noteswale
Notegraduate

Literary devices

Lesson 75 of 84

C1

Literary device = kahani / poem ka tool: simile, metaphor, personification. Bank letter me kam (69). Roz ka muhavra a piece of cake = 65. Galat karta / bhaari hissa end pe = 74. Indian the extra = I1.

1. Kya hai

Device = writer ka tool, word-by-word fact nahi. Exam me farak: simile vs metaphor. Har line pe device mat ghusao — 74 rhythm toot jata hai.

Job Yaad rakho Not this page
compare with like / as simile raining cats and dogs = 65
compare without like metaphor — A is B this crowding glue = 73
object as human personification Walking to the metro, the rain… = 74

2. Simile / metaphor

Device Yaad rakho Example
simile like / as … as The metro was as packed as a Diwali train.
metaphor is / was — like hatao The station was a river of commuters.
personification cheez insan ki tarah karti hai The old fan coughed. The monsoon swallowed the tracks.
imagery (picture) sense: dekho / soongho / chhoo The chai steamed in the steel glass.

The station was like a river = simile, metaphor nahi. Roz ka muhavra = 65, naya image nahi.

3. Hyperbole / sound

Device Yaad rakho Example
hyperbole jaan-bujh ke zyada I've told you a thousand times. The wait lasted a century.
irony bolna ulta, scene opposite 'Lovely weather,' said Ravi, soaked in monsoon rain.
alliteration same start-sound, close words packed platform / crowded corridor
onomatopoeia word = awaaz The kettle hissed. The train clattered in.
oxymoron do opposite ek saath deafening silence in the exam hall

Hyperbole letter / form me nahi (69). Alliteration ≠ rhyme. Deep unclear matlab = 74.

4. Examples

Bold = device.

  1. The metro was as packed as a Diwali train. (simile)
  2. The queue snaked like a river. (simile)
  3. The station was a river of commuters. (metaphor)
  4. The form queue was a wall. (metaphor)
  5. The old fan coughed in the classroom. (personification)
  6. The monsoon swallowed the tracks. (personification)
  7. The chai steamed in the steel glass. (imagery)
  8. I've told you a thousand times. (hyperbole)
  9. The wait lasted a century before chai. (hyperbole)
  10. 'Lovely weather,' said Ravi, soaked in rain. (irony)
  11. A packed platform at 9. (alliteration)
  12. The kettle hissed. (onomatopoeia)
  13. The train clattered in after cricket. (onomatopoeia)
  14. Deafening silence in the exam hall. (oxymoron)
  15. The test was a piece of cake. (65 idiom, 75 core nahi)

5. Common mistakes

The station was like a river. (called metaphor)
like = simile. Metaphor: The station was a river of commuters.
The metro was a packed as a Diwali train.
The metro was as packed as a Diwali train.
a piece of cake / raining cats and dogs (65, yahan nahi)
Roz ka muhavra = 65. Device = is jumle me naya image.
Walking to the metro, the rain started. (called personification)
Galat karta = 74. Personification: The monsoon swallowed the tracks.
Dear Mr Khan, the queue was a roaring river of fate.
Letter = 69 plain. Devices = story / poem.
I've told you a thousand times. (in a form, as fact)
Hyperbole = story. Form: I reminded him twice.
Every sentence a metaphor (74 rhythm gone)
One or two devices. Mix length = 74.
packed platform = collocation (64, yahan nahi)
64 = words that go together. Here: same start-sound = alliteration.
Hindi note. like / as = simile. Bina like, A hai B = metaphor. Cheez insan ban jaye = personification. Jaanke zyada = hyperbole. Ulta bolna = irony. Kahani me; letter / form me nahi.

6. Practice

A. 10 MCQ

1. The metro was as packed as a Diwali train.
2. The station was a river of commuters.
3. like / as … as =
4. The old fan coughed in the classroom.
5. I've told you a thousand times.
6. 'Lovely weather,' said Ravi, soaked in rain.
7. packed platform (same start-sound)
8. The kettle hissed.
9. Dear Mr Khan, the queue was a roaring river of fate.
10. This page is not:

B. 5 fill-in

1. The metro was ______ packed as a Diwali train.

2. The station was a river of commuters. Device: ______

3. like / as = ______

4. I've told you a ______ times. (hyperbole)

5. Sahi karo (metaphor, not simile): The station was like a river of commuters.

C. 3 sentences

Model answers neeche. Ek simile, ek metaphor, ek personification.

  1. simile: The metro was as packed as a Diwali train.
  2. metaphor: The station was a river of commuters.
  3. personification: The old fan coughed in the classroom.

7. Answer key

MCQ
  1. a) simile — as … as. metaphor = no like/as. idiom = 65.
  2. b) metaphor — was a river, like nahi. galat karta = 74.
  3. a) simile — like/as. however = 53.
  4. b) personification — object + human verb. hyperbole = number. must have = 72.
  5. a) hyperbole — jaanke zyada. fact/hedge nahi.
  6. b) irony — ulta bolna. cake = 65. this crowding = 73.
  7. a) alliteration — p-p. Never = 58. collocation = 64.
  8. b) onomatopoeia — hissed = awaaz. Well = 66.
  9. a) too literary for a letter — 69 plain. not required. must have = 72.
  10. c) I ate only samosas — 74, not 75.
Fill-in
  1. as
  2. metaphor
  3. simile
  4. thousand — million / hundred bhi OK.
  5. The station was a river of commuters. — like hatao.
Model sentences
  1. The metro was as packed as a Diwali train.
  2. The station was a river of commuters.
  3. The old fan coughed in the classroom.

Check: like/as = simile; A is B = metaphor; object+human = personification; hyperbole not a form-fact; irony = opposite said; alliteration ≠ 64; onomatopoeia = sound; letter = 69 plain; idiom = 65; galat karta/only = 74; this crowding = 73; hedge = 71; the school extra = I1.