Discuss the Meaning of Language Devices

Language devices, sometimes called literary devices, help to add detail and capture the reader’s interest.

In this activity, we’ll be focusing on similes, metaphors and personification.

A simile compares two things using the words like or as.

For example:

The peacock’s feathers are like vivid paintbrushes dipped in colourful ink.

A metaphor compares one thing to another without using the words like or as. They say that one thing is actually something else.

For example:

The bird’s feathers are vivid paintbrushes dipped in colourful ink.

Personification is where we bring an object, or part of an object, to life by giving it human features.

For example:

The arrogant peacock showed off his feathers.

We have personified the peacock by giving it a human personality, which is arrogant and liking to show off.

Read the story opening.

Which language devices can you spot?

The Rescue

In a garden adorned with emerald leaves and blossoming trees, four friends, Lily, Max, Mia, and Jake, stumbled upon a wounded bird. Its delicate feathers, which were once a tapestry of white and gold, were now ruffled and faded. Its chirps echoed like a tiny orchestra, the notes trembling with fear.

We have a metaphor:

Its delicate feathers, which were once a tapestry of white and gold, were now ruffled and faded.

This metaphor compares the feathers to a tapestry and helps the reader to understand how amazing the bird looked before it was injured.

There was also a simile:

Its chirps echoed like a tiny orchestra, the notes trembling with fear.

By comparing the chirps to a tiny orchestra, it shows the reader that the bird was making a lot of noise (as an orchestra is full of lots of instruments) in pain and distress.

This sentence also personified the sound the bird was making:

The notes trembling with fear.

This helps the reader to imagine the sound going in and out, almost shaking and it helps the reader to fell sorry for the bird. 

This is the impact or effect on the reader - what the writing makes the reader think or feel. 

In this activity, you’ll be on the hunt for similes, metaphors and personification and consider the effect that these devices have on the reader.

If you are ready, let's get started and remember - you can come back here to check at any time by clicking on the red help button on the screen.