Literary Devices- Grade 8
Allegory: A story illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meanings.
Alliteration: Two or more words in a line begin with a similar sound or the same letter. Ex) Silly Sally Sat Silently
Allusion: A brief reference to a person, event, place, or phrase. The writer assumes the reader will recognize the referenceEx) A story that states the character cried for 40 days and for 40 nights, is alluding to Jesus or Moses in the bible.
Antagonist: A major character in a text that is in conflict with the protagonist. Ex) The Antagonist in the Little Red Riding Hood is The Big Bad Wolf as he is in conflict with the main character, Little Red.
Antonym: A word that has the opposite meaning. Ex) The antonym of inside is outside.
Colloquialism: The use of informal speech often employed through dialogue. Ex) What’s up. Hey, Ma,
Fiction: Novels or stories that describe imaginary people and events.
Foreshadowing: When future events in a story are hinted at in a novel, before they happen.
Genre: a literary species or form. Ex) tragedy, epic, comedy, novel, essay, biography, lyric poem.
Hyperbole: A description that exaggerates. Ex) His jaw dropped to the floor
Idiom: A speech form or an expression of a given language that or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of each word. One requires prior knowledge. Ex) Spitting Image
Imagery : A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell.
Irony: Irony takes many forms. In irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected. Ex) A fly landing on a flyswatter
Metaphor:To say one thing is another, or to compare two unlike things. Ex) He is an animal.
Mood : The atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions. A work may contain a mood of horror, mystery, holiness, or childlike simplicity, to name a few, depending on the author's treatment of the work.
Non- fiction: A text that is based in fact and research. Ex) Textbooks, National Geographic
Onomatopoeia- A sound that is spelled out in words. Ex) Crash!
Oxymoron- A contradiction of terms Ex) Giant shrimp or well-known secret
Paradox:a statement whose two parts seem contradictory yet make sense with more thought. Christ used paradox in His teaching: "They have ears but hear not."
Parody :A literary work that imitates the style of another literary work. A parody can be simply amusing or it can be mocking in tone, such as a poem which exaggerates the use of alliteration in order to show the ridiculous effect of overuse of alliteration. Ex Scary Movie, Mad TV,
Parallel Structure :A repetition of sentences using the same structure. Ex) She was distraught. She was devastated. She was completely and utterly horrified by what he had done to her.
Personification: When human qualities or characteristics are given to objects or animals/plants. Ex) The fire danced
Prologue:An introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play or an introductory chapter, as to a novel.
Protagonist: The most important character in a text. The Protagonist in the Little Red Riding Hood is the main character, Little Red.
Pun: A play on words. Ex) Do you like my nose? I picked it myself.
Simile: Comparing two different things using like or as. Ex) Her eyes were as blue as the ocean.
Synonym: Words that have the exact same meaning. Ex) To conclude and in summation are synonymous.
Synopsis: A short insight into what the literature is about. In novel’s it is often the section in the back of the book. It is different from the summary in that it does not reveal the ending.
Theme: The message or moral the author wants you to learn from the story and apply this lesson to the betterment of your life, society or the world as a whole.
Tone: the writer's attitude toward the material and/or readers, or his/her subject, interpreted by you, the reader. Tone may be playful, formal, intimate, angry, serious, ironic, outraged, baffled, tender, serene, depressed, etc.