This document defines and provides examples of several common literary devices: allusion, alliteration, oxymoron, metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and personification. Examples are given to illustrate how each device is used including indirect references, repetition of consonant sounds, contradictory terms, comparing things without "like" or "as", comparing things with "like" or "as", words that imitate sounds, exaggerated truths, and giving human qualities to non-human things.

1. Literary Devices

2. AllusionAn indirect reference to a famous person, place, event, or literary work.“Ms. Allen told me to go straight to the restroom donot pass go, do not collect $200.”

3. AlliterationRepetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.Crazy critters crawl across the dark decrepit floor.

4. OxymoronBringing together two contradictory terms or ideas,”My brother and I have a love hate relationship.”After the argument the room was filled with a loud silence that spoke volumes of the bitterness between us.

5. MetaphorComparing two unlike things without using like or as.Her voice was the sound of nails scraping across a chalk board, no wonder she didn’t make American Idol.

6. SimileComparing two unlike things using like or as.She felt as light as a feather.His shoes smelled like the pit of a rotten sewer.

7. OnomatopoeiaUse of words whose sound echoes its meaning.The dishes clang to the floor as each one broke into pieces.

8. HyperboleTruth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect.I told you a million times to clean up your room.“During the winter months the air is so cold in Alaska, it chills you to the bones.”

9. PersonificationGiving human qualities to non human objects or ideas.“The stars danced across the sky.”The pencil walked across the page.