Literary Devices Examples
Literary Devices are used by authors to create a special effect in the writing. There are two main types of literary devices. Unlike the elements of literature (i.e. setting, character, plot), literary devices are not necessary as part of the text. Instead, they add to the meaning of the text by conveying what the author would like to say in a unique way.
There are many different types of literary devices, including all types of figurative language. These are some common examples:
- Metaphor-comparing two unlike objects
- Simile-comparing two unlike objects by using like or as
- Hyperbole--exaggeration
- Personification-giving living characteristics to an inanimate object
- Flashback-deviating from the plot of the story to "flash back" to a previous point in time
Examples of Literary Devices from Literature
Metaphor-Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"
I shall be telling this with a sigh / somewhere ages and ages hence. / Two roads diverged in a wood, and I / I took the one less traveled by / and that has made all the difference.
Simile-Robert Burns' "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose"
Oh, my love's like a red, red rose / that's newly sprung in June; / Oh, my love's like a melody / that's sweetly played in June.
Hyperbole-from Pinocchio
He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills..."
Personification-from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
"The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night."
|
Related Links: Examples Literary Terms Examples |