literary devices in speeches

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Literary Techniques for your Speech, with Examples Analyzed

March 2, 2021 - Dom Barnard

Planned use of language has a major impact on how your speech is received by the audience. Saying the right words at the right time, and in the right way, can achieve a specific impact.

Use language to achieve impact

Careful use of language has produced many powerful speeches over the years. Here are a few literary devices you can employ for your next speech.

Rhetorical Questions

Start your next presentation with an open question. It engages the audience and gets them thinking about your speech early on. Use questions throughout and leave pauses after, letting the audience think about an answer.

Pause at the Right Moment

This adds impact to sentence just before or after the pause. This is a good literary technique to use for the key message of your speech. Don’t be afraid to wait 3-5 seconds before speaking, adding maximum impact to your words.

Messages and words are remembered best in groups of three. The power of three is used in all aspects of speaking in public and by the media. Couple words in groups of three with alliteration for maximum impact, such as “They grew up with a long, lasting, love for each other.”

Repeat the Key Point

A technique used frequently by politicians, a word needs to be said on average 5 times before the audience begins to take in what is being said.

Dramatic Contrast

Contrasting two points, such as “Ten years ago we had a reputation for excellence. Today, we are in danger of losing that reputation.”

For additional literary techniques, check out these links:

• Stylistic Devices (Rhetorical Devices, Figures of Speech)
• BBC Literary Techniques

Spend time planning which of these language techniques you will use in your speech. You can add these in after your first draft of the speech has been written.

Two great speeches analyzed

1. martin luther king – i have a dream, transcript snippet.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

Literary devices and techniques used

Anaphora  – Repetition of the “I have a dream” phrase at the beginning of each sentence.

Metonymy  – The phrase “The let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia… Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee… Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi“, King uses these well-known racist locations to enhance his point.

Hyperbole  – King uses the words ‘all’ and ‘every’ many times, exaggerating his point, “when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city”

Alliteration  – used throughout the speech, alliterations add a poetic quality to the speech, for example this sentence “judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Amplification  – King repeats many of his points a second time, with greater emphasis and explanation the second time, “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.”

Speeches which mastered literary techniques

• Martin Luther King, Jr. – I Have A Dream
• Winston Churchill – We shall fight on the beaches
• John F. Kennedy – Inaugural Address
• Margaret Thatcher – The Lady’s Not For Turning
• Barack Obama – The Audacity Of Hope
• Elizabeth Gilbert – Your Creative Genius
• J. K. Rowling – Harvard Commencement Address

For addition detail on these speeches, check out  this article  on speeches that changed the world.

2. Winston Churchill – We shall fight on the beaches

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end.

We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.

We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

And if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Anaphora  – The repetition of the phrase “we shall fight” can be seen in the transcript snippet. This adds dramatic emphases on the words he is saying in these paragraphs.

Alliteration  – Churchill uses repetition of letters to emphasize the dark time Europe was in, “I see also the dull, drilled, docile, brutish masses of the Hun soldiery plodding on like a swarm of crawling locusts” and “your grisly gang who work your wicked will.”

Antistrophe  – The repetition of words at the end of successive sentences, “the love of peace, the toil for peace, the strife for peace, the pursuit of peace“.

Hypophora  – Churchill asks various questions and then answers them himself, “You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air” and “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word, it is victory”.

Rule of Three  – Churchill uses this literary technique in many of his speeches, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” and “Never before in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many, to so few”.

Easy to use literary techniques for your next speech

Rhetoric Question

Start your next speech with a rhetoric question – “Who here has used a virtual reality headset?”

Repetition of Phrase

Repeat a key phrase around 5 times throughout the speech, the phrase should be short – “Virtual reality is changing the world”.

Use the Rule of Three

Emphasize a product or service by describing it with three words – “Our software is faster, cheaper and easier to use”. For greatest impact on your audience, combine this with alliteration.

Ask a question then immediately answer it – “How many virtual reality headsets were sold last month? Over 2 million.”

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 31 literary devices you must know.

General Education

Need to analyze The Scarlet Letter or To Kill a Mockingbird for English class, but fumbling for the right vocabulary and concepts for literary devices? You've come to the right place. To successfully interpret and analyze literary texts, you'll first need to have a solid foundation in literary terms and their definitions.

In this article, we'll help you get familiar with most commonly used literary devices in prose and poetry. We'll give you a clear definition of each of the terms we discuss along with examples of literary elements and the context in which they most often appear (comedic writing, drama, or other).

Before we get to the list of literary devices, however, we have a quick refresher on what literary devices are and how understanding them will help you analyze works of literature.

What Are Literary Devices and Why Should You Know Them?

Literary devices are techniques that writers use to create a special and pointed effect in their writing, to convey information, or to help readers understand their writing on a deeper level.

Often, literary devices are used in writing for emphasis or clarity. Authors will also use literary devices to get readers to connect more strongly with either a story as a whole or specific characters or themes.

So why is it important to know different literary devices and terms? Aside from helping you get good grades on your literary analysis homework, there are several benefits to knowing the techniques authors commonly use.

Being able to identify when different literary techniques are being used helps you understand the motivation behind the author's choices. For example, being able to identify symbols in a story can help you figure out why the author might have chosen to insert these focal points and what these might suggest in regard to her attitude toward certain characters, plot points, and events.

In addition, being able to identify literary devices can make a written work's overall meaning or purpose clearer to you. For instance, let's say you're planning to read (or re-read) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. By knowing that this particular book is a religious allegory with references to Christ (represented by the character Aslan) and Judas (represented by Edmund), it will be clearer to you why Lewis uses certain language to describe certain characters and why certain events happen the way they do.

Finally, literary techniques are important to know because they make texts more interesting and more fun to read. If you were to read a novel without knowing any literary devices, chances are you wouldn't be able to detect many of the layers of meaning interwoven into the story via different techniques.

Now that we've gone over why you should spend some time learning literary devices, let's take a look at some of the most important literary elements to know.

List of Literary Devices: 31 Literary Terms You Should Know

Below is a list of literary devices, most of which you'll often come across in both prose and poetry. We explain what each literary term is and give you an example of how it's used. This literary elements list is arranged in alphabetical order.

An allegory is a story that is used to represent a more general message about real-life (historical) issues and/or events. It is typically an entire book, novel, play, etc.

Example: George Orwell's dystopian book Animal Farm is an allegory for the events preceding the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist era in early 20th century Russia. In the story, animals on a farm practice animalism, which is essentially communism. Many characters correspond to actual historical figures: Old Major represents both the founder of communism Karl Marx and the Russian communist leader Vladimir Lenin; the farmer, Mr. Jones, is the Russian Czar; the boar Napoleon stands for Joseph Stalin; and the pig Snowball represents Leon Trotsky.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a series of words or phrases that all (or almost all) start with the same sound. These sounds are typically consonants to give more stress to that syllable. You'll often come across alliteration in poetry, titles of books and poems ( Jane Austen is a fan of this device, for example—just look at Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility ), and tongue twisters.

Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." In this tongue twister, the "p" sound is repeated at the beginning of all major words.

Allusion is when an author makes an indirect reference to a figure, place, event, or idea originating from outside the text. Many allusions make reference to previous works of literature or art.

Example: "Stop acting so smart—it's not like you're Einstein or something." This is an allusion to the famous real-life theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.

Anachronism

An anachronism occurs when there is an (intentional) error in the chronology or timeline of a text. This could be a character who appears in a different time period than when he actually lived, or a technology that appears before it was invented. Anachronisms are often used for comedic effect.

Example: A Renaissance king who says, "That's dope, dude!" would be an anachronism, since this type of language is very modern and not actually from the Renaissance period.

Anaphora is when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences throughout a piece of writing. It's used to emphasize the repeated phrase and evoke strong feelings in the audience.

Example: A famous example of anaphora is Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech. Throughout this speech, he repeats the phrase "we shall fight" while listing numerous places where the British army will continue battling during WWII. He did this to rally both troops and the British people and to give them confidence that they would still win the war.

Anthropomorphism

An anthropomorphism occurs when something nonhuman, such as an animal, place, or inanimate object, behaves in a human-like way.

Example: Children's cartoons have many examples of anthropomorphism. For example, Mickey and Minnie Mouse can speak, wear clothes, sing, dance, drive cars, etc. Real mice can't do any of these things, but the two mouse characters behave much more like humans than mice.

Asyndeton is when the writer leaves out conjunctions (such as "and," "or," "but," and "for") in a group of words or phrases so that the meaning of the phrase or sentence is emphasized. It is often used for speeches since sentences containing asyndeton can have a powerful, memorable rhythm.

Example: Abraham Lincoln ends the Gettysburg Address with the phrase "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth." By leaving out certain conjunctions, he ends the speech on a more powerful, melodic note.

Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of informal language and slang. It's often used by authors to lend a sense of realism to their characters and dialogue. Forms of colloquialism include words, phrases, and contractions that aren't real words (such as "gonna" and "ain't").

Example: "Hey, what's up, man?" This piece of dialogue is an example of a colloquialism, since it uses common everyday words and phrases, namely "what's up" and "man."

An epigraph is when an author inserts a famous quotation, poem, song, or other short passage or text at the beginning of a larger text (e.g., a book, chapter, etc.). An epigraph is typically written by a different writer (with credit given) and used as a way to introduce overarching themes or messages in the work. Some pieces of literature, such as Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick , incorporate multiple epigraphs throughout.

Example: At the beginning of Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises is an epigraph that consists of a quotation from poet Gertrude Stein, which reads, "You are all a lost generation," and a passage from the Bible.

Epistrophe is similar to anaphora, but in this case, the repeated word or phrase appears at the end of successive statements. Like anaphora, it is used to evoke an emotional response from the audience.

Example: In Lyndon B. Johnson's speech, "The American Promise," he repeats the word "problem" in a use of epistrophe: "There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem."

A euphemism is when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant.

Example: "I'm so sorry, but he didn't make it." The phrase "didn't make it" is a more polite and less blunt way of saying that someone has died.

A flashback is an interruption in a narrative that depicts events that have already occurred, either before the present time or before the time at which the narration takes place. This device is often used to give the reader more background information and details about specific characters, events, plot points, and so on.

Example: Most of the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a flashback from the point of view of the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, as she engages in a conversation with a visitor named Lockwood. In this story, Nelly narrates Catherine Earnshaw's and Heathcliff's childhoods, the pair's budding romance, and their tragic demise.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when an author indirectly hints at—through things such as dialogue, description, or characters' actions—what's to come later on in the story. This device is often used to introduce tension to a narrative.

Example: Say you're reading a fictionalized account of Amelia Earhart. Before she embarks on her (what we know to be unfortunate) plane ride, a friend says to her, "Be safe. Wouldn't want you getting lost—or worse." This line would be an example of foreshadowing because it implies that something bad ("or worse") will happen to Earhart.

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that's not meant to be taken literally by the reader. It is often used for comedic effect and/or emphasis.

Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." The speaker will not literally eat an entire horse (and most likely couldn't ), but this hyperbole emphasizes how starved the speaker feels.

Imagery is when an author describes a scene, thing, or idea so that it appeals to our senses (taste, smell, sight, touch, or hearing). This device is often used to help the reader clearly visualize parts of the story by creating a strong mental picture.

Example: Here's an example of imagery taken from William Wordsworth's famous poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud":

When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden Daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Irony is when a statement is used to express an opposite meaning than the one literally expressed by it. There are three types of irony in literature:

• Verbal irony: When someone says something but means the opposite (similar to sarcasm).
• Situational irony: When something happens that's the opposite of what was expected or intended to happen.
• Dramatic irony: When the audience is aware of the true intentions or outcomes, while the characters are not . As a result, certain actions and/or events take on different meanings for the audience than they do for the characters involved.
• Verbal irony: One example of this type of irony can be found in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." In this short story, a man named Montresor plans to get revenge on another man named Fortunato. As they toast, Montresor says, "And I, Fortunato—I drink to your long life." This statement is ironic because we the readers already know by this point that Montresor plans to kill Fortunato.
• Situational irony: A girl wakes up late for school and quickly rushes to get there. As soon as she arrives, though, she realizes that it's Saturday and there is no school.
• Dramatic irony: In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , Romeo commits suicide in order to be with Juliet; however, the audience (unlike poor Romeo) knows that Juliet is not actually dead—just asleep.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is the comparing and contrasting of two or more different (usually opposite) ideas, characters, objects, etc. This literary device is often used to help create a clearer picture of the characteristics of one object or idea by comparing it with those of another.

Example: One of the most famous literary examples of juxtaposition is the opening passage from Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities :

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …"

Malapropism

Malapropism happens when an incorrect word is used in place of a word that has a similar sound. This misuse of the word typically results in a statement that is both nonsensical and humorous; as a result, this device is commonly used in comedic writing.

Example: "I just can't wait to dance the flamingo!" Here, a character has accidentally called the flamenco (a type of dance) the flamingo (an animal).

Metaphor/Simile

Metaphors are when ideas, actions, or objects are described in non-literal terms. In short, it's when an author compares one thing to another. The two things being described usually share something in common but are unalike in all other respects.

A simile is a type of metaphor in which an object, idea, character, action, etc., is compared to another thing using the words "as" or "like."

Both metaphors and similes are often used in writing for clarity or emphasis.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." In this line from Romeo and Juliet , Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. However, because Romeo doesn't use the words "as" or "like," it is not a simile—just a metaphor.

