Literacy Devices

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, whether implied or explicit.

Example of Allusion

Reverend Hale alludes to the Bible in response to John Proctor's assertion about Martha Corey.

Metaphor

An implied analogy in which one thing is compared to a second thing.

Example of Metaphor

John Hale compares a person's faith to a fortress: 'Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small.'

Simile

A metaphor in which the comparison is made explicit through words like 'like' or 'as.'

Example of Simile

‘Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel.’

Metonymy

A reference to a person, place, or idea using the word for something closely related to it.

Example of Metonymy

Referring to a king using the term 'the crown' or a businessman as 'the suit.'

Symbol

A concrete object, place, or person that represents an abstract quality or idea.

Example of Symbol

The wilderness represents evil and depravity in the context of Puritan beliefs.

Personification

The attribution of human qualities to an object, animal, or concept.

Example of Personification

John Proctor states, 'I'll tell you what's walking in Salem- vengeance is walking in Salem.'

Hyperbole

Rhetorical exaggeration or overstatement.

Example of Hyperbole

‘This farm is a continent when you go by foot by droppin' seeds in it.’

Understatement

A figure of speech in which one says less than one really means.

Example of Understatement

Mrs. Putnam describes her children as having 'withered' instead of saying they died.

Synesthesia

The use of one sensory register to describe an impression from another sense.

Example of Synesthesia

Dante describing the sun as 'silent' when referring to descending into hell.

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant or vowel sounds at the beginning of two words in close proximity.

Example of Alliteration

‘The parlor's packed with people.’