Posts Tagged by literary devices

The wolf blows down the straw house in a 1904 adaptation of the story. Illustration by Leonard Leslie Brooke.

Metaphors and analogies are literary devices used by writers since the first scribblings were etched on cave walls. However, they aren’t always used effectively because both writers and readers often don’t understand the distinction between the two. It’s important that both you as a writer and the audience you’re engaging understand the literary devices being employed.

Metaphors are rhetorical substitutes for the subject at hand. They are used to teach a lesson or a profound truth of humanity. We learn to speak, write and listen metaphorically from a young age. Fables and fairy tales are metaphors, meant to teach young people the important lessons that will guide them through life’s difficulties. (more…)