"She is as vicious as a lion." Since this statement uses the word "as" to make a comparison between "she" and "a lion," it is a simile.

A metonym is when a related word or phrase is substituted for the actual thing to which it's referring. This device is usually used for poetic or rhetorical effect .

Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword." This statement, which was coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, contains two examples of metonymy: "the pen" refers to "the written word," and "the sword" refers to "military force/violence."

Mood is the general feeling the writer wants the audience to have. The writer can achieve this through description, setting, dialogue, and word choice .

Example: Here's a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: "It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats -- the hobbit was fond of visitors." In this passage, Tolkien uses detailed description to set create a cozy, comforting mood. From the writing, you can see that the hobbit's home is well-cared for and designed to provide comfort.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a word (or group of words) that represents a sound and actually resembles or imitates the sound it stands for. It is often used for dramatic, realistic, or poetic effect.

Examples: Buzz, boom, chirp, creak, sizzle, zoom, etc.

An oxymoron is a combination of two words that, together, express a contradictory meaning. This device is often used for emphasis, for humor, to create tension, or to illustrate a paradox (see next entry for more information on paradoxes).

Examples: Deafening silence, organized chaos, cruelly kind, insanely logical, etc.

A paradox is a statement that appears illogical or self-contradictory but, upon investigation, might actually be true or plausible.

Note that a paradox is different from an oxymoron: a paradox is an entire phrase or sentence, whereas an oxymoron is a combination of just two words.

Example: Here's a famous paradoxical sentence: "This statement is false." If the statement is true, then it isn't actually false (as it suggests). But if it's false, then the statement is true! Thus, this statement is a paradox because it is both true and false at the same time.

Personification

Personification is when a nonhuman figure or other abstract concept or element is described as having human-like qualities or characteristics. (Unlike anthropomorphism where non-human figures become human-like characters, with personification, the object/figure is simply described as being human-like.) Personification is used to help the reader create a clearer mental picture of the scene or object being described.

Example: "The wind moaned, beckoning me to come outside." In this example, the wind—a nonhuman element—is being described as if it is human (it "moans" and "beckons").

Repetition is when a word or phrase is written multiple times, usually for the purpose of emphasis. It is often used in poetry (for purposes of rhythm as well).

Example: When Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the score for the hit musical Hamilton, gave his speech at the 2016 Tony's, he recited a poem he'd written that included the following line:

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.

Satire is genre of writing that criticizes something , such as a person, behavior, belief, government, or society. Satire often employs irony, humor, and hyperbole to make its point.

Example: The Onion is a satirical newspaper and digital media company. It uses satire to parody common news features such as opinion columns, editorial cartoons, and click bait headlines.

A type of monologue that's often used in dramas, a soliloquy is when a character speaks aloud to himself (and to the audience), thereby revealing his inner thoughts and feelings.

Example: In Romeo and Juliet , Juliet's speech on the balcony that begins with, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" is a soliloquy, as she is speaking aloud to herself (remember that she doesn't realize Romeo's there listening!).

Symbolism refers to the use of an object, figure, event, situation, or other idea in a written work to represent something else— typically a broader message or deeper meaning that differs from its literal meaning.

The things used for symbolism are called "symbols," and they'll often appear multiple times throughout a text, sometimes changing in meaning as the plot progresses.

Example: In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby , the green light that sits across from Gatsby's mansion symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams .

A synecdoche is a literary device in which part of something is used to represent the whole, or vice versa. It's similar to a metonym (see above); however, a metonym doesn't have to represent the whole—just something associated with the word used.

Example: "Help me out, I need some hands!" In this case, "hands" is being used to refer to people (the whole human, essentially).

While mood is what the audience is supposed to feel, tone is the writer or narrator's attitude towards a subject . A good writer will always want the audience to feel the mood they're trying to evoke, but the audience may not always agree with the narrator's tone, especially if the narrator is an unsympathetic character or has viewpoints that differ from those of the reader.

Example: In an essay disdaining Americans and some of the sites they visit as tourists, Rudyard Kipling begins with the line, "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead." If you enjoy Yellowstone and/or national parks, you may not agree with the author's tone in this piece.

How to Identify and Analyze Literary Devices: 4 Tips

In order to fully interpret pieces of literature, you have to understand a lot about literary devices in the texts you read. Here are our top tips for identifying and analyzing different literary techniques:

Tip 1: Read Closely and Carefully

First off, you'll need to make sure that you're reading very carefully. Resist the temptation to skim or skip any sections of the text. If you do this, you might miss some literary devices being used and, as a result, will be unable to accurately interpret the text.

If there are any passages in the work that make you feel especially emotional, curious, intrigued, or just plain interested, check that area again for any literary devices at play.

It's also a good idea to reread any parts you thought were confusing or that you didn't totally understand on a first read-through. Doing this ensures that you have a solid grasp of the passage (and text as a whole) and will be able to analyze it appropriately.

Tip 2: Memorize Common Literary Terms

You won't be able to identify literary elements in texts if you don't know what they are or how they're used, so spend some time memorizing the literary elements list above. Knowing these (and how they look in writing) will allow you to more easily pinpoint these techniques in various types of written works.

Tip 3: Know the Author's Intended Audience

Knowing what kind of audience an author intended her work to have can help you figure out what types of literary devices might be at play.

For example, if you were trying to analyze a children's book, you'd want to be on the lookout for child-appropriate devices, such as repetition and alliteration.

Tip 4: Take Notes and Bookmark Key Passages and Pages

This is one of the most important tips to know, especially if you're reading and analyzing works for English class. As you read, take notes on the work in a notebook or on a computer. Write down any passages, paragraphs, conversations, descriptions, etc., that jump out at you or that contain a literary device you were able to identify.

You can also take notes directly in the book, if possible (but don't do this if you're borrowing a book from the library!). I recommend circling keywords and important phrases, as well as starring interesting or particularly effective passages and paragraphs.

Lastly, use sticky notes or post-its to bookmark pages that are interesting to you or that have some kind of notable literary device. This will help you go back to them later should you need to revisit some of what you've found for a paper you plan to write.

What's Next?

Looking for more in-depth explorations and examples of literary devices? Join us as we delve into imagery , personification , rhetorical devices , tone words and mood , and different points of view in literature, as well as some more poetry-specific terms like assonance and iambic pentameter .

Reading The Great Gatsby for class or even just for fun? Then you'll definitely want to check out our expert guides on the biggest themes in this classic book, from love and relationships to money and materialism .

Got questions about Arthur Miller's The Crucible ? Read our in-depth articles to learn about the most important themes in this play and get a complete rundown of all the characters .

For more information on your favorite works of literature, take a look at our collection of high-quality book guides and our guide to the 9 literary elements that appear in every story !

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Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Figure of Speech

Figure of Speech Definition

What is a figure of speech? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A figure of speech is a literary device in which language is used in an unusual—or "figured"—way in order to produce a stylistic effect. Figures of speech can be broken into two main groups: figures of speech that play with the ordinary meaning of words (such as metaphor , simile , and hyperbole ), and figures of speech that play with the ordinary arrangement or pattern in which words are written (such as alliteration , ellipsis , and antithesis ).

Some additional key details about figures of speech:

• The ancient Greeks and Romans exhaustively listed, defined, and categorized figures of speech in order to better understand how to effectively use language. The names of most figures of speech derive from the original Greek or Latin.
• Figures of speech that play with the literal meaning of words are called tropes , while figures of speech that play with the order or pattern of words are called schemes .
• Figures of speech can take many forms. A figure of speech can involve a single word, a phrase, an omission of a word or phrase, a repetition of words or sounds, or specific sentence structures.

Figure of Speech Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce figure of speech: fig -yer of speech

Figures of Speech vs. Figurative Language

There's a lot of confusion about the difference between the terms "figures of speech" and " figurative language ." Most of the confusion stems from the fact that different people often use "figurative language" to mean slightly different things. The two most common (and most acceptable) definitions of figurative language are:

• Figurative language refers to any language that contains figures of speech. According to this definition, figurative language and figures of speech are not quite the same thing, but it's pretty darn close. The only difference is that figures of speech refer to each specific type of a figure of speech, while figurative language refers more generally to any language that contains any kind of figures of speech.
• Figurative language refers to words or expressions that have non-literal meanings : This definition associates figurative language only with the category of figures of speech called tropes (which are figures of speech that play with the literal meaning of words). So according to this definition, figurative language would be any language that contains tropes, but not language that contains the figures of speech called schemes.

You might encounter people using figurative speech to mean either of the above, and it's not really possible to say which is correct. But if you know about these two different ways of relating figurative language and figures of speech, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Figures of Speech, Tropes, and Schemes

The oldest and still most common way to organize figures of speech is to split them into two main groups: tropes and schemes.

• Tropes are figures of speech that involve a deviation from the expected and literal meaning of words.
• Schemes are figures of speech that involve a deviation from the typical mechanics of a sentence, such as the order, pattern, or arrangement of words.

The scheme/trope classification system is by no means the only way to organize figures of speech (if you're interested, you can find all sorts of different categorization methods for figures of speech here ). But it is the most common method, and is both simple and structured enough to help you understand figures of speech.

Generally, a trope uses comparison, association, or wordplay to play with the literal meaning of words or to layer another meaning on top of a word's literal meaning. Some of the most commonly used tropes are explained briefly below, though you can get even more detail on each from its specific LitCharts entry.

• Metaphor : A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unrelated things by stating that one thing is another thing, even though this isn't literally true. For example, if someone says "it's raining cats and dogs," this obviously doesn't literally mean what it says—it's a metaphor that makes a comparison between the weight of "cats and dogs" and heavy rain. Metaphors are tropes because their effect relies not on the mechanics of the sentence, but rather on the association created by the use of the phrase "cats and dogs" in a non-literal manner.
• Simile : A simile, like a metaphor, makes a comparison between two unrelated things. However, instead of stating that one thing is another thing (as in metaphor), a simile states that one thing is like another thing. To stick with cats and dogs, an example of a simile would be to say "they fought like cats and dogs."
• Oxymoron : An oxymoron pairs contradictory words in order to express new or complex meanings. In the phrase "parting is such sweet sorrow" from Romeo and Juliet , "sweet sorrow" is an oxymoron that captures the complex and simultaneous feelings of pain and pleasure associated with passionate love. Oxymorons are tropes because their effect comes from a combination of the two words that goes beyond the literal meanings of those words.
• Hyperbole : A hyperbole is an intentional exaggeration of the truth, used to emphasize the importance of something or to create a comic effect. An example of a hyperbole is to say that a backpack "weighs a ton." No backpack literally weighs a ton, but to say "my backpack weighs ten pounds" doesn't effectively communicate how burdensome a heavy backpack feels. Once again, this is a trope because its effect comes from understanding that the words mean something different from what they literally say.

Other Common Tropes

• Antanaclasis
• Onomatopoeia
• Personification
• Periphrasis
• Rhetorical Question

Schemes are mechanical—they're figures of speech that tinker with words, sounds, and structures (as opposed to meanings) in order to achieve an effect. Schemes can themselves be broken down in helpful ways that define the sort of tinkering they employ.

• Repetition: Repeating words, phrases, or even sounds in a particular way.
• Omission: Leaving out certain words or punctuation that would normally be expected.
• Changes of word order: Shifting around words or phrases in atypical ways.
• Balance: Creating sentences or phrases with equal parts, often through the use of identical grammatical structures.

Some of the most commonly used schemes are explained briefly below, though you can get even more detail on each from its specific LitCharts entry.

• Alliteration : In alliteration, the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “ B ob b rought the b ox of b ricks to the b asement.” Alliteration uses repetition to create a musical effect that helps phrases to stand out from the language around them.
• Assonance : A scheme in which vowel sounds repeat in nearby words, such as the "ee" sound in the proverb: "the squ ea ky wh ee l gets the gr ea se." Like alliteration, assonance uses repeated sounds to create a musical effect in which words echo one another—it's a scheme because this effect is achieved through repetition of words with certain sounds, not by playing with the meaning of words.
• Ellipsis : The deliberate omission of one or more words from a sentence because their meaning is already implied. In the example, "Should I call you, or you me?" the second clause uses ellipsis. While its implication is "or should you call me," the context of the sentence allows for the omission of "should" and "call." Ellipsis is a scheme because it involves an uncommon usage of language.
• Parallelism : The repetition of sentence structure for emphasis and balance. This can occur in a single sentence, such as "a penny saved is a penny earned," and it can also occur over the course of a speech, poem, or other text. Parallelism is a scheme because it creates emphasis through the mechanics of sentence structure, rather than by playing with the actual meanings of words.

Other Common Schemes

• Anadiplosis
• Antimetabole
• Brachylogia
• Epanalepsis
• Parenthesis
• Polysyndeton

Figure of Speech Examples

Figures of speech can make language more inventive, more beautiful, more rhythmic, more memorable, and more meaningful. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that figures of speech are plentiful in all sorts of written language. The examples below show a variety of different types of figures of speech. You can see many more examples of each type at their own specific LitChart entries.

Figures of Speech Examples in Literature

Literature is riddled with figures of speech because figures of speech make language colorful and complex.

Metaphor in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

On and on, now east now west, wound the poor thread that once had been our drive. Sometimes I thought it lost, but it appeared again, beneath a fallen tree perhaps, or struggling on the other side of a muddied ditch created by the winter rains.

