1. Irony There are three types, with very different definitions:
Verbal (saying one thing, and meaning something completely different. This is also described as sarcasm).
Situational (when events that occur, people’s behavior, or things that are said are the opposite of what you expected to happen).
Dramatic (when the audience or reader has knowledge that characters in the book do not).

2. How do you recognize irony in a text?
It depends on the type!
Verbal- understand the tone of characters, and whether what they are saying seems to match up with what you know about their emotions towards another character, an action, a place, etc.
Situational- Look for what you expected to happen and take note of when something you didn’t expect to happen, happens! This one is important to take note of IN THE MOMENT of reading!
Dramatic- Pay close attention to what characters tell other characters that you know to be untrue, or to information not shared with other characters that you already know about.

3. Find the examples of irony in the passage to the right.

4. Personification:
Giving human characteristics or actions to objects that are inanimate or inhuman.
How can you recognize personification?
Is something being described by exaggerating the abilities of an object or animal? Ask yourself, can the object actually accomplish the verb in the quote?

5. Find the examples of personification in the poem to the right.

6. How do you recognize allusions in a text?
Allusion is a reference within a work to a famous person, place, event, or another work.
How do you recognize allusions in a text?
Is a character talking about a name that is unfamiliar to the book (or familiar in your life)? Is a place mentioned, or a piece of art/literature/music?

7. Find the example of allusion in the poem to the right.

8. Metaphor/ Simile
Metaphor: A comparison between two things without using like/as.
Simile: A comparison between two things using like/as.
How do you recognize metaphors or similes in a text?
Is there a comparison between two things? It is automatically one or the other of these two literary elements.

9. Find the examples of simile/metaphor in the poem to the right.

10. Symbolism:
Symbolism: an alternative meaning given to an object beyond its physical state.
How can you recognize symbols in the book?
Look for objects/ideas/colors/people that reappear multiple times, and seem to have a significance beyond what they actually are- they mean something more than just what they physically are.
If you can identify a physical object with an abstract meaning beyond the object itself, you’ve likely found a symbol.

11. Find the example of symbolism in the passage to the right.