The cool things the authors do! Literary devices The cool things the authors do!

Imagery Imagery means “painting a picture” for your reader. Authors use imagery to help their reader “see” the story in action. Authors “paint” with words.

Ways to use imagery Sight The forest was as black as night… Sound It sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard… Taste The taste of the strawberries reminded her of a hot summer day… Touch The shirt felt like sandpaper on his sunburned skin… Smell The smell could only be described as something close to rotting meat…

Analogies: Metaphor & simile Analogies (a-nal-oh-geez) are comparisons. Analogies are made up of metaphors (met-a-four) and similes (sim-a-lees) are figures of speech that compare two things that are unlike one another. They help us visualize something by giving us a different example to compare it to. Metaphors don’t use like or as to compare two different things. Example: “His stomach tightened into a series of rolling knots and his breath came in short bursts.” Hatchet p. 27 Similes use like or as to compare. Example: “And now a jolt took him like a hammerblow, so forcefully that he seemed to crush back into the seat…” Hatchet p. 10

Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (on-oh-mah-toe-pea-ya) means a sound word. Examples: boo!, arrr!, meow!, zing!, crash!

Alliteration Alliteration (a-lit-ter-ation): repeating the beginning consonant (not vowels) sounds of two or more words close by each other. Many tongue twisters use alliteration! Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, if Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many peppers did Peter Piper pick? This tongue twister repeats the consonant sound of P.

hyperbole Hyperbole (hi-per-bow-lee): an exaggerated figure of speech. We use it to emphasize or add an effect to what we’re saying. Many times we confuse it with similes because we compare two different things, but what makes something a hyperbole is the E-X-A-G-G-E-R-A-T-I-O-N with it. Examples: His eyes were as round as saucers (small plates)! I nearly died laughing! I could sleep for a year! I’ve told you a millions times!

Repetition Repetition means to repeat something over and over. Authors do this to show urgency or importance. Example: “Divorce. A breaking word, an ugly breaking word. Divorce. Secrets. No, not secrets so much as just the Secret. What he knew and had not told anybody, what he knew about his mother that had caused the divorce, what he knew, what he knew-the Secret. Divorce.” Hatchet p. 3

Idioms Idioms (id-e-yumms) are sayings. These are things that are specific to the area or region that they are being used in. In English, we have idioms such as “spick and span” which we know means clean. People in other countries might not understand what this means.