In this quote from Rebecca , Daphne du Maurier refers to a washed-out road as "the poor thread." This is a metaphor —and a trope—because the writer indirectly compares the thread to the road and expects that readers will understand that "thread" is not used literally.

Parallelism in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

In the famous opening line of A Tale of Two Cities , Dickens uses parallelism —a scheme in which parts of a sentence repeat—in order to emphasize the contradictions of the time in which the book is set. Dickens has manipulated his sentence structure so that the parallel clauses emphasize the oppositional nature of his words ("it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"). The figure of speech doesn't play with the meaning of words, it emphasizes them through structure and repetition, which is why it is a scheme.

Alliteration in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"

In this manner, s electing it as the s ymbol of his wife's liability to s in, s orrow, d ecay, and d eath, Aylmer's s ombre imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object, causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty, whether of s oul or s ense, had given him delight.

This passage from " The Birthmark " uses alliteration to tie together all of the things that Georgiana's birthmark is supposed to symbolize. By using words that alliterate—"sin and sorrow" and "decay and death," for example—Hawthorne is making the reader feel that these ideas are connected, rather than simply stating that they are connected. Alliteration is a figure of speech—a scheme—because it uses the mechanics of language to emphasize meaning.

Verbal Irony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

For Brutus is an honorable man; So are they all, all honorable men,

This quote from Julius Caesar comes from Marc Antony's speech at Caesar's funeral. Antony needs to hold Brutus and his conspirators accountable for Caesar's death without contradicting the crowd's positive impression of Brutus, so Antony uses verbal irony to simultaneously please and trouble the crowd. On the surface, Antony says what the audience wants to hear (that Brutus is honorable), but it becomes clear over the course of his speech that he means the opposite of what he says (and over time he convinces the audience to believe this opposite meaning as well). This is a figure of speech (a trope) because it's based on a play on the meaning of Antony's words.

Figures of Speech Examples in Music

Figures of speech are also common in music. Schemes fit naturally with songs because both schemes and songs manipulate sound and rhythm to enhance the meanings of words. Music also uses many tropes, because using words that have meanings beyond their literal ones makes language more interesting, and it allows songwriters to create music that uses just a few words to imply a complex meaning.

Assonance and Metaphor in Rihanna's "Diamonds"

So sh ine br igh t ton igh t, you and I We're beautiful l i ke d i amonds in the sk y Eye to eye , so al i ve We're beautiful l i ke d i amonds in the sk y

Rihanna uses assonance when she repeats the " eye " sound throughout the chorus of "Diamonds." This make the words echo one another, which emphasizes the similarity between the singer, the person she's talking about, and the "diamonds in the sky" to which she's comparing them both. Assonance is a scheme because it's using the sound of words—not their meaning—to draw a parallel between different things.

Rihanna also uses the phrase "Diamonds in the sky" as a metaphor for stars. This is a trope—a phrase that means something other than what it literally says—as Rihanna obviously doesn't think that there are actually diamonds in the sky. This verse is a good example of how figures of speech can often work together and overlap. In this case, the metaphor that allows her to use "diamonds" instead of "stars" also fits into her use of assonance (because "stars" lacks the "eye" sound).

Personification in Green Day's "Good Riddance"

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

While the first line of this song uses "a fork stuck in the road" as a metaphor for a choice, the more arresting figure of speech at work here is the personification of time in the second line. By giving "time" human characteristics—the ability to grab a person and tell them where to go—Green Day is helping listeners to make sense of the power that time has over people. This is a trope because the line doesn't mean what it literally says; instead, it's asking listeners to make a comparison between the characteristics of time and the characteristics of a person.

Anastrophe in Public Enemy's "Fight the Power"

Straight up racist that sucker was Simple and plain

In the line "Straight up racist that sucker was," Public Enemy uses anastrophe (which is the inversion of typical word order) to preserve the rhythm of the verse. Instead of saying "That sucker was straight up racist," Public Enemy chooses an odd phrasing that has one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables— " ra cist that su cker was/ Sim ple and plain ." This way, the beat falls more regularly across those two lines, which allows the rapper to make his point (that Elvis was racist) without the flow sounding awkward. Since anastrophe manipulates the order of words in order to achieve a rhythmic effect, it's a scheme.

Why Do Writers Use Figures of Speech?

Figures of speech is a category that encompasses a broad variety of literary terms, so it's difficult to give one answer to this question. Writers use different figures of speech to achieve different effects.

Schemes (figures of speech that manipulate sound, syntax, and word order) can make language more beautiful, persuasive, or memorable. Writers can use schemes to draw attention to an important passage, to create a sound that mirrors (or contrasts with) the meaning of words, or to give language a rhythm that draws the reader in. As schemes tend to work through sound and rhythm, they generally produce a visceral effect, or an effect felt in the body—broadly speaking, schemes are more sensory than intellectual.

In contrast, writers use tropes to grab the reader intellectually by adding complexity or ambiguity to an otherwise simple word or phrase. Tropes can ask the reader to make a comparison between two unlike things, they can impose human qualities on nonhumans, and they can mean the opposite of what they say. Tropes engage the intellect because the reader has to be alert to the fact that tropes do not use language at face value—a trope never means what it literally says.

All figures of speech help a writer to communicate ideas that are difficult to say in words or that are more effectively communicated non-verbally. This could be by repeating harsh consonants to create a scary atmosphere, or by using a metaphor to impose the qualities of something concrete (say, a rose) onto something more difficult to define (say, love). In general, figures of speech attempt to bring out a reader's emotion and to capture their attention by making language more colorful, surprising, and complex.

Other Helpful Figure of Speech Resources

• Silva Rhetoricae on Figures of Speech : An excellent reference from BYU that explains the various ways that figures of speech have been categorized over history, including into schemes and tropes.
• Silva Rhetoricae on schemes and tropes :
• The Oxford Reference Page for Figure of Speech : A helpful definition of figures of speech in the context of the ancient study of rhetoric (did you know that the Roman rhetorician Quintillian defined "figure of speech" in 95 AD?)
• What Are Tropes in Language? Skip to the "Distinction Between Figures and Tropes" section and read to the end—full of informative and thought-provoking discussion about tropes.
• A YouTube video about tropes and schemes with pop culture examples.

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
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• Explanations and citation info for 40,181 quotes across 1908 books
• Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play
• Alliteration
• Climax (Figure of Speech)
• Figurative Language
• Parallelism
• Verbal Irony
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• Point of View
• Extended Metaphor
• Anachronism
• Round Character
• Anthropomorphism
• Connotation
• Characterization

4 Ways to Use Rhetorical Devices to Make Powerful Speeches (with Examples)

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Writing

I am certain all of us have come across powerful speeches, novels, or presentations that left us speechless at some point. But have you wondered how the speaker or the author managed to do so?

How did they manage to make almost everyone in the audience riveted? You might have attributed this skill of captivating the audience to good public speaking, which is partially true but the other half of this lies in their use of magic tools which are referred to as rhetorical devices.

A rhetorical device is a technique that is used by a speaker or an author for conveying a particular message to the audience in such a way that it provokes an emotional response to a particular action. It is a linguistic tool, whose employment can be used to construct an argument or make an existing one more compelling .

To put it simply, rhetorical devices are devices used to spice up your conversations, work presentations, and speeches. They are often used to provoke an emotional response and make the matter of the speech more compelling, with the goal of persuading the audience.

Why are rhetorical techniques important?

Why should rhetorical devices be used? What impact do they have? Well, here’s why,

There is one common thing between the world’s famous speeches and presentations, which is their ability to create an emotional connection with the audience. The way in which a speaker makes the audience feel is very important as that feeling will stay with the audience long after the speech or the presentation is over. This emotional response is evoked with the help of rhetorical devices.

Apart from this, rhetorical devices help you become more persuasive. It also aids in composing successful presentations and writings. It helps you make your speech crisp and improves the understanding of the audience.

Moreover, with the correct rhetorical devices, it enables you to make stronger arguments and a way of handling controversial topics. It also has a powerful impact on the audience helping them remember the ideas better through repetition or grammatical manipulation.

Most used rhetorical devices

In order to know how to use these magic tools, it is crucial to know some of these most used rhetorical devices and also its application in a speech.

1. Alliteration

This is the repetition of sounds of two or more neighboring words. This is usually used to put emphasis and to draw attention. For instance, safety and security Ate apples all afternoon

2. Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word in a phrase at the beginning of the next phrase or sentence. For example, Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering –Yoda, Star Wars

3. Antistrophe

This is repetition of words at the end of consecutive phrases/clauses. It can be termed as a specific type of repetition. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.”

The above sentence is quoted by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent essayist. Here, the words ‘What lies’ is repeated leading to the creation of a poetic effect.

4. Antithesis

In this, two opposite and contrasting ideas are juxtaposed. For example, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Here, two contrasting ideas are proposed in the same sentence in such a way that it shows the strikingly different ideas showing a compare and contrast kind of situation.

A repeated word or phrase split up by another word, to display strong emotion. Understanding it with an example, Free at last! Free at last! Thank god we are free at last!

6. Ellipsis

In this, few words are depicting an event is omitted making the readers ponder about the narrative gaps. For instance, “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth…the proposition that all men are created equal.”

This is the start of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, where the three dots are ellipsis points suggesting a time lapse.

This is a simple method of double negatives that present a positive statement. It is often used to express irony. This is commonly used in conversations as well.

For example, ‘She is not thin’ OR ‘You are not unfamiliar with poetry’.

8. Hyperbole

This is an expression of mere exaggeration, often used to draw attention to the severity of the matter or to make a strong point. This is also frequently used in day to day language.

For instance,

‘I called her a thousand times’

‘It raining cats and dogs’.

9. Epistrophe

Repetition of words at the end of successive phrases for a poetic effect. An example of this could be the famous definition of democracy given by Abraham Lincoln, “… and that the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

10. Personification

Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects. It aids in a better explanation of ideas and concepts.

For instance, ‘The thunder roared in the evening’

‘The brutal wind bullied the trees compelling them into giving up their leaves’

11. Epiphora

Repetition of a word/phrase at the end of every clause. An instance of this could be a speech given by Steve Jobs where this technique is effectively used,

“Well, these are their home screens . And again, as you recall, this is the iPhone’s homescreen. This is what their contacts look like . This is what iPhone’s contacts look like .”

12. Anaphora

This is slightly different from Epiphora in the sense that the repetition of the word/phrase is at the beginning of the two or more sentences or clauses.

For instance, “They’re the women whose names we’ll never know. They are domestic workers and farm workers. They are working in factories and they work in restaurants and in academia, and engineering, medicine and science. They are part of the world of tech and politics and in business. They are athletes in the Olympics and they are soldiers in the military.”

This is a small chunk of a speech made by Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globes awards. Here, she tries to draw attention of the audience by emphasising on the word ‘They are’ highlighting the role of women in different parts of life.

13. Germinatio

This is repetition of a word in the same sentence for more than once. For instance, “And so I’ve got voice mail how I wanna listen to it, when I wanna listen to it, in any order I wanna listen to it with visual voicemail.”

The technique of germinatio was used by Steve Jobs in his speech in order to create a compelling effect on the listeners.

These are just a few commonly used rhetorical devices from an ocean of such magic tools. (Take a guess at what device is used here!)

How to use rhetorical devices in speeches?

Before we dive in to how to use rhetorical devices, we made a fun video on how these tools are the one simple thing that helps take your speech to the next level. There are a bunch of examples and tips here that will help you incorporate rhetorical devices for your next presentation. Highly recommend you check it out:

To know how to implement these rhetorical devices in your speech is also of utmost importance, apart from knowing them. Here’s a way of incorporating them in your speech.

1. Know the rhetorical appeals

It is important to know the types of rhetorical appeals as rhetorical devices fall into these categories. Make a rough draft and then insert rhetorical devices accordingly depending on the tone of the speech. Figure out the mode of persuasion, that is, whether it is Logos, Pathos, Ethos or Kairos.

This refers to giving logical and intellectual arguments and reasoning, supporting it with credible evidence. An example of logos can be a speech by Donald Trump, where he states a few figures regarding the illegal immigration,

“So here are just a few statistics on the human toll of illegal immigration. According to a 2011 government report, the arrests attached to the criminal alien population included an estimated 25,000 people for homicide, 42,000 for robbery, nearly 70,000 for sex offenses, and nearly 15,000 for kidnapping. In Texas alone, within the last seven years, more than a quarter-million criminal aliens have been arrested and charged with over 600,000 criminal offenses. … Sixty-three thousand Americans since 9/11 have been killed by illegal aliens. This isn’t a problem that’s going away; it’s getting bigger.”

This refers to making an appeal to the audience’s emotions. This includes using language in such a way that creates an empathetic feeling towards the speaker. Given below is an example of Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” speech.

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”

This refers to persuading the audience about the speaker’s credibility and the fact that his arguments carry weight.

An example of this could be the speech made by Mitt Romney, senator of the United States. In this speech, accepting the presidential nominee Mitt Romney points out to the fact that his business success would prove useful if he were to take the office.

“I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience. When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice. So we started a new business called Bain Capital…That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I’m pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised.”

This involves an appeal to the timing of the argument, meaning that the argument has to be made in a suitable context making the audience receptive to it. An instance of Kairos can be Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,

“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to make to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

One can use these rhetorical appeals in such a way that a combination of all 4 appeals is made simultaneously.

