Literary Devices and Figurative Language

What the page covers

The resources here are about the words writers use to create an effect. The mind map Figurative Language and Sound Devices explains similes as comparisons using LIKE or AS, and metaphors as comparisons between unlike things. The map Essay Revision groups devices such as imagery, personification, zoomorphism, juxtaposition, onomatopoeia, parody and irony.

Other resources move into structure and narrative. The mind map 11 English Final Exam lists literary terms such as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution, alongside symbolism and allusion.

Where to start

1. Open a mind map first to see the terms laid out. Figurative Language and Sound Devices is a clear starting point.
2. Move to flashcards to learn the definitions. The deck English keywords covers tricolon, pathetic fallacy, sibilance, extended metaphor and rhetorical question.
3. Try Language Techniques, which gives short example sentences, so you practise spotting a device in use.
4. Finish with a quiz such as Figurative Language or Literary Terms.

Using maps and quizzes together

Read a map, then close it and take a quiz on the same terms. Anything you miss goes back onto a flashcard deck. The deck Language Techniques and Devices adds terms such as ambiguity, idiom, oxymoron and paradox, which helps when a quiz question catches you out.

Some resources mention GCSE English, so they suit students working on analysing language. Teachers can use the slides and notes, such as Literary Devices, as ready-made starting material for a lesson.

Where it fits

This unit sits in the Literature strand of Spanish language as a school subject. Its resources are mostly written in English and focus on how writers use techniques, so they work best as a toolkit for close reading and essay writing.

Choose one map today, then build your own flashcards from the terms you find hardest.