Literary Devices

Symbolism Symbols are things which represent other things: the stars and stripes is a symbol of the United States of America A dove represents peace Writers use symbols in their stories, poems, and essays to help convey their ideas to readers; the difference is that good writers do not often use symbols as easily recognized as the flag or a dove, and frequently they do not identify symbols as “symbols.”

metaphor The word metaphor is rooted in greek and indicates a transference– in writing, this means a direct transference of the qualities of one thing to another. Example-angry storm Transferring the human quality of emotion Personification-giving something nonhuman human qualities (personification, anthropomorphism)

simile Is a type of metaphor. Like or as is used when comparing two things. Her voice is smooth like honey. Use of the words “like” or “as” in a description indicates a simile.

allusion Writers often use allusion, which means reference to people, objects, events, or literary works outside the story, essay or poem at hand. These references can help the reader to understand the writer’s attitude toward people and things and may indicate the overall theme of a story, essay, or poem.

theme Central concern, idea, message, thought of a given piece of writing. Theme is what the writer hopes to communicate to the reader; it is the reason the writer say down to write a particular story, essay, or poem. Way to determine the theme The author believes that…