1. LITERARY DEVICES Device Definition Example Alliteration Assonance
Consonance
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Simile
Repetition of words with the same beginning consonant
sounds
Repetition of words with the same vowel sounds
Repetition of words with the same consonant sounds in the middle or end of the word
A comparison that says one thing IS another
Words that sound like the sounds they describe or name
Giving inanimate (nonhuman) objects human characteristics
A comparison using like, as, or than
Sweet smell of success
Too good to be true
Drink your milk quickly
The rain was a song that filled my heart
meow; woof;
clang; splat
The moon smiled peacefully
He was sneaky as a cat.
He was meaner than a junkyard dog.

2. LITERARY DEVICES Device Definition Example Allusion Appositive
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Simile
Reference to a well-known historical event, person, or work of art
(visual, literary, or musical)
A word or group of words next to a that word that renames or identifies it
A deliberate exaggeration intended to make a point
A comparison that says one thing IS another
Words that sound like the sounds they describe or name
Giving inanimate (nonhuman) objects human characteristics
A comparison using like, as, or than
Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel; The yard
was his private
Garden of Eden.
my brother, a human garbage disposal,…
I had a million things to do;
older than dirt.
The rain was a song that filled my heart
meow; woof;
clang; splat
The moon smiled peacefully.
sneaky as a cat. meaner than a junkyard dog.