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Jan 4, 2021 · Learning basic literary terms is something anyone can do, even kids! Find out how fun and easy learning literary language is with this list of examples.
- Allegory
- Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance
- Allusion
- Analogy
- Anthropomorphism
- Aside
- Caricature
- Connotation and Denotation
- Dialect and Diction
- Double Entendre
In an allegory, the writer uses one thing to stand in for another. In other words, what seems like a simple tale has a much deeper, hidden meaning. Allegories are often used for political or moral commentary. Example: George Orwell’s Animal Farmappears to be a story about farm animals rebelling against the farmer. But Orwell was actually writing ab...
Source: The Hyperbolit School These examples of literary devices all refer to the sounds of words. In alliteration, all or most of the words begin with the same sound (usually a consonant), while in assonance, they use the same vowel sound throughout. Consonance is the repeated use of similar sounds throughout words—think tongue twisters! Examples:...
An allusion is a way to call something to mind without stating it directly. It requires the reader to have shared background knowledge with the writer. Allusions are often historical, mythological, literary, or religious in nature. Example: “He never wants to spend money on anything. He’s such a Scrooge!” This allusion requires the reader to be fam...
An analogy shows how two seemingly dissimilar things are actually alike, to help illustrate a larger point. It’s similar to a metaphor or simile, but usually more complex. Writers often use an analogy to help a reader understand a difficult topic by relating it to something they already know. Example: Perhaps the easiest analogy for students to und...
When an author uses anthropomorphism, they give human characteristics to non-human beings or objects. It’s similar to personification, but in anthropomorphism, the being or object generally actually acts like a human. Examples: Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, is the story of a horse’s life, narrated by the horse just a like a person writing their aut...
When a character shares their thoughts directly with the audience, that’s known as an “aside.” (This is sometimes known as “breaking the fourth wall” since the character is acknowledging that the audience exists.) This is most commonly used in plays, but you’ll also find it in third-person narration, when the narrator expresses an opinion about the...
You’re probably familiar with a caricature drawing, in which a person’s most identifying (and often worst) qualities or features are emphasized. In writing, caricature is similar. A writer emphasizes a character’s qualities, often for humorous effect. Example: Many Disney villains are caricatures, such as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. Gaston is p...
Source: Storyboard That These examples of literary devices refer to a word’s meaning. A denotation is the dictionary definition of a word, while connotation refers to the cultural and emotional associations of a word. Words can have positive and negative connotations. Example: Wall Street’s denotation is a street in lower Manhattan where the New Yo...
Two more examples of literary devices that are often taught together are dialect and diction. Dialect is the word usage, syntax, and grammar of a specific group of people, while diction refers to the way they pronounce words. These groups could be by region (Southern American English), class (British cockney), or other cultural differences. Use of ...
This French phrase (pronounced “ahn-TAHN-druh”) translates to “double meaning,” and it describes a word or phrase that has just that—more than one meaning. These can often be a little risqué or off-color. Example: In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” the title itself is a double entendre. “Game” can refer to both the creature being hunted ...
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What are some examples of figurative language?
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Is imagery a figurative language?
Oct 27, 2023 · Kids Encyclopedia Facts. Literal and figurative language is a distinction within some fields of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics. Literal language uses words exactly according to their conventionally accepted meanings or denotation. Figurative (or non-literal) language uses words in a way that deviates from ...
Nov 21, 2023 · Whereas figurative language imbues communication with a little something extra, the job of literal language is to ensure that ideas are clear and precise. Generally, informational texts, such as ...
For example, that sentence about the popcorn also contained another literary device called onomatopoeia, which is a big word that's fun to say (on-o-motto-pee-uh). An onomatopoeia is a word that ...
Figurative language refers to language that contains figures of speech, while figures of speech are the particular techniques. If figurative speech is like a dance routine, figures of speech are like the various moves that make up the routine. It's a common misconception that imagery, or vivid descriptive language, is a kind of figurative language.
Shelley has taught at the middle school level for 10 years and has a master's degree in teaching English. Figurative language is a tool used in literature to help convey an author's meaning ...
