literary devices

Can You Define Anthropomorphism?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

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Here are three more literary devices you should know about:

1)  Anthropomorphism- something nonhuman, such as an animal or object behaves like a human. Cartoon characters are good examples of this. They are made to talk, sing, dance, engage in battles, and so on. Authors of children’s books are especially adept at using this literary device.

2)  Colloquialism- This term refers to the use of informal language or slang in order to lend a sense of realism to dialogue. “Gonna” for example, is not considered real word. This device removes the formality from conversation, making it more relaxed and believable.

3)  Euphemism- This refers to words or expressions that are used instead of a more blunt word. For example, a doctor might that say a patient “didn’t make it” instead of “he died” when talking to family/friends.

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Foreshadowing

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

 

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There are many literary devices.

Writers use a good deal of them—often without knowing it. 

Foreshadowing is one that really packs a punch.

It is a literary device used to give the reader a hint of what is to come later in the story. It often appears at the beginning of a story, or start of a chapter.

To create foreshadowing, a writer may use dialogue, action, even chapter titles. These create an atmosphere of suspense, building reader anticipation as to what might happen next. For this reason, this device is most often used in mystery novels.

Here is just one example in literature, (From Act 2 in Romeo and Juliet by Robert Francis): “Life were better ended by their hate, than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.” 

Here, Juliet is concerned about Romeo’s safety. Romeo says he’d rather have her love (and die sooner) than not have it (and die later).

We all know what happened shortly after…