Literary Devices

Inference: a conclusion based on facts or assumptions. Everyone makes inferences everyday. There are two types of inferences: supported and unsupported. An example of a supported inference would be assuming that a person wearing a letter jacket is (or has been) in sports. An unsupported inference would be that it’s going to rain in Phoenix a year from today. Both supported and unsupported inferences can be wrong. (For instance, the person wearing a letter jacket could have borrowed it from someone because they were cold.)

Theme: the underlying idea or statement that the author is trying to get across. Having baby carrots, baby potatoes, and veal (baby cow) might be a possible theme for a baby shower.

Supporting detail: facts or statements that back up the topic sentence. If a student were writing an essay about why ice-cream should be given to students passing AIMS, one of their topic sentences might be that it would put students in a good mood. The supporting details might be that being in a good mood and having a good attitude increases performance so students who are fed ice-cream will get better scores on AIMS. Every paragraph in the body of an essay needs at least TWO supporting details.

Tone: the emotion expressed in writing. Tone is the same in writing as it is in speaking. How do you know when your best friend is angry with you? The tone of their voice usually clues you in. In the same way, the reader can uncover the tone in writing. Some examples of tone are humorous, sarcastic, frustrated, and excited.

Literary device: a word or phrase used in writing or speech that has a special effect. All the words on this page are literary devices. They are terms writers use to define common practices in writing. Literary devices help the reader to understand something in more depth. For instance, using tone to determine the true meaning of what someone is saying leads to a better understanding of the teller’s feelings.

Thesis: the main idea or purpose in an essay or story. There are several ways theses can be written. Students are taught to write, “The U.S. needs to pull out of Iraq because it is a waste of resources, money, and lives. This thesis can also be written as, “The U.S. needs to pull out of Iraq”. Both theses summarize what the paper is about. The only difference is the first gives the outline of the paper.

Simile: a comparison between two unlike things using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’. Romantic poetry oftentimes compares the lover’s eyes to wells of deep water or twinkling stars. The person’s eyes aren’t really made of water or are stars. The author is saying water and stars are similar to eyes in some way(s). For another example, if I say that Jane Doe is as thin as a toothpick, I do not mean she is a toothpick, rather that they have something in common; their unnatural thinness.

Metaphor: a figure of speech that compares two unlike things not using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. There are many different types of metaphors. The one students are probably most familiar with is a statement along the lines of “Joe is a pig”. Joe isn’t really a pig, but he has something in common with a pig; probably his eating habits. Another metaphor is an extended metaphor, which discusses an item as something else throughout a piece of writing instead of only one sentence. (See “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickenson.)

Narrator, 1st person: the person who is telling the story. The first person narrator is always a character involved in the tale. There is no such thing as a 2nd person narrator! The books To Kill a Mockingbird and Diary of Anne Frank are 1st person narratives.

Narrator, 3rd person omniscient: the all-knowing observer who is telling the story. An all-knowing narrator knows everything! If this is not the case, it is 3rd person limited. “Star Wars” would be an example of an omniscient 3rd person narrator because the narrator knows what’s happening on the good side and dark side throughout the series.

Narrator, 3rd person limited: the observer with incomplete knowledge who is telling the story. 3rd person limited is the most common type of narrator. The books/movies about Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings are examples of 3rd person limited narrators.

Dialogue: a conversation between two or more people in writing. Any time in writing where quotes are used and more than one person is talking, dialogue is taking place.

Setting: the time of day/year; historical period, place, and situation of a story.

Stanza: a group of lines in a poem that form a single unit. Stanzas are separated by a space (double hitting the enter key). It is helpful to think about stanzas as a paragraph in writing because usually a new stanza begins a new idea.

Central argument: the main idea or purpose of a piece of writing. This is the same thing as a thesis statement! If the test is asking what the central argument is insert the word thesis into the question.

Irony: a type of humor when words or phrases mean the opposite of their real meaning and/or when something completely unexpected and out of place happens. (See irony page)

Cause and effect: a plan for studying a subject by examining the reasons for specific actions or events (cause) and the consequences or results of certain causes (effect). If a person chooses to drink and drive, they might get into an accident. The effect is the accident and the cause is drinking.

Figurative language: the use of words to create vivid pictures and ideas in the mind of the reader; not meant to be literally true. Anytime the meaning of a phrase or word is not literal (meaning exactly what is said), it is figurative language, which can be in the form of other literary devices. Similes, metaphors, cultural sayings, and personification are all examples of figurative language. Sayings like ‘break a leg’ and ‘the early bird catches the worm’ are examples of figurative language. We are not telling someone to actually break their leg or go catch worm; we’re telling them good luck and to get started with whatever needs to be done.

Symbol: a person, place, thing, or event thing that stands for something beyond itself. A dove is a symbol of peace, a wedding ring is a symbol of devotion/love, the American flag is a symbol of freedom, etc.

Rhyme: two words that sound alike. Hat/cat, fish/wish, and game/claim are all examples of rhyme.