1. Literary Devices in The Selfish Giant

2. Find out the Literary Devices by yourselves!
Alliteration: Successive Words sounding alike at the beginning.
Repetition: Mentioning the same thing over again.
Personification: Adding human or animate characteristics to an object.
Hyperbole: Exaggerate the phenomenon or action.

3. Alliteration Successive Words sounding alike at the beginning.
‘It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass.’ – (Stripe F)
Why using alliteration?
Beauty of language
Poetic

4. Repetition Mentioning the same thing over again.
What does the writer emphasize?
'How happy we are here!' they cried to each other. - (Stripe F)
'How happy we were there,' they said to each other. (Stripe A)

5. Repetition (Cont) Mentioning the same thing over again.
What does the writer emphasize?
'My own garden is my own garden,' said the Giant; - (Stripe G)
'It is your garden now, little children,' said the Giant, (Stripe L)
Not only Repetition, but also Contrast
 A selfish giant became selfless!

6. Personification Adding human or animate characteristics to an object.
The Trees:
‘forgot to blossom’ (Stripe H)
The trees were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. (Stripe C)

7. Personification (Cont)
The Flowers:
‘Put its head out from the grass’ (Stripe H)
‘It saw the notice board it was sorry for the children that it slipped back into the grass again, and went off to sleep.’ (Stripe H)
the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. (Stripe C)

8. Personification (Cont)
The Snow and the Frost:
The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. 'Spring has forgotten this garden,' they cried. (Stripe H)
the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. (Stripe H)

9. Personification (Cont)
The North Wind
He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney- pots down. (Stripe H)
The Hail
Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice. (Stripe H)

10. Personification (Cont)
The Autumn
The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. 'He is too selfish,' she said. (Stripe H)

11. Personification (Cont)
Others:
and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees. (Stripe H)
Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring. (Stripe I)
it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting. (Strip K)

12. Metaphor or Simile? Metaphor & Simile
Associate the original subjects/ objects with other subjects/objects. Highlight the similar characteristics they share.
Simile ‘as ’ / ‘like’ v.s. Metaphor ‘be’
and his breath was like ice. (Stripe H)
'but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.' (Stripe E)

13. Hyperbole Exaggerate the phenomenon or action.
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. (Stripe D)
Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved. (Stripe K)
Why Hyperbole?

14. Police report
Name
Home address
Occupation
Age
Physical appearance

15. Mundane details: personal relationship; personality; incidents about the missing person, etc.
Missing date
Missing time
Last location he was witnessed and last conversation he had
Contact information