Mastering Literary Devices in Writing

1. Literary Devices • Paraphrase • Figure of Speech • Simile • Metaphor • Personification

2. Paraphrase:a restatement of a text in your own words Paraphrasing a test can help you clarify and interpret difficult or ambiguous passages

3. Figure of Speech:an expression or word used imaginatively rather than literally Used in poetry and prose to make ideas more memorable and forceful

4. Simile:makes a direct comparison between two subjects using either like or as My love is like a red, red rose. The kitten’s purr was like an engine running wide open.

5. Metaphor:implies a comparison between things which are commonly thought to be dissimilar The kitten’s motor purred loudly as it left skid marks across the floor.

6. Some famous metaphors • No man is an island • -John Donne All the world is a stage and all the men and women in it merely players -William Shakespeare

7. Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. • -William Butler Yeats O Captain my Captain! Our fearful trip is done The ship has weathered every track, the prize we sought was won; -Walt Whitman

8. Personification:figure of speech in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics Let the rain sing you a lullaby. The alarm clock screamed out its early morning greeting.

9. The End