Making the speech highly logos specific, that is giving only facts, will make the audience bored, whereas making it too pathos oriented will make the speech very emotional and lacking in rational thinking.

If you would like some more information on ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS, you can check out the same in this short video we made:

2. A rhetorical question

Rhetorical questions can be used to control the thoughts of the audience. These questions may have obvious answers or may not have a clear cut answer.

One technique of using such questions is inserting them in the start of the speech and then carrying on with the speech in such a way that the rhetorical question is answered in the content of your presentation.

Another way is by inserting a rhetorical question, which as an obvious answer to it at the end of the speech- making sure that the question is related to what the speech entails.

The election speech of Ronald Reagan for the 1980 presidential debate between Governor Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter, where the governor ended with a bunch of rhetorical questions is a perfect example for this,

“Next Tuesday is Election Day. Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we’re as strong as we were four years ago? And if you answer all of those questions yes, why then, I think your choice is very obvious as to whom you will vote for. If you don’t agree, if you don’t think that this course that we’ve been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.”

Check it out in action, here:

3. A powerful beginning

It is rightly said that the first impression is the last impression and hence a powerful beginning is very important. To capture the audience it is important to insert some rhetorical devices at the start of your speech which create some poetic effect that helps you engage the audience. It may also include the use of diacope or anadiplosis which focus on repetition of the words of phrases creating emphasis and a strong display of emotions.

An example of anadiplosis can be: “Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution.” This was used by the George W. Bush

4. A powerful end

Climax is the most important part, be it a speech or a movie! What you say in the end is what stays with the audience hence, ending the speech with impactful rhetorical devices is advisable.

These may include inserting a rhetorical question making the audience ponder a little as mentioned above. It may also include the use of Epistrophe.

For instance, while addressing the nation about terrorism George Bush ends his speech in a powerful way assuring people that he will take the necessary actions to prevent terrorism, with appropriate use of Epistrophe:

“I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.”  

Watch the full speech here:

Use of rhetorical devices by Frederick Douglass

The credit for developing the basics of rhetoric goes to Aristotle and since then there has been extensive use of these literary tools. A prominent figure who is well known for his use of rhetorical devices is also Frederick Douglass, who was a slave who had escaped and went on to become an activist, author and public speaker.

He is known not only for his idea of abolition of slavery but also his superior skill of rhetoric and the art of persuading the audience. In his memoir called the ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave’, a number of rhetorical devices are used to argue against the heinous act of slavery.

Here is a look at how he used some of them to make his communication all the more poewrful:

It involves persuading the audience about the author’s qualifications and credibility pointing to the fact that the speaker’s arguments carry weight.

In the memoir, Frederick Douglass talks about his first-hand experience with slavery by talking about being oblivious about his birthday unlike other people in the first chapter itself, building his ethos.

In order to make an appeal to the audience’s emotions, Douglass talks about his experience of watching his aunt being whipped by the slaveholder until she is covered in blood.

Frederick writes, ‘He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave. I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cow skin.’

Frederick talks about how animals were treated better than humans by the slaveholder.  

He writes about the condition of the slaves by saying:

‘Everything depended upon the looks of the horses, and the state of Colonel Lloyd’s own mind when his horses were brought to him for use. If a horse did not move fast enough, or hold his head high enough, it was owing to some fault of his keepers. It was painful to stand near the stable-door, and hear the various complaints against the keepers when a horse was taken out for use. To all the complaints, no matter how unjust, the slave must answer never a word. Colonel Lloyd could not brook any contradiction from a slave. When he spoke, a slave must stand, listen, and tremble; and such was literally the case. I have seen Colonel Lloyd make old Barney, a man between fifty and sixty years of age, uncover his bald head, kneel down upon the cold, damp ground, and receive upon his naked and toil-worn shoulders more than thirty lashes at the time.’

In Fredrick Douglass’s speech- “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”, he also makes a similar appeal through the use of ethos, pathos and logos . To begin with, he makes an appeal to ethos, by initiating his speech with modesty and meekness. For example, “He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have.”

To steer emotions among the audience, he also uses metaphors such as “A horrible reptile is coiled up in your nation’s bosom; the venomous creature is nursing at the tender breast of your youthful republic . “

“From the round top of your ship of state, dark and threatening clouds may be seen.” This is an example of an extended metaphor where he is comparing the United States to a ship at sea and the dark and threatening clouds are compared to the ongoing threats and troubles.

There has also been use of simile , where the speaker makes a direct comparison of the slaves to animals sold in the market. For example, “I hear the doleful wail of fettered humanity, on the way to the slave-markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine.”

Other Rhetorical Devices used by Douglas

Moreover, through the phrase ‘ doleful wail of fettered humanity ’ the speaker is trying to give the human quality of being fettered to an abstract noun of humanity, pointing out to the use of personification .

Apart from these rhetorical devices, Frederick Douglass also uses rhetorical questions to make the audience ponder about the situation of slavery by asking them, “Is slavery among them? Is it at the gateway? Or is it in the temple?”

“What would be thought of an instrument, drawn up, legally drawn up, for the purpose of entitling the city of Rochester to a tract of land, in which no mention of land was made?”

Another important rhetorical device used by him was that of allusion . Allusion is when the author or the speaker refers to an event, object, person or to a work of art either directly or indirectly. In his speech, Frederick alludes to biblical material, knowing that the audience mostly comprises of Christians.

For instance, “ The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and the doom of slavery is certain.” Through this, the speaker makes an analogy between the Lord sending the Israelites back to their homeland and the hope that slavery will perish. Frederick Douglass has made such allusions in order to support his arguments, knowing that words from the bible would carry weight and have a strong impact.

Use of rhetorical devices in famous speeches

1. michelle obama – anaphora.

“I trust Hillary to lead this country because I’ve seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children – not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection but every child who needs a champion: Kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs. Kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college. Kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English but dream of a better life. Kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be.”

This is a small part of a speech made by Michelle Obama. In this, it is seen the word “ Kids ” is used more than once to start sentences that follow each other, pointing out to the use of anaphora.

Here’s the video for the speech made by the former first lady:

2. Steve Jobs – Germination

“That’s 58 songs every second of every minute of every hour of every day.”

This is an instance from the speech of Steve Jobs, where he puts emphasis on the word “ every ” by repeating it frequently in the same sentence.

See the entire speech here:

3. Barack Obama – Antistrophe

“It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.”

Here, the phrase “Yes, we can” is used repeatedly at the end of every sentence in order to put emphasis on the subject.

Watch the video of the speech here:

4. Martin Luther King, Jr – Antithesis

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Here, the speaker uses antithesis by inverting the statements to show that America will have a day when people are judged by their character and not their skin colour.

Given below is the historic speech made at the Lincoln Memorial by Martin Luther King Jr :

5. John Kennedy – Ellipsis

“This much we pledge — and more.”

Here the former President uses “and more” instead of listing more ideas. He also compels the audience to keep thinking about the ideas they should pledge to, instead of listing them.   

In order to use a wide variety of rhetorical devices, it is important to know the different types of these literary techniques. A powerful speech is not just about a good orator or good public speaking skills but much more than that! And these rhetorical devices constitute an integral part of the components which make your speech extraordinary.

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The Throughline Blog

Practical Media Training and Public Speaking Tips

Nine Rhetorical Devices For Your Next Speech

Many speakers are good at conveying information to their audiences. But how many of them are actually interesting ?

Rhetorical devices are too often cast aside as the province of the great Roman orators. They shouldn’t be. When executed well, they can spice up your speeches, presentations, even your one-on-one conversations.

Here are nine of my favorite rhetorical devices. Instead of just reading this article, try inserting a few of these devices in your next speech!

1. Alliteration: The repetition of a sound in the first syllable of each phrase. In the example below, you will see one string of three words beginning with “f,” and another with three words beginning with “d.”

“They are part of the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. They have served tour after tour of duty in distant, different, and difficult places.” – President Barack Obama

  2. Anadiplosis: The last word or phrase is repeated to begin the next.

“Suffering breeds character; character breeds faith.” – Rev. Jesse Jackson “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda

    3. Antimetabole: The repetition of words or phrases in successive clauses, but in reverse order.

“Not all schooling is education nor all education, schooling.” – Economist Milton Friedman “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” – Scientist Carl Sagan

    4. Antithesis:  A word, phrase, or sentence opposes the original proposition.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong

5. Asyndeton: Omits conjunctions, which helps to increase the tempo and highlight a specific idea.

“…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln “He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac.” – Jack Kerouac

6. Diacope: A repeated word or phrase split up by other words; typically used to express a strong emotion.

“Put out the light, and then put out the light.” – William Shakespeare, Othello “For the love of God, man, for the love of God.” – Me, all the time “You’re not fully clean unless you’re Zest fully clean .” – Zest Soap commercial  

  7. Litotes: You’ve probably heard this if a friend ever told you her first date was “not bad.” Litotes is essentially a double negative, expressed by denying an opposite idea; often used ironically.

“She’s no dummy” (she’s smart) “This is no small problem” (this is a big problem)

  8. Metaphor: An analogy that compares one thing or idea to another, using a term or phrase it literally isn’t to suggest similarity.

“Homeowners are the innocent bystanders in a drive-by shooting by Wall Street and Washington.” – Sen. John McCain “It’s raining men.” – The Weather Girls

  9. Simile: A comparison between two unalike things, usually using the words “as” or “like.”

“We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “You’re as cold as ice.” – Foreigner

Do you want to learn even more ways to spice up your speeches and presentations? Become the speaker you always wanted to be with our free public speaking tips guide . 

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Comments (9)

Useful list, but I’m rather surprised by your use of all these obscure Greek words to describe the techniques. I’ve been teaching people how to use rhetorical devices for more than 25 years and have found it perfectly possible to describe them in instantly accessible modern English that anyone can easily understand. For the same reason – instant accessibility so that people can benefit from using them – also did this in my book ‘Lend Me Your Ears: All You Need to Know About Making Speeches and Presentations’ http://amzn.to/g7NgAL

Hi Max, Thank you for your comment, and you raise a fair point. I certainly agree that jargon is lousy for all forms of communication. Would you mind sharing a few of the terms you use to replace the ancient Greek words? Thank you, Brad

I think it’s important to note that it’s not necessary to use ALL of these devices in a speech or presentation. Two similes, a bunch of alliteration and some antimetabole can be too much. It’s a presentation, not Shakespeare. Don’t let the message get muddied in order to show how clever you are. Simplicity, in many cases, is the best rhetorical device.

Hi Betsy, Thank you for making that point – you’re exactly right. Rhetorical devices should be used to help achieve a specific purpose, such as making a key point more memorable. Speakers should feel free to experiment with a device or two in every speech, but should be careful not to go over-the-top. If you’re unsure how many devices to use, I’d err on the side of too few (at least at first). As you suggested, a little goes a long way. Thanks for stopping by the blog! Brad

AWESOME AND EDUCATIONAL

I would like to point out, that I am fairly certain that your second example for alliteration, given by Martin Luther King Jr., is not alliteration at all. I believe it is actually an example of anaphora.

First commenter (Max) is clearly self promoting and not adding value here. Why say that and then not offer examples? Thank you author Brad for providing these examples and the names that are used for them.

Jack is correct! H.S. was 10 years ago for me (I took a public speaking class), but I DO recall falling in love with anaphora, particularly when I was crafting a rousing speech. It gets me FIRED UP! BTW, is there any way in which an apposition can be qualified as a rhetorical device? I feel in love with them from about age 9– I read a lot. I do love them in informative pieces, but it would be fun to see them used convincingly in a persuasive piece. I faintly recall trying to squeeze A FEW into just one sentence for a particularly militant English professor, just to piss her off. . . IT WORKED. She loved me by the end of the semester, however.

For those who did not appreciate the technical terms for the devices. I loved It, as it helped focus my attention. I got a real kick out of it, the specific terms, the love of language for the sake of language. Mmm. A rhetorical device?

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31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

What is a rhetorical device and why are they used.

As with all fields of serious and complicated human endeavor (that can be considered variously as an art, a science, a profession, or a hobby), there is a technical vocabulary associated with writing. Rhetoric is the name for the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion, and though a writer doesn’t need to know the specific labels for certain writing techniques in order to use them effectively, it is sometimes helpful to have a handy taxonomy for the ways in which words and ideas are arranged. This can help to discuss and isolate ideas that might otherwise become abstract and confusing. As with the word rhetoric itself, many of these rhetorical devices come from Greek.

Ready, set, rhetoric.

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

wild and woolly, threatening throngs

Syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another

you really should have—well, what do you expect?

Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word in one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next

rely on his honor—honor such as his?

A literary technique that involves interruption of the chronological sequence of events by interjection of events or scenes of earlier occurrence : flashback

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground

The repetition of a word within a phrase or sentence in which the second occurrence utilizes a different and sometimes contrary meaning from the first

we must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately

The usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings

this giant of 3 feet 4 inches

The use of a proper name to designate a member of a class (such as a Solomon for a wise ruler) OR the use of an epithet or title in place of a proper name (such as the Bard for Shakespeare)

The raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it

we won't discuss his past crimes

An expression of real or pretended doubt or uncertainty especially for rhetorical effect

to be, or not to be: that is the question

Harshness in the sound of words or phrases

An inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases

working hard, or hardly working?

