Literary Devices in Pop Culture!

LITERARY DEVICES

 

 

Alliteration: The repetition of
consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive words within
the same sentence or line.

EXAMPLE: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Imagery: Language
which describes something in detail, using words to substitute for and create
sensory stimulation, including visual imagery and sound imagery. Also refers to
specific and recurring types of images, such as food imagery and nature
imagery.

EXAMPLE: The author’s use of visual imagery is impressive; the reader
is able to see the island in all its lush, colorful splendor by reading
Golding’s detailed descriptions.

Metaphor: A
direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another.

EXAMPLE: Shakespeare often uses light as a metaphor for Juliet; Romeo
refers to her as the sun, as “a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear,” and as a solitary
dove among crows.

 

Simile: An
indirect relationship where one thing or idea is described as being similar to
another. Similes usually contain the words “like” or “as,” but not always.

EXAMPLE: The simile in line 10 describes the lunar eclipse: “The moon
appeared crimson, like a drop of blood hanging in the sky.”

Personification (I) Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are seemingly endowed
with human self-awareness; where human thoughts, actions and perceptions are
directly attributed to inanimate objects or abstract ideas (not to be confused
with anthropomorphism).

EXAMPLE: Malamud personifies Hobbs’
bat, giving it a name, Wonderboy, referring to it using personal pronouns, and
stating that “he went hungry” during Hobbs’
batting slump.

 

Personification (II) Where an abstract concept, such as a particular human behavior or a
force of nature, is represented as a person.

EXAMPLE: The Greeks personified natural forces as gods; for example,
the god Poseidon was the personification of the sea and its power over
man.