Literary devices

Literary devices or literary techniques

similar to Rhetorical devices but about literature whereas rhetorical devices regard persuasion

Purpose of literary devices[edit | edit source]

When we express a literal thought, the intended idea is directly stated
- ex. The rainstorm is dropped two inches of rain.
  - = just the facts, ma'am
figurative language expands the meaning beyond the literal
- ex.
  - The violent rainstorm pounded on the roof all night
    - can a storm be violent? can it "pound" on a roof?
      - < not literally, but such was the effect and experience of the storm
  - It rained cats and dogs
    - well, not literally, we hope

when we express ourselves figurativey or through imagery, we convey (deliver, carry to) more than just the thought, we help the listener or reader also experience the idea, or carry the idea into his or her own experiences
for this reason, the purpose of "figurative language" is "rhetorical effect"
- rhetorical = of or from use of language
- rhetorical effect, then, means an effect or experience created by language
- rhetorical effect comes in a variety of ways, per below

or "figures of speech"
"figure" (noun) means a representation of something
- thus a "stick figure" is a representation of a person using sticks (thin pieces of wood)
- "to figure" (verb) means to decipher or decode the meaning of something
thus "figurative language" is language through representations
- these representations can be images, references, metaphors, word games, etc. that "represent" one thing through another

both are figures of speech that evoke meaning of one thing through a comparison to another
- simile is a subset (sub-category) or form of a metaphor

metaphor adopts (becomes) the comparative meaning:
- the heart of the issue
simile compares the meaning directly
- raining like cats and dogs
to summarize:
- metaphor makes a non-literal direct comparison or parallel connection
- analogy makes a literal (actual) comparison via the words as, like

analogy
- draws a direct comparison in order to make a point about both ends of the comparison
- analogy explains or makes a point through the comparison
- generally, the analogy is literal:
  - ex. The kid ate through his entire birthday cake faster than a dog devouring a juicy bone
    - i.e. the cake was as enjoyable to the kid as a juicy bone to a dog
- however, an analogy may also imply a figurative meaning of both sides of the comparison
  - ex. Taking that test, I may as well have tried cleaning my room.
    - i.e., both activities are useless

See: