
beginning
of
words.

 (Example
–
Sweet,
scented
stuff)
 
 ALLUSION
–
an
implicit
reference
within
a
literary
work
to
a
historical
or
literary
person,
place
 or
event.
(Example
–
In
The
Secret
Life
of
Bees,
August
refers
to
Jane
Eyre,
a
novel
by
Charlotte
 Brontë.)
 
 IRONY/IRONIC
–
The
contrast
between
what
is
stated
explicitly
and
what
is
really
meant,
or
the
 difference
between
what
appears
to
be
and
what
is
actually
true.
Irony
is
often
used
to
create
 poignancy
or
humor.
In
general,
there
are
three
major
types
of
irony
used
in
language:
 (1)
verbal
irony
–
when
the
words
literally
state
the
opposite
of
the
writer’s
(or
 speaker’s)
meaning
 (2)
situational
irony
–
when
events
turn
out
the
opposite
of
what
was
expected;
when
 what
the
characters
and
readers
think
ought
to
happen
is
not
what
does
happen
 (3)
dramatic
irony
–
when
facts
or
events
are
unknown
to
a
character
in
a
play
or
piece
of
 Fiction
but
known
to
the
reader,
audience,
or
other
characters
in
the
work.
 
 METAPHOR
–
a
comparison
of
one
thing
to
another
NOT
using
“like”
or
“as.”
(Example–
Life
is
 but
a
walking
shadow,
a
poor
player
who
struts
and
frets
his
hour
upon
the
stage.)
 
 ONOMATOPOEIA
–
the
use
of
words
that
make
sounds.
(Example
–
plop,
plop,
fizz,
fizz,
oh,
what
 a
relief
it
is).
 
 OXYMORON
­
a
self­contradictory
expression
(Example:
It's
the
same
difference.
Or
as
 uttered
in
Romeo
and
Juliet,
"Parting
is
such
sweet
sorrow."
 
 PARADOX
­
A
statement
that
is
contradictory
on
the
surface
but
expresses
a
deeper
truth
 (Example:
For
someone
with
such
a
warm
personality,
you
have
a
cold
heart)
 
 PERSONIFICATION
–
The
use
of
human
characteristics
to
describe
animals,
things
or
ideas.
 (Example
–
The
sun
was
smiling
on
the
sunbathers).
 
 PUN
­
A
pun
is
a
word
employed
in
two
senses,
or
a
word
used
in
a
context
that
suggests
a
 second
term
sounding
like
it.
Puns
are
usually
used
for
comic
effect.
(“During
the
two
previous
 centuries
musical
styles
went
in
one
era
and
out
the
other.”)
 
 SIMILE
­
a
comparison
of
two
things
that
seem
unalike,
using
the
words,
“like”
or
as.”
 (Example
–
My
love
is
like
a
red,
red
rose.)
 
 SYMBOLISM
­
a
symbol
or
object
that
stands
for
another
word
or
object.
The
object
or
word
can
 be
seen
with
the
eye
or
not
visible.
(Example:
a
dove
stands
for
peace
or
purity.
The
dove
can
be
 seen
and
peace
or
purity
cannot)