A disjunctive conclusion inferred from a single premise

gravitation may act without contact; therefore, either some force may act without contact or gravitation is not a force

The substitution of a disagreeable, offensive, or disparaging expression for an agreeable or inoffensive one

greasy spoon is a dysphemism for the word diner

Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

of the people, by the people, for the people

Emphatic repetition [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

An interchange of two elements in a phrase or sentence from a more logical to a less logical relationship

you are lost to joy for joy is lost to you

A transposition or inversion of idiomatic word order

judge me by my size, do you?

Extravagant exaggeration

mile-high ice-cream cones

The putting or answering of an objection or argument against the speaker's contention [ this definition is taken from the 1934 edition of Webster's Unabridged dictionary ]

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

not a bad singer

The presentation of a thing with underemphasis especially in order to achieve a greater effect : UNDERSTATEMENT

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them ( Metaphor vs. Simile )

drowning in money

A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated

crown as used in lands belonging to the crown

The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words

cruel kindness

The use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense : REDUNDANCY

I saw it with my own eyes

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by "like" or "as"

cheeks like roses

The use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context with one literal and the other metaphorical in sense

she blew my nose and then she blew my mind

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (such as fifty sail for fifty ships ), the whole for a part (such as society for high society ), the species for the genus (such as cutthroat for assassin ), the genus for the species (such as a creature for a man ), or the name of the material for the thing made (such as boards for stage )

The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one

opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy

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Common literary devices, such as metaphors and similes, are the building blocks of literature, and what make literature so enchanting. Language evolves through the literary devices in poetry and prose; the different types of figurative language make literature spark in different ways.

Consider this your crash course in common literary devices. Whether you’re studying for the AP Lit exam or looking to improve your creative writing, this article is crammed with literary devices, examples, and analysis.

What are Literary Devices?

• Personification
• Juxtaposition
• Onomatopoeia
• Common Literary Devices in Poetry
• Common Literary Devices in Prose
• Repetition Literary Devices
• Dialogue Literary Devices
• Word Play Literary Devices
• Parallelism Literary Devices
• Rhetorical Devices

Let’s start with the basics. What are literary devices?

Literary devices take writing beyond its literal meaning. They help guide the reader in how to read the piece.

Literary devices are ways of taking writing beyond its straightforward, literal meaning. In that sense, they are techniques for helping guide the reader in how to read the piece.

Central to all literary devices is a quality of connection : by establishing or examining relationships between things, literary devices encourage the reader to perceive and interpret the world in new ways.

One common form of connection in literary devices is comparison. Metaphors and similes are the most obvious examples of comparison. A metaphor is a direct comparison of two things—“the tree is a giant,” for example. A simile is an in direct comparison—“the tree is like a giant.” In both instances, the tree is compared to—and thus connected with—something (a giant) beyond what it literally is (a tree).

Other literary devices forge connections in different ways. For example, imagery, vivid description, connects writing richly to the worlds of the senses. Alliteration uses the sound of words itself to forge new literary connections (“alligators and apples”).

By enabling new connections that go beyond straightforward details and meanings, literary devices give literature its power.

What all these literary devices have in common is that they create new connections: rich layers of sound, sense, emotion, narrative, and ultimately meaning that surpass the literal details being recounted. They are what sets literature apart, and what makes it uniquely powerful.

Read on for an in-depth look and analysis at 112 common literary devices.

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Literary Devices List: 14 Common Literary Devices

In this article, we focus on literary devices that can be found in both poetry and prose.

There are a lot of literary devices to cover, each of which require their own examples and analysis. As such, we will start by focusing on common literary devices for this article: literary devices that can be found in both poetry and prose. With each device, we’ve included examples in literature and exercises you can use in your own creative writing.

Afterwards, we’ve listed other common literary devices you might see in poetry, prose, dialogue, and rhetoric.

Let’s get started!

1. Metaphor

Metaphors, also known as direct comparisons, are one of the most common literary devices. A metaphor is a statement in which two objects, often unrelated, are compared to each other.

Example of metaphor: This tree is the god of the forest.

Obviously, the tree is not a god—it is, in fact, a tree. However, by stating that the tree is the god, the reader is given the image of something strong, large, and immovable. Additionally, using “god” to describe the tree, rather than a word like “giant” or “gargantuan,” makes the tree feel like a spiritual center of the forest.

Metaphors allow the writer to pack multiple descriptions and images into one short sentence. The metaphor has much more weight and value than a direct description. If the writer chose to describe the tree as “the large, spiritual center of the forest,” the reader won’t understand the full importance of the tree’s size and scope.

Similes, also known as indirect comparisons, are similar in construction to metaphors, but they imply a different meaning. Like metaphors, two unrelated objects are being compared to each other. Unlike a metaphor, the comparison relies on the words “like” or “as.”

Example of simile: This tree is like the god of the forest. OR: This tree acts as the god of the forest.

What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?

The obvious difference between these two common literary devices is that a simile uses “like” or “as,” whereas a metaphor never uses these comparison words.

Additionally, in reference to the above examples, the insertion of “like” or “as” creates a degree of separation between both elements of the device. In a simile, the reader understands that, although the tree is certainly large, it isn’t large enough to be a god; the tree’s “godhood” is simply a description, not a relevant piece of information to the poem or story.

Simply put, metaphors are better to use as a central device within the poem/story, encompassing the core of what you are trying to say. Similes are better as a supporting device.

Does that mean metaphors are better than similes? Absolutely not. Consider Louise Gluck’s poem “ The Past. ” Gluck uses both a simile and a metaphor to describe the sound of the wind: it is like shadows moving, but is her mother’s voice. Both devices are equally haunting, and ending the poem on the mother’s voice tells us the central emotion of the poem.

Learn more about the difference between similes and metaphors here:

Simile vs. Metaphor vs. Analogy: Definitions and Examples

Simile and Metaphor Writing Exercise: Tenors and Vehicles

Most metaphors and similes have two parts: the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor refers to the subject being described, and the vehicle refers to the image that describes the tenor.

So, in the metaphor “the tree is a god of the forest,” the tenor is the tree and the vehicle is “god of the forest.”

To practice writing metaphors and similes, let’s create some literary device lists. grab a sheet of paper and write down two lists. In the first list, write down “concept words”—words that cannot be physically touched. Love, hate, peace, war, happiness, and anger are all concepts because they can all be described but are not physical objects in themselves.

In the second list, write down only concrete objects—trees, clouds, the moon, Jupiter, New York brownstones, uncut sapphires, etc.

Your concepts are your tenors, and your concrete objects are your vehicles. Now, randomly draw a one between each tenor and each vehicle, then write an explanation for your metaphor/simile. You might write, say:

Have fun, write interesting literary devices, and try to incorporate them into a future poem or story!

An analogy is an argumentative comparison: it compares two unalike things to advance an argument. Specifically, it argues that two things have equal weight, whether that weight be emotional, philosophical, or even literal. Because analogical literary devices operate on comparison, it can be considered a form of metaphor.

For example:

Making pasta is as easy as one, two, three.

This analogy argues that making pasta and counting upwards are equally easy things. This format, “A is as B” or “A is to B”, is a common analogy structure.

Another common structure for analogy literary devices is “A is to B as C is to D.” For example:

Gordon Ramsay is to cooking as Meryl Streep is to acting.

The above constructions work best in argumentative works. Lawyers and essayists will often use analogies. In other forms of creative writing, analogies aren’t as formulaic, but can still prove to be powerful literary devices. In fact, you probably know this one:

“That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” — Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare

To put this into the modern language of an analogy, Shakespeare is saying “a rose with no name smells as a rose with a name does.” The name “rose” does not affect whether or not the flower smells good.

Analogy Writing Exercise

Analogies are some of the most common literary devices, alongside similes and metaphors. Here’s an exercise for writing one yourself.

On a blank sheet of paper: write down the first four nouns that come to mind. Try to use concrete, visual nouns. Then, write down a verb. If you struggle to come up with any of these, any old word generator on the internet will help.

The only requirement is that two of your four nouns should be able to perform the verb. A dog can swim, for example, but it can’t fly an airplane.

Your list might look like this:

Verb: Fall Nouns: Rain, dirt, pavement, shadow

An analogy you create from this list might be: “his shadow falls on the pavement how rain falls on the dirt in May.

Your analogy might end up being silly or poetic, strange or evocative. But, by forcing yourself to make connections between seemingly disparate items, you’re using these literary devices to hone the skills of effective, interesting writing.

Is imagery a literary device? Absolutely! Imagery can be both literal and figurative, and it relies on the interplay of language and sensation to create a sharper image in your brain.

Imagery is what it sounds like—the use of figurative language to describe something.

Imagery is what it sounds like—the use of figurative language to describe something. In fact, we’ve already seen imagery in action through the previous literary devices: by describing the tree as a “god”, the tree looks large and sturdy in the reader’s mind.

However, imagery doesn’t just involve visual descriptions; the best writers use imagery to appeal to all five senses. By appealing to the reader’s sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, your writing will create a vibrant world for readers to live and breathe in.

The best writers use imagery to appeal to all five senses.

Let’s use imagery to describe that same tree. (I promise I can write about more than just trees, but it’s a very convenient image for these common literary devices, don’t you think?)

Notice how these literary device examples also used metaphors and similes? Literary devices often pile on top of each other, which is why so many great works of literature can be analyzed endlessly. Because imagery depends on the object’s likeness to other objects, imagery upholds the idea that a literary device is synonymous with comparison.

Imagery Writing Exercise

Want to try your hand at imagery? You can practice this concept by describing an object in the same way that this article describes a tree! Choose something to write about—any object, image, or idea—and describe it using the five senses. (“This biscuit has the tidy roundness of a lady’s antique hat.” “The biscuit tastes of brand-new cardboard.” and so on!)

Then, once you’ve written five (or more) lines of imagery, try combining these images until your object is sharp and clear in the reader’s head.

Imagery is one of the most essential common literary devices. To learn more about imagery, or to find more imagery writing exercises, take a look at our article Imagery Definition: 5+ Types of Imagery in Literature .

5. Symbolism

Symbolism combines a lot of the ideas presented in metaphor and imagery. Essentially, a symbol is the use of an object to represent a concept—it’s kind of like a metaphor, except more concise!

Symbols are everywhere in the English language, and we often use these common literary devices in speech and design without realizing it. The following are very common examples of symbolism:

A few very commonly used symbols include:

• “Peace” represented by a white dove
• “Love” represented by a red rose
• “Conformity” represented by sheep
• “Idea” represented by a light bulb switching on

The symbols above are so widely used that they would likely show up as clichés in your own writing. (Would you read a poem, written today, that started with “Let’s release the white dove of peace”?) In that sense, they do their job “too well”—they’re such a good symbol for what they symbolize that they’ve become ubiquitous, and you’ll have to add something new in your own writing.

Symbols are often contextually specific as well. For example, a common practice in Welsh marriage is to give your significant other a lovespoon , which the man has designed and carved to signify the relationship’s unique, everlasting bond. In many Western cultures, this same bond is represented by a diamond ring—which can also be unique and everlasting!

Symbolism makes the core ideas of your writing concrete.

Finally, notice how each of these examples are a concept represented by a concrete object. Symbolism makes the core ideas of your writing concrete, and also allows you to manipulate your ideas. If a rose represents love, what does a wilted rose or a rose on fire represent?

Symbolism Writing Exercise

Often, symbols are commonly understood images—but not always. You can invent your own symbols to capture the reader’s imagination, too!

Try your hand at symbolism by writing a poem or story centered around a symbol. Choose a random object, and make that object represent something. For example, you could try to make a blanket represent the idea of loneliness.

When you’ve paired an object and a concept, write your piece with that symbol at the center:

The down blanket lay crumpled, unused, on the empty side of our bed.

The goal is to make it clear that you’re associating the object with the concept. Make the reader feel the same way about your symbol as you do!

6. Personification

Personification, giving human attributes to nonhuman objects, is a powerful way to foster empathy in your readers.

Personification is exactly what it sounds like: giving human attributes to nonhuman objects. Also known as anthropomorphism, personification is a powerful way to foster empathy in your readers.

Think about personification as if it’s a specific type of imagery. You can describe a nonhuman object through the five senses, and do so by giving it human descriptions. You can even impute thoughts and emotions—mental events—to a nonhuman or even nonliving thing. This time, we’ll give human attributes to a car—see our personification examples below!

Personification (using sight): The car ran a marathon down the highway.

Personification (using sound): The car coughed, hacked, and spluttered.

Personification (using touch): The car was smooth as a baby’s bottom.

Personification (using taste): The car tasted the bitter asphalt.

Personification (using smell): The car needed a cold shower.

Personification (using mental events): The car remembered its first owner fondly.

Notice how we don’t directly say the car is like a human—we merely describe it using human behaviors. Personification exists at a unique intersection of imagery and metaphor, making it a powerful literary device that fosters empathy and generates unique descriptions.

Personification Writing Exercise

Try writing personification yourself! In the above example, we chose a random object and personified it through the five senses. It’s your turn to do the same thing: find a concrete noun and describe it like it’s a human.

Here are two examples:

The ancient, threadbare rug was clearly tired of being stepped on.

My phone issued notifications with the grimly efficient extroversion of a sorority chapter president.

Now start writing your own! Your descriptions can be active or passive, but the goal is to foster empathy in the reader’s mind by giving the object human traits.

7. Hyperbole

You know that one friend who describes things very dramatically? They’re probably speaking in hyperboles. Hyperbole is just a dramatic word for being over-dramatic—which sounds a little hyperbolic, don’t you think?

