1. Literary Terms to Know

2. A comparison using like, as or than.
Simile
A comparison using like, as or than.
Example: Her smile is like the sun.

3. Metaphor A direct comparison that does not use “like” or “as”
Example: English class is a day at the beach.

4. Personification Giving human characteristics to a non-living thing.
Example: The pen danced across the page.

5. Symbol
A person, place, thing or an event that has meaning in itself and stands for something beyond itself
Example: In the novel Heartbeat, Annie’s apple represents the circle of life.

6. Alliteration
The repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase.
Example: Sally sold sea shells at the sea shore.

7. Onomatopoeia
Words that imitate sound
Example: buzz, pow, boom

8. Oxymoron A figure of speech where opposite ideas are combined.
Example: jumbo shrimp, fresh frozen vegetables

9. Theme The message about life that a work of literature reveals.
Example: In Heartbeat, the theme is the circle of life.

10. Irony A contrast between what is expected and what is reality
Example: The fireman’s house burnt down.

11. Hyperbole An exaggeration for effect
Example: I have a million pairs of shoes.