Aspects of literary style: literary devices

Aspects of literary style: literary devices

Understanding Literary Devices:

  • Grasp the significance of metaphors and similes which are utilised to offer vivid comparisons, enhancing the reader’s understanding and appreciation of situations or characters.
  • Become familiar with alliteration, a technique where the author uses the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, to create rhythm and emphasis.
  • Look for hyperbole, an exaggerated statement or claim, which adds drama and intensity to the narrative.
  • Recognise personification, where inanimate objects or abstract ideas are given human qualities, allowing readers to connect and empathise with these elements.
  • Understand the usage of foreshadowing, a tool that hints at future events, generating suspense and anticipation within the narrative.

Analysing the Use of Literary Devices:

  • Reflect on the use of metaphor and simile, and how they offer a new perspective or deeper understanding of the subject matter.
  • Consider the impact of alliteration, examining how it adds a lyrical or syncopated rhythm to the text.
  • Evaluate the role of hyperbole, questioning if it strengthens emotional responses or stretches credibility.
  • Remember to consider personification, and how it may bring to life non-human elements, fostering increased emotional connection with the reader.
  • Analyse the effect of foreshadowing and discuss whether it successfully builds tension and curiosity.

Impact of Literary Devices on Themes:

  • Delve into how literary devices could emphasise and highlight the predominant themes of the literature.
  • Investigate how hyperbole and metaphor might magnify themes, enriching the reader’s understanding of these core elements.
  • Potentially, personification may personify themes themselves, reinforcing their importance or depicting them in a new light.
  • Understand that alliteration can set the mood or tone that aligns with the central themes.
  • Consider how foreshadowing may hint not just at events, but at future thematic explorations within the narrative.

Ways to Revise Literary Devices:

  • Develop a method to quickly identify and understand literary devices in varied literary texts.
  • Use revision guides detailing literary devices, allowing for a deeper understanding of their use and impact.
  • Practice active reading, marking and revisiting instances of literary devices.
  • Implement a comparative analysis approach, identifying how authors across different texts use similar or different literary devices.