Basically, hyperbole refers to any sort of exaggerated description or statement. We use hyperbole all the time in the English language, and you’ve probably heard someone say things like:

• I’ve been waiting a billion years for this
• I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
• I feel like a million bucks
• You are the king of the kitchen

None of these examples should be interpreted literally: there are no kings in the kitchen, and I doubt anyone can eat an entire horse in one sitting. This common literary device allows us to compare our emotions to something extreme, giving the reader a sense of how intensely we feel something in the moment.

This is what makes hyperbole so fun! Coming up with crazy, exaggerated statements that convey the intensity of the speaker’s emotions can add a personable element to your writing. After all, we all feel our emotions to a certain intensity, and hyperbole allows us to experience that intensity to its fullest.

Hyperbole Writing Exercise

To master the art of the hyperbole, try expressing your own emotions as extremely as possible. For example, if you’re feeling thirsty, don’t just write that you’re thirsty, write that you could drink the entire ocean. Or, if you’re feeling homesick, don’t write that you’re yearning for home, write that your homeland feels as far as Jupiter.

As a specific exercise, you can try writing a poem or short piece about something mundane, using more and more hyperbolic language with each line or sentence. Here’s an example:

A well-written hyperbole helps focus the reader’s attention on your emotions and allows you to play with new images, making it a fun, chaos-inducing literary device.

Is irony a literary device? Yes—but it’s often used incorrectly. People often describe something as being ironic, when really it’s just a moment of dark humor. So, the colloquial use of the word irony is a bit off from its official definition as a literary device.

Irony is when the writer describes something by using opposite language. As a real-life example, if someone is having a bad day, they might say they’re doing “ greaaaaaat ”, clearly implying that they’re actually doing quite un-greatly. Or a story’s narrator might write:

Like most bureaucrats, she felt a boundless love for her job, and was eager to share that good feeling with others.

In other words, irony highlights the difference between “what seems to be” and “what is.” In literature, irony can describe dialogue, but it also describes ironic situations : situations that proceed in ways that are elaborately contrary to what one would expect. A clear example of this is in The Wizard of Oz . All of the characters already have what they are looking for, so when they go to the wizard and discover that they all have brains, hearts, etc., their petition—making a long, dangerous journey to beg for what they already have—is deeply ironic.

Irony Writing Exercise

For verbal irony, try writing a sentence that gives something the exact opposite qualities that it actually has:

The triple bacon cheeseburger glistened with health and good choices.

For situational irony, try writing an imagined plot for a sitcom, starting with “Ben lost his car keys and can’t find them anywhere.” What would be the most ironic way for that situation to be resolved? (Are they sitting in plain view on Ben’s desk… at the detective agency he runs?) Have fun with it!

9. Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition refers to the placement of contrasting ideas next to each other, often to produce an ironic or thought-provoking effect. Writers use juxtaposition in both poetry and prose, though this common literary device looks slightly different within each realm of literature.

In poetry, juxtaposition is used to build tension or highlight an important contrast. Consider the poem “ A Juxtaposition ” by Kenneth Burke, which juxtaposes nation & individual, treble & bass, and loudness & silence. The result is a poem that, although short, condemns the paradox of a citizen trapped in their own nation.

Just a note: these juxtapositions are also examples of antithesis , which is when the writer juxtaposes two completely opposite ideas. Juxtaposition doesn’t have to be completely contrarian, but in this poem, it is.

Juxtaposition accomplishes something similar in prose. A famous example comes from the opening A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of time.” Dickens opens his novel by situating his characters into a world of contrasts, which is apt for the extreme wealth disparities pre-French Revolution.

Juxtaposition Writing Exercise

One great thing about juxtaposition is that it can dismantle something that appears to be a binary. For example, black and white are often assumed to be polar opposites, but when you put them next to each other, you’ll probably get some gray in the middle.

To really master the art of juxtaposition, try finding two things that you think are polar opposites. They can be concepts, such as good & evil, or they can be people, places, objects, etc. Juxtapose your two selected items by starting your writing with both of them—for example:

Across the town from her wedding, the bank robbers were tying up the hostages.

I put the box of chocolates on the coffee table, next to the gas mask.

Then write a poem or short story that explores a “gray area,” relationship, commonality, or resonance between these two objects or events—without stating as much directly. If you can accomplish what Dickens or Burke accomplishes with their juxtapositions, then you, too, are a master!

10. Paradox

A paradox is a juxtaposition of contrasting ideas that, while seemingly impossible, actually reveals a deeper truth. One of the trickier literary devices, paradoxes are powerful tools for deconstructing binaries and challenging the reader’s beliefs.

A simple paradox example comes to us from Ancient Rome.

Catullus 85 ( translated from Latin)

I hate and I love. Why I do this, perhaps you ask. I know not, but I feel it happening and I am tortured.

Often, “hate” and “love” are assumed to be opposing forces. How is it possible for the speaker to both hate and love the object of his affection? The poem doesn’t answer this, merely telling us that the speaker is “tortured,” but the fact that these binary forces coexist in the speaker is a powerful paradox. Catullus 85 asks the reader to consider the absoluteness of feelings like hate and love, since both seem to torment the speaker equally.

Another paradox example comes from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.”

Here, “natural” and “pose” are conflicting ideas. Someone who poses assumes an unnatural state of being, whereas a natural poise seems effortless and innate. Despite these contrasting ideas, Wilde is exposing a deeper truth: to seem natural is often to keep up appearances, and seeming natural often requires the same work as assuming any other pose.

Note: paradox should not be confused with oxymoron. An oxymoron is also a statement with contrasting ideas, but a paradox is assumed to be true, whereas an oxymoron is merely a play on words (like the phrase “same difference”).

Paradox Writing Exercise

Paradox operates very similarly to literary devices like juxtaposition and irony. To write a paradox, juxtapose two binary ideas. Try to think outside of the box here: “hate and love” are an easy binary to conjure, so think about something more situational. Wilde’s paradox “natural and pose” is a great one; another idea could be the binaries “awkward and graceful” or “red-handed and innocent.”

Now, situate those binaries into a certain situation, and make it so that they can coexist. Imagine a scenario in which both elements of your binary are true at the same time. How can this be, and what can we learn from this surprising juxtaposition?

11. Allusion

If you haven’t noticed, literary devices are often just fancy words for simple concepts. A metaphor is literally a comparison and hyperbole is just an over-exaggeration. In this same style, allusion is just a fancy word for a literary reference; when a writer alludes to something, they are either directly or indirectly referring to another, commonly-known piece of art or literature.

The most frequently-alluded to work is probably the Bible. Many colloquial phrases and ideas stem from it, since many themes and images from the Bible present themselves in popular works, as well as throughout Western culture. Any of the following ideas, for example, are Biblical allusions:

• Referring to a kind stranger as a Good Samaritan
• Describing an ideal place as Edenic, or the Garden of Eden
• Saying someone “turned the other cheek” when they were passive in the face of adversity
• When something is described as lasting “40 days and 40 nights,” in reference to the flood of Noah’s Ark

Of course, allusion literary devices aren’t just Biblical. You might describe a woman as being as beautiful as the Mona Lisa, or you might call a man as stoic as Hemingway.

Why write allusions? Allusions appeal to common experiences: they are metaphors in their own right, as we understand what it means to describe an ideal place as Edenic.

Like the other common literary devices, allusions are often metaphors, images, and/or hyperboles. And, like other literary devices, allusions also have their own sub-categories.

Allusion Writing Exercise

See how densely you can allude to other works and experiences in writing about something simple. Go completely outside of good taste and name-drop like crazy:

Allusions (way too much version): I wanted Nikes, not Adidas, because I want to be like Mike. But still, “a rose by any other name”—they’re just shoes, and “if the shoe fits, wear it.”

From this frenetic style of writing, trim back to something more tasteful:

Allusions (more tasteful version): I had wanted Nikes, not Adidas—but “if the shoe fits, wear it.”

12. Allegory

An allegory is a story whose sole purpose is to represent an abstract concept or idea. As such, allegories are sometimes extended allusions, but the two common literary devices have their differences.

For example, George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegory for the deterioration of Communism during the early establishment of the U.S.S.R. The farm was founded on a shared goal of overthrowing the farming elite and establishing an equitable society, but this society soon declines. Animal Farm mirrors the Bolshevik Revolution, the overthrow of the Russian aristocracy, Lenin’s death, Stalin’s execution of Trotsky, and the nation’s dissolution into an amoral, authoritarian police state. Thus, Animal Farm is an allegory/allusion to the U.S.S.R.:

Allusion (excerpt from Animal Farm ):

“There were times when it seemed to the animals that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they had done in [Farmer] Jones’s day.”

However, allegories are not always allusions. Consider Plato’s “ Allegory of the Cave ,” which represents the idea of enlightenment. By representing a complex idea, this allegory could actually be closer to an extended symbol rather than an extended allusion.

Allegory Writing Exercise

Pick a major trend going on in the world. In this example, let’s pick the growing reach of social media as our “major trend.”

Next, what are the primary properties of that major trend? Try to list them out:

• More connectedness
• A loss of privacy
• People carefully massaging their image and sharing that image widely

Next, is there something happening at—or that could happen at—a much smaller scale that has some or all of those primary properties? This is where your creativity comes into play.

Well… what if elementary school children not only started sharing their private diaries, but were now expected to share their diaries? Let’s try writing from inside that reality:

I know Jennifer McMahon made up her diary entry about how much she misses her grandma. The tear smudges were way too neat and perfect. Anyway, everyone loved it. They photocopied it all over the bulletin boards and they even read it over the PA, and Jennifer got two extra brownies at lunch.

Try your own! You may find that you’ve just written your own Black Mirror episode.

13. Ekphrasis

Ekphrasis refers to a poem or story that is directly inspired by another piece of art. Ekphrastic literature often describes another piece of art, such as the classic “ Ode on a Grecian Urn ”:

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede Of marble men and maidens overwrought, With forest branches and the trodden weed; Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral! When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

Ekphrasis can be considered a direct allusion because it borrows language and images from other artwork. For a great example of ekphrasis—as well as a submission opportunity for writers!—check out the monthly ekphrastic challenge that Rattle Poetry runs.

Ekphrasis writing exercise

Try your hand at ekphrasis by picking a piece of art you really enjoy and writing a poem or story based off of it. For example, you could write a story about Mona Lisa having a really bad day, or you could write a black-out poem created from the lyrics of your favorite song.

Or, try Rattle ‘s monthly ekphrastic challenge ! All art inspires other art, and by letting ekphrasis guide your next poem or story, you’re directly participating in a greater artistic and literary conversation.

14. Onomatopoeia

Flash! Bang! Wham! An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the noise it describes. Conveying both a playfulness of language and a serious representation of everyday sounds, onomatopoeias draw the reader into the sensations of the story itself.

Onomatopoeia words are most often used in poetry and in comic books, though they certainly show up in works of prose as well. Some onomatopoeias can be found in the dictionary, such as “murmur,” “gargle,” and “rumble,” “click,” and “vroom.” However, writers make up onomatopoeia words all the time, so while the word “ptoo” definitely sounds like a person spitting, you won’t find it in Merriam Webster’s.

Here’s an onomatopoeia example, from the poem “Honky Tonk in Cleveland, Ohio” by Carl Sandburg .

The onomatopoeias have been highlighted in bold. These common literary devices help make your writing fresh, interesting, and vivid, creating a sonic setting that the reader can fall into.

Learn more about onomatopoeias here!

Onomatopoeia Writing Exercise

Onomatopoeias are fun literary devices to use in your work, so have fun experimenting with them. In this exercise, take a moment to listen to the noises around you. Pay close attention to the whir of electronics, the fzzzzzzz of the heater, the rumbling of cars on the street, or the tintintintintin of rain on the roof.

Whatever you hear, convert those sounds into onomatopoeias. Make a list of those sounds. Try to use a mix of real words and made up ones: the way you represent noise in language can have a huge impact on your writing style .

Do this for 5 to 10 minutes, and when you have a comprehensive list of the sounds you hear, write a poem or short story that uses every single word you’ve written down.

If you built your political campaign off of wordplay, would you be punning for president?

A pun is a literary device that plays with the sounds and meanings of words to produce new, often humorous ideas. For example, let’s say you used too much butter in your recipe, and it ruined the dish. You might joke that you were “outside the margarine of error,” which is a play on the words “margin of error.”

Puns have a rich literary history, and famous writers like Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, as well as famous texts like The Bible, have used puns to add depth and gravity to their words.

Pun Writing Exercise

Jot down a word or phrase that you commonly use. If you’re not sure of what to write down, take a look at this list of English idioms . For example, I might borrow the phrase “blow off steam,” which means to let out your anger.

Take any saying, and play around with the sounds and meanings of the words in that saying. Then, incorporate the new phrase you’ve created into a sentence that allows for the double meaning of the phrase. Here’s two examples:

If I play with the sound of the words, I might come up with “blowing off stream.” Then, I would put that into a sentence that plays with the original meaning of the phrase. Like: “Did you hear about the river boat that got angry and went off course? It was blowing off stream.”

Or, I might play with the meanings of words. For example, I might take the word “blowing” literally, and write the following: “someone who cools down their tea when they’re angry is blowing off steam.”

