Literary Terms Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Metaphor, Simile, Analogy & Allusion

Imagery In literature, Imagery is one of the strongest devices where the author uses words and phrases to create “mental images”. Imagery helps the reader to visualize and more realistically experience the author’s writings. The usage of metaphors, allusions, descriptive words and similes etc. are used to awaken the readers’ sensory perceptions – and this is referred to as imagery. Think of the words on the page affecting you – affecting your kinesthetic, olfactory, tactile, thermal and auditory sensations as well.

FOR EXAMPLE Songs are full of Imagery… take this 1980s classic from Teena Marie On a starry winter night in Portugal Where the ocean kissed the southern shore There a dream I never thought would come to pass Came and went like time spent through an hourglass -Teena Marie, “Portuguese Love”

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Symbolism All language is symbolizing one thing or another. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Sometimes, however, an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value. For instance, “smile” is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone smiling at you may stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person has for you.

FOR EXAMPLE Symbols do shift their meanings depending on the context they are used in. “A chain”, for example, may stand for “union” as well as “imprisonment”. Thus, symbolic meaning of an object or an action is understood by when, where and how it is used. It also depends on who reads them.

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Personification By giving human characteristics to things that do not have them, it makes these objects and their actions easier to visualize for a reader. By giving the inanimate objects characteristics, it makes writing more interesting.

FOR EXAMPLE: One example of this is James Stephens’s poem "The Wind" in which wind preforms several actions. “The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled on his two fingers “Kicked the withered leaves about….And thumped the branches with his hand.” Of course the wind did not actually "stand up, or use its foot to kick the leaves about, just like a person would and using hands to thump branches like a person would also.

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Metaphors: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract. An image that suggests something else. A representation of a person place, thing or idea by way of a visual image that suggests a particular association or point of similarity. ***A phrase is a metaphor if it compares two things without using the words "like" or "as."

FOR EXAMPLE: A theater nerd who explains how he was once depressed --- “I had fallen through a trapdoor of depression” .

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SIMILE: A simile is a metaphor, but instead of a direct metaphoric comparison: ***It uses “like” or “as” Like metaphors, similes are a type of figurative language, - figurative language does not mean exactly what it says, but instead forces the reader to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author's point. Figurative language facilitates understanding because it relates something unfamiliar to something familiar. It usually involves a comparison between two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another. Similes allow an author to emphasize a certain characteristic of an object by comparing it to something unrelated. There are specific clue words/phrases that tell us it’s indeed a simile. The simile uses "like" or "as" in the comparison

FOR EXAMPLE In a simile, an author may compare a person to an animal: Angry as a hornet. Sly as a fox. Cute as bunny. Gentle as a lamb. Or… Her hair was like sunlight

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Analogy An analogy is a literary device that helps to establish a relationship based on similarities between two concepts or ideas. It can simplify a complex concept by comparing it to something more understandable. By using an analogy we can convey a new idea by using the blueprint of an old one as a basis for understanding. With a mental linkage between the two, one can create comprehension regarding the new concept in a simple and succinct manner.

FOR EXAMPLE: “Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something.”  ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Cleaning the house while your kids are still home is like shoveling while it's still snowing. -http://coolfunnyquotes.com  “As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one puff is bad for you.”  ― Elizabeth Gilbert

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Allusions: Allusions are expressions designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.

For EXAMPLE: “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – biblical allusion to the beautiful garden with the tree of like and where Adam and Eve lived who is “The Girl on Fire” ? who is “He Who Must Not Be Named” ?