Figures of Speech and Literary Devices
Writers use figures of speech and literary devices to make their writing
more interesting, more concise, more musical, and more emotional. Some
of the more commonly used forms of figures of speech and literary devices
are mentioned here.
Anecdote
Anecdotes are brief stories, often humorous, stories about a person’s
feelings and thoughts about a specific situation. Writers use anecdotes
to make their writing feel more personal and to interject some humour.
Metaphor
Metaphors are comparisons between two things. The words “like”
or “as” are not used. Writers
use metaphors to create a detailed image for the reader. Readers are able
to get vivid mental images without having to read a long description.
| Excerpt
from “Hard Rock Returns to Prison” |
| Ethelridge
Knight |
And we turned
away, our eyes on the ground. Crushed
He had been our Destroyer, the doer of things
we dreamed of doing, but could not bring ourselves to do.
The fears of years, like a biting whip,
had cut grooves too deeply across our backs. |
|