Searching for ways to add double meanings and challenge the sounds of language will help you build fresh, exciting puns. Learn more about these common literary devices in our article on puns in literature .

16–27. Common Literary Devices in Poetry

The following 12 devices apply to both poetry and prose writers, but they appear most often in verse. Learn more about:

• Metonymy/Synecdoche
• Alliteration
• Consonance/Assonance
• Euphony/Cacophony

12 Literary Devices in Poetry: Identifying Poetic Devices

28–37. Common Literary Devices in Prose

The following 10 devices show up in verse, but are far more prevalent in prose. Learn more about:

• Parallel Plot
• Foreshadowing
• In Media Res
• Dramatic Irony

10 Important Literary Devices in Prose: Examples & Analysis

38–48. Repetition Literary Devices

Though they have uncommon names, these common literary devices are all forms of repetition.

• Anadiplosis
• Anaphora (prose)
• Antanaclasis
• Antimetabole
• Antistrophe
• Epanalepsis

Repetition Definition: Types of Repetition in Poetry and Prose

49–57. Dialogue Literary Devices

While these literary elements pertain primarily to dialogue, writers use euphemisms, idioms, and neologisms all the time in their work.

• Colloquialism

How to Write Dialogue in a Story

58–67. Word Play Literary Devices

The following literary devices push language to the limits. Have fun with these!

• Double Entendre
• Malapropism
• Paraprosdokian
• Portmanteau

Word Play: Examples of a Play on Words

68–72. Parallelism Literary Devices

Parallelism is a stylistic device where a sentence is composed of equally weighted items. In essence, parallel structure allows form to echo content. Learn all about this essential stylistic literary device below.

• Grammatical parallelism
• Rhetorical parallelism
• Synthetic parallelism
• Antithetical parallelism
• Synonymous parallelism

Parallelism Definition: Writing With Parallel Structure

73–112. Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are literary devices intended to persuade the reader of something. You might have heard of ethos, pathos, and logos, but do you know your aposiopesis from your hyperbaton?

Many literary devices can also be considered rhetorical devices. After all, a metaphor can convince you of something just as well as a syllogism. Nonetheless, the following 40 rhetorical/literary devices will sharpen your style, argumentation, and writing abilities.

• Anacoluthon
• Polysyndeton
• Procatalepsis
• Reductio ad Absurdum
• Amplification
• Antiphrasis
• Overstatement
• Adnomination
• Aposiopesis
• Circumlocution

Common Rhetorical Devices List: The Art of Argument

Master These Common Literary Devices With Writers.com!

The instructors at Writers.com are masters of literary devices. Through masterful instruction and personal expertise, our instructors can help you add, refine, and improve your literary devices, helping you craft great works of literature. Check out our upcoming courses , and join our writing community on Facebook !

Sean Glatch

90 comments.

Very nice the litrery divices

Brilliant litery devices

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enjoyed this (and learned some new things, too). HB

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This was put together profoundly; thank you! As a writer, you can never learn enough. I will begin incorporating these into my stories. Words can’t express how helpful this was, and it was very efficiently put together as well, so kudos to that!

I’m so happy this article helped you, Jalen! Happy writing!

Thank you for this article! It really helped a lot! hands up to the good samaritan of understanding literature :D.

But I would have one last question: Would any sort of intertextuality be considered an Allusion? (Also when you refer to the author for example?)

Great questions! That’s a great way to think about allusion–any sort of intertextuality is indeed allusive. In fact, your use of “Good Samaritan” is an allusion to the Bible, even if you didn’t mean it to be!

And yes, because an allusion is anything referential, then a reference to another author also counts as an allusion. Of course, it can’t be directly stated: “She’s reading Shakespeare” doesn’t count, but “She worships the Immortal Bard” would be an allusion. (It’s also an allusion to the story of the same name by Isaac Asimov).

I’m glad to hear our article was helpful. Happy reading!

This will help! Thanks!

There is also Onomatopoeia, you can make the list 45

This article really helped me, the techniques are amazing, and the detail is incredible. Thank you for taking your time to write this!

I’m so glad this was helpful, Gwen! Happy writing!

this was useful 🙂 thanks

I love personification; you can do so much with it.

Hi, I’m really sorry but I am still confused with juxtaposition.

Hi Nate! Juxtaposition simply describes when contrasting ideas are placed next to each other. The effect of juxtaposition depends on the ideas that are being juxtaposed, but the point is to surprise or provoke the reader.

Take, for example, the opening line of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Here, happy and unhappy families are being juxtaposed, and the contrast between the two is meant to provoke the reader and highlight the differences between those families. This juxtaposition sets up the novel as a whole, which often discusses themes of family and happiness (among many other themes).

I hope this helps!

very nice indeed

[…] 33 Common Literary Devices: Definitions, Examples, and Exercises […]

[…] 44 Common Literary Devices: Definitions, Examples, and Exercises […]

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Really helping. It’s a wonderful article

O mother Ghana, teach your children to change their negative attitudes towards you and what you have Please which literary device is this?

The device employed here is called apostrophe, which is when the writer addresses something not actually present for literary effect. Read more about it at this link .

This was very effective towards my writing and my family really enoyed seeing how much I had learnt. Thanks a lot.

so irony is literally sarcasm then

Sometimes! Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony.

Verbal irony occurs when a person intentionally says the opposite of what they mean. For example, you might say “I’m having the best day ever” after getting hit by a car.

Sarcasm is the use of verbal irony with the intent of mocking someone or something. You might say “Good going, genius” to someone who made a silly mistake, implying they’re not a genius at all.

Hope that makes sense!

Love this article! I used to struggle in my literature class, but after reading though this article, I certainly improved! Thanks! However, I have one question I really need your help with- Can I assume that a phrase which is the slightest bit plausible, a hyperbole? For example, a young elementary student who is exceptionally talented in basketball, to such an extent that he was quite famous nation-wide, said that he would be the next Lebron James although he was still very young. Would this be considered as a hyperbole? It would be great if you can help me with this.

That’s a great question! Although that claim is certainly exaggerated, it probably wouldn’t be hyperbole, because the child believes it to be true. A hyperbole occurs when the writer makes an exaggerated statement that they know to be false–e.g. “I’ve been waiting a billion years for this.”

Of course, if the child is self-aware and knows they’re just being cheeky, then it would be hyperbole, but I get the sense that the child genuinely believes they’re the next Lebron. 🙂

I’m glad this article has helped you in your literature class!

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for your reply!

Sorry, I have another question related to hyperbole. This is an extract from Animal Farm:

“Squealer was sent to make the necessary explanation to the others. ‘Comrades!’ he cried. ‘You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well being of a pig. We pigs are brain-workers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades,’ cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, ‘surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?’ Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in this light, they had no more to say. The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious.”

May I know if the speech made by Squealer in this extract is a hyperbole, gaslight (I’m not sure if this is a literary device), or some other device(s)? I know this is very wordy so you can take your time, no rush.

(I am doing a chapter analysis of chapter 3 in Animal Farm)

By the way, if you have written any other articles, please let me know! I would like to read them, thanks!

Take a look at writers.com/writing-tips for our archive on the craft of writing!

It wouldn’t be hyperbole, as a hyperbole is usually a word or phrase, not an entire passage of text. It’s better to analyze this passage in terms of its rhetorical strategies: Squealer is appealing to nebulous ideas like Science and the return of Jones–appeals to logos and pathos, despite there being a lack of evidence.

These strategies are logical fallacies: arguments that are easily disproven through reasoning, but which often resonate when people don’t employ critical thinking. Some of the fallacies here are “appeal to fear” and the “false dilemma” that Jones will return if the pigs don’t eat apples and milk (this is also a “red herring”).

I can’t provide much more help than this, as I don’t want to write your assignment for you, but I’m happy to point you in this direction, because understanding how logical fallacies are abused is essential to being an informed reader and citizen. 🙂

Ok, thanks for your reply!

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My pleasure, Isla, good luck on your final!

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Hi what is the name of the literary device where you name a character after their personality eg. Mr Knighley, Miss honey or Miss Trunchball? Thank you

That’s called an “aptronym”!

Mind blowing indeed. I had no idea there were so many names for patterns I hear people use with words. This lis is great as is. I am using it to probe further into what they are. I would only suggest that if the time ever allowed for someone to provide a brief detail or definition to each it would save a lot of time for many like me. None the less, I am grateful for the work provided. Thank you.

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It is personification as well as apostrophe, as Sean suggested. Ghana (the nation, I am assuming) is personified as a mother who is able to teach her citizens (children) to change their negative attitudes towards her.

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Can Dystopia be considered a kind of literary device?

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Understanding Literary Devices: Demystify Speeches and Conversations

Let’s learn about literary devices.

Getting familiar with them enables you to interpret what speakers mean more easily. Needless to say, it helps as you work on transcripts.

As you know, one of the key transcription skills is comprehension. You ought to have a strong grasp of the English language.

Each time you transcribe an audio or video recording, you learn new things and encounter new phrases that you might not be familiar with.

While automated transcription continues to improve, your ability to understand the conversation’s context is unique.

Many scenarios require the most accurate transcripts available. For these instances, we rely on experts.

Professional transcribers regularly hone their skills. Get better by demystifying literary devices…

What Are Literary Devices Anyway?

According to Master Class , writers use literary devices to hint at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in a story or piece of writing.

Such tools create a striking effect by heightening the audience’s imagination.

As a transcriber, you regularly encounter these literary devices, so it’s a good practice to get accustomed to them.

While there’s a lengthy list of literary devices, let’s warm up with this hand-picked list. Below, you will find popular literary devices that will help you understand the context of speeches and conversations.

Studiobinder states that irony is fundamental in storytelling. It involves using words that signify the opposite of one’s intended message.

For example, you may hear the audio file dialogue that the speaker is not happy with the situation and say “great!”, but clearly, they are not. You likely know that this is sarcasm, which is a form of verbal irony.

It’s likely that you regularly encounter forms of irony when transcribing, while watching movies, or even in everyday conversations.

Grammarly states that metaphor is poetically calling things something else. In short, it is a direct comparison of two things that are often unrelated to each other.

“The equipment used at the conference was as old as dinosaurs.”

This is a way of saying that the equipment is too old, even if it’s nowhere close to literally being as old as dinosaurs.

Metaphors allow you to understand and imagine multiple descriptions and images in a short sentence.

According to Literary Terms , a simile is comparable to metaphor as it compares two different things, but it shows a shared quality. The comparison relies on the words “as” or “like” .

Don’t be confused with a comparison and simile even if they use the word “like.”

“She is bright like you” is a comparison.

“She is bright like the star” is a simile, as it compares a woman with something of a different kind – the star.

The next time you encounter a simile, you don’t have to be confused when the speaker tries to connect unrelated terminologies in a sentence.

Types of Imagery via LiteraryTerms

LitCharts describes imagery as a language used to create images on the readers’ minds (or listeners) by using words that appeal to all human senses.

Like our basic five senses, there are five types of imagery commonly used as well.

• Visual imagery (sight)
• Auditory imagery (hearing)
• Olfactory imagery (smell)
• Gustatory imagery (taste)
• Tactile imagery (touch)

You have most likely encountered imagery through descriptive songs, plays, movies, or your favorite television series.

Personification

Literacy Ideas gave a simple definition for this literary device. “Personification is the process of giving objects or animals human-like characteristics.”

Through personification, we add more spice and color to the audience’s imagination.

“The wind sang a beautiful melody under the moonlit sky.”

In that example, we know that the wind doesn’t literally sing, but we appreciate the intended message by imagining the personification.

LiteraryDevices pointed out that we use symbolism in everyday life without even realizing it.

Symbolism can be seen in everyday things, from company logos to names of sports teams using fearless animals like lions, bulls, and bears.

It can also be found in cultural symbols. For instance, a rose can symbolize romance, courtship, and Valentine’s Day.

Improve Your English Language Skills

According to Ethnologue , 15% of the global population speaks English, and it is a common language that connects people from different backgrounds.

It’s said that language is always changing ; it will greatly benefit you to understand how the art of playing with words will define a context.

It’s also a great practice to pick up new slang terms and abbreviations that come up every now and then.

When in doubt, whether you understand the term or word correctly, doing a bit of research will significantly help you with the task at hand.

Over to You

As a transcription professional, you’d like to continually sharpen relevant skills. It also helps that these abilities will aid you with everyday communication outside of this job.

Ultimately, we hope that this will help you refine transcripts to deliver the quality that we promise to customers.

Our four-step process makes Scribie stand out from the rest of the transcription services in the market. By understanding literary devices and similar concepts, let’s enhance our ability to deliver the most accurate transcripts on a consistent basis.

What literary devices do you mostly hear with the audio files you work on? Share them through the Slack community.

Not yet transcribing with Scribie? Consider applying for a home-based transcription role. Learn more here .

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Literary Devices List: 33 Main Literary Devices with Examples

by Fija Callaghan

If “literary devices” sounds like a throwback to something you slept through in your English Lit 101 class, you’re not alone. Maybe breaking down the finer points of metaphor, perspective, and juxtaposition sounds like a fast track to sucking all the fun out of actually enjoying creative writing.

On the other hand, it might surprise you to learn that these literary devices are present in all stories, from epic poetry to Saturday morning cartoons to those guilty-pleasure paperbacks you pick up at the airport and then “accidentally” leave behind on the plane.

