Literary Devices

Alliteration: The use of  typically three or more words, all beginning with the same letter.
                  (e.g. The Wicked Witch of the West)


Foreshadowing: The use of words or expression, discreetly suggesting that an event is about to take place without spoiling the story.
                 (e.g. As she made her way to her house, she noticed the front door had already been opened.)


Hyperbole: The use of exaggeration on a statement, to make a bigger impact on the situation.
                 (e.g. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.)


Imagery: The use of vivid or figurative language, to create a mental image for the reader.
                (e.g. I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon.)
 
Irony: The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.
                (e.g. The world's biggest dog was named Tiny.)


Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, making an implicit comparison.
               (e.g. Life is a mirror. If you smile, it smiles back at you; if you frown, it frowns back.)

Onomatopoeia: The use of words which include sounds that are similar to the noises that the words refer to.
               (e.g. Boom, Pow, Clang, etc.)
 
Personification: A figure in which an inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities or abilities.
                (e.g. The flowers waltzed in the gentle breeze.)

Simile: A figure of speech that expresses the resemblance between two essentially different things, often in a phrase using "like" or "as".
                (e.g. I love you, like a fat kid loves cake.)

Theme: The main idea of a story.
                (e.g. don't judge a book by it's cover.)