12 Common Devices 

 

Alliteration - The recurrence of initial consonant sounds.

 

Ex. Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

 

 

Allusion - A reference to an event, literary work or person.

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Ex. I can’t do that because I am not Superman.

 

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Analogy - Compares two different things that have some similar characteristics

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Ex. He is flaky as a snowstorm.

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Anaphora - Repeats a word or phrase in successive phrases.

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Ex. "They said this day would never come. They said we would never… They said…”

 

 

Antithesis - Makes a connection between two things.

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Ex. “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” (Neil Armstrong)

 

 

Hyperbole - An exaggeration.

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Ex. I have done this a thousand times.

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Metaphor - Compares two things by stating one is the other.

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Ex. The eyes are the windows of the soul.

 

 

Onomatopoeia - Words that imitate the sound they describe.

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Ex. Plunk, whiz, pop!

 

 

Oxymoron - A two-word paradox.

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Ex. This joke was seriously funny!

 

 

Paradox : an assertion with a singular underlying meaning that is expressed through a superficial contradiction of ideas.

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Ex. “No pain; No gain!” Everyone’s gym coach

 

 

Personification : the attribution of human-like traits to an idea/object.

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Ex. “While my guitar gently weeps”. (The Beatles)

 

 

Simile - Compares one object to another.

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Ex. He smokes like a chimney.