If you’re reading, watching, or listening to a story and find yourself engaged for even a moment… that’s literary devices at work. They’re tools that the writer uses to engage with the reader on a visceral level, to make them look at the story—and the world around them through the story—in a completely different way.

Here we’ll show you multiple literary devices and rhetorical devices, with examples, that you can use to create powerful stories.

What are literary devices?

Literary devices are tools and techniques that a writer can use to elevate their story beyond the literal meaning of the words on the page. These techniques work on an unconscious level to enhance characterization, heighten tension, and help your story’s theme create a more powerful impact on the reader.

There are many types of literary devices that writers can use to create different effects in their work. The skilled writer uses them to create a powerful, lasting work of art; without them, a story would be much more basic, less enjoyable, and less memorable.

In other words, literary devices are the techniques that turn a literal, step-by-step retelling of events into a rich, engaging, and memorable piece of literature.

What’s the difference between literary devices and literary elements?

You’ll sometimes hear these terms being used interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same thing. We’ve looked at how literary elements are the structural skeleton of our story ; you can think of them as the blank canvas, the first washes of colour, the rough outlines that help us understand the shapes we’re seeing and what they have the potential to become.

Literary devices are everything that gives these outlines life and form. In a painting, these devices would be the play of light, shadow, and perspective; the use of contrasting and complimentary colour theory; the cool stuff you do with your sparkly gel pens at the very end that makes the finished piece really jump out. They’re tools that the writer uses—sometimes bold, masterful turns and sometimes nothing more than small nudges—to guide and engage the reader.

Or, consider a house. Literary elements are the house’s structure: They’re the foundation, the beams, the drywall, the roof. Without these elements there’s no physical house. Literary devices are what you do to a a building to turn it from a house into a home: the wallpaper you select, the style of furniture, the books on the shelf, the comfy couch, the good smells in the kitchen.

You probably won’t use all of the literary devices we’re going to show you here in your own work. Most writers will come back to the same ones again and again, mastering them as they keep using them. This is what becomes their distinctive storytelling style, or voice.

Having a basic understanding of the ideas on this literary devices list, however, will help you see why other storytellers make the choices they do so that you can begin developing a storytelling voice of your own.

33 literary devices (with examples!) you can use to strengthen your writing

Once you’ve formed the bones of your story, you can use these literary devices to add shape and style to your work. It’s worth exploring all of these literary devices in your practice, though you’ll likely find a handful of them that become your writer’s toolkit—devices that you come back to again and again.

As you grow in your skill, these literary devices will become a part of your storytelling voice.

1. Allegory

Allegory is kind of like a cross between metaphor (which we’ll talk about a little further on) and theme. It’s the practice of telling a real, true, relevant story through the filter of fiction.

Often these stories stand in place for something the author can’t say, due to political or cultural barriers; other times it’s simply a way to get the reader or viewer to consider an issue in a different light.

This doesn’t mean that the story is being told as a direct comparison to a central idea; it means the story on the surface is composed of a complex web of metaphors that tell a second story with a deeper meaning underneath.

An classic example of allegory is Dante’s Divine Comedy , where Dante uses his fictional journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven as an allegory for the journey of a person’s soul to God.

2. Allusion

Allusion is a common literary device that indirectly references a real life person, place, or event.

It invites the reader to meet you, the author, in the middle, piecing together a cultural clue that you’ve left for them. Sometimes this is done because the idea is too sensitive to lay out overtly. Other times allusions can be used for light, comedic effect.

For example, in Eoin Colfer’s The Wish List, several repeated references are made to “the rockstar with the hair.” For a while the author lets the reader hypothesize as to whom he might be referring to, before dropping in a detail where a character begins humming “Blue Suede Shoes.” We talk about the value of repetition a little farther on.

3. Anachronism

Anachronism is a conflict of time within a single work —for example, describing a character as “zipping up her dress” if the story is set at a time before the invention of zippers, or causing national outrage by leaving a plastic water bottle on a 1920s film set .

Generally, anachronism is a negative thing that will cause your readers and viewers to delight in calling you out for it. This is why it’s so important, when writing historical pieces, to thoroughly research all the minute details of your story. However, anachronism as a literary device can sometimes be used quite effectively for comedic effect or to create a sense of displacement.

4. Archetypes

In literature, a character archetype is a standardized pattern that we instantly recognize from generations upon generations of storytelling.

Contrary to stereotypes , which are oversimplifications of an archetype’s most extreme personality traits, archetypes work because they speak to a universal truth. All character archetypes exist and, on some level, exist in us .

Examples of archetypes are the warrior, the mentor, the damsel, the lost child, and, of course, the villain. These archetypes can take on many different faces and sometimes a character can embody more than one archetype at the same time.

In Robert Munsch’s groundbreaking feminist page turner The Paper Bag Princess , the typical damsel-and-dragon story is turned on its head as none of the three central characters fit into the roles they’re expected to. This is an example of using archetypes in an unexpected way, inverting them to delight the reader.

5. Cliffhanger

A cliffhanger is a literary device in which the author ends a segment of the story on a dramatic question. This segment might be smaller, like a chapter, or larger, like the first novel in a continuing series. It holds the reader’s attention and makes them wonder what happens next.

You may recognize cliffhangers from your favourite TV series—they’re one of the most common literary devices in TV storytelling because they’re what gets the show pilot picked up by the network and then, once the show is running, they’re what keeps the viewers engaged and coming back again and again.

An example of a cliffhanger in literature is where the literary device got it’s name: In Thomas Hardy’s A Pair of Blue Eyes , a chapter ends with the main character hanging from a cliff by his fingers. The reader has to start the next chapter to discover the protagonist’s fate.

Cliffhangers are one of the many literary devices that are beloved by filmmakers and creative writers alike.

Dialect is a fantastic literary device to use when crafting strong, distinctive, believable characters. It’s essentially the sound of someone’s voice—not an easy feat to achieve when all you have to work with is paper and ink. It’s their regional accent, but also their upbringing, their level of education, their mood, the sort of people they’ve been exposed to.

When done well, and done sparingly, individual dialects can give your characters more life and lend a wonderful richness to their world.

D. H. Lawrence was famous for his use of dialect in his novels, which preserve the unique vocabulary and pronunciation of Victorian-era coal miners in the north of England.

Diction is related to dialect in that it’s a reflection of the sound of the story’s voice—which, again, you as the writer need to accomplish with nothing more than twenty-six letters. The difference between dialect and diction is that while dialect is a part of characterization, diction is the voice of the narrator.

The author makes choices about how to convey their voice in a story based on the mood and the world they’re trying to create. Very formal language creates distance between the author and the story; more colloquial word choices and regional slang make the story more intimate and immediate.

8. Euphemism

Euphemism is a word or phrase that uses figurative language to reference something that would otherwise be indelicate. “Passed away” is a common euphemism for dying; being “let go” or “made redundant” is a nicer way of saying you’ve been fired. “Cognitively challenged” refers to a stupid person, and “in the family way” is a sensitive way of saying that a woman is pregnant.

These all use informal language to convey something with a different meaning.

Although euphemisms were more commonly used in the eras of banned books, church censorship, and general societal timidity than they are today, they’re still a great way to show characterisation (as an important aspect of dialect, as we discussed above) and the time and place in which your story is happening.

9. Exposition

Exposition is the act of working relevant information into the events of your story —whether that’s through dialogue, observation, narrative detail, or flashbacks .

Exposition can be a tricky literary device to master, but it’s important in helping your readers understand your world, your characters, and what drives your characters to make the choices they do. Too much of this can bog down the reader and take them away from the present action, but just enough will give them a fuller understanding of the world you’re trying to create.

10. Flashback

Flashbacks are interruptions in the narrative that bring the reader to a past point in time in order to create tension and arm them with important information.

You may recognize flashbacks in TV series like crime shows or sitcoms, accompanied by subtitles like “earlier that day,” “three days ago,” etc. This is a way to communicate with the viewer that they’re being taken out of the present moment and redirected to another time.

Sometimes flashbacks are used as dramatic devices, like when the opening shows something horrible or unexpected, and then the flashback shows us what brought our characters to that moment.

11. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a wonderful literary device that gives the reader hints of what is to come later in the story , either through subtle clues based on narrative events or by simply using thematic elements like symbolism and tone. It can help build suspense and keep the reader engaged by making them guess what’s going to happen.

You might foreshadow a turn of events in your story by placing symbolic images and colours through your story. For example, in her fairytale retelling The Bloody Chamber , Angela Carter uses a ruby choker to suggest a cut throat and give hints of what might come later on.

Don’t confuse foreshadowing with the rule of Chekhov’s Gun ; the two are very different concepts! But you can use both literary techniques to give depth to your story.

12. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement used for emphatic effect. It’s different than simply overstating something, where the context teeters on the edge of being a lie. Hyperbole isn’t meant to be taken literally.

For example, a child waiting for a parent too long after school might say, “I was waiting for fifty years!” Obviously, no one in this context actually believes they were waiting for fifty years—the child hasn’t even been alive that long. It’s using figurative language to emphatically say, “I’ve been kept waiting for too long and I am less than pleased about it.”

13. Imagery

Imagery is the art of making a moment come alive for the reader. We see this literary device in both fiction and poetry. To create an image that’s vivid and engaging, use a range of senses to create your world such as sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste (this is called visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory imagery, respectively).

In addition to making the world more real for the reader, the details that you focus on can influence the mood of the story. Well-placed images can also support foreshadowing in the story , as we saw previously.

14. In Medias Res

In media res is a Latin term you might hear in literary analysis that means “in the midst of things.” This means placing the reader in the middle of an exciting event, without any previous backstory or buildup. In other words, this can mean showing the middle of your story first, and then later revealing the events leading up to that moment.

For example, Sara Gruen’s novel Water for Elephants opens with an action-packed scene that takes place towards the end of the novel; then she doubles back to the beginning and shows the reader the events that took place to arrive there.

Other times it simply means dropping your reader in the middle of things that are happening, rather than starting with a lot of flowery description and exposition. Any information the reader needs can be slowly released throughout the scene, and the following scenes.

This immerses your reader in your story’s world right from the beginning. It makes them ask questions about who the people are in the scene and what’s causing the events to unfold—things they’ll learn as they read on through the entire book to the end.

There are different types of irony in literature , but all of them come down to an inversion of belief. The three types of irony you see most often in stories are dramatic irony, where the audience knows some essential piece of information that the characters don’t; situational irony, where the events of the story contradict what we would normally expect; and verbal irony, the contrast of speech and intention.

Verbal irony might be something like sarcasm, where someone says the opposite of what they mean.

Dramatic irony happens when the story reveals information but keeps it hidden from the characters—for example, the dramatic irony of watching someone open a door in a horror film when you know the monster’s waiting behind it.

Situational irony happens when two elements contradict to create a surprising result: for example, a policeman vowing to uphold the law and then giving in to corruption.

16. Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is a useful literary device that deals in contrast —in other words, putting two characters, images, or ideas side by side to draw attention to their differences.

You see this often in central and supporting characters, such as Batman and Robin—Batman’s dark, silent moodiness contrasts Robin’s bright, youthful energy. You can see this in their personalities as well as their costumes, with Batman all in black and Robin in positive primary colours. It’s this juxtaposition between the two that makes them such an engaging team.

Juxtaposition can also be used in sensory imagery, such as placing a happy event underneath a dark and stormy sky or using a tactile sensation that seems out of place in its environment.

17. Language

If you’re reading this article, you’re probably intending to write your stories in English. But using language as a literary device by adding in glimmers of other languages can add depth to your characters and your world.

A great example is J. R. R. Tolkien, who creates richness in the world of his English-language work by inventing entirely new languages and referencing them just enough to make them seem real.

Cara Black, in her Parisian mystery series, writes in English but uses the occasional French word or phrase here and there to more fully immerse the reader in her Francophone world.

Language can also be useful literary device for characterisation; for example, an elderly family member who struggles with English might have dialogue almost entirely in another language, or a bilingual character might revert to their native language in times of overwhelming stress.

18. Metaphor

As a writing technique, metaphor is quite close to simile . Both are common literary devices used to draw comparisons between two seemingly unrelated ideas. But unlike a simile, which draws a comparison between two things, a metaphor goes a step further and uses one image to literally serve in place of another.

One of the most famous metaphors of all time is Shakespeare’s “All the world’s a stage,” which uses a literal theatrical performance as a comparison to illustrate the tragedies and comedies of everyday life.

19. Misdirection

Also called the “red herring,” misdirection is one of the most satisfying literary devices in storytelling of all kinds. It involves laying out clues as the story progresses, and nudging the reader towards the wrong deductions instead of the right ones.

The very important key to making this literary device work is to ensure the reader doesn’t feel cheated at the end—they should be able to look back at the path you’ve laid out and see that the true answer does make sense after all. This might mean working backwards after your first draft and sneaking in hints of what’s to come amidst other worldbuilding details.

Understanding the principle of Chekhov’s Gun can help avoid unwanted red herrings in your story . The risk of creating an unsatisfying red herring makes misdirection one of the trickiest literary devices to use.

A motif is a literary device in which recurring symbols, story elements, or ideas support the overall theme.

This could be something small and concrete, like apples popping up here and there throughout the story to symbolize a theme of battling temptation, or it could be something broader, like showing characters eating grander or sparser meals depending on the stage of their character arc.

You can use motifs to connect with readers on a subconscious, cultural level and help them immerse themselves even deeper in the story world.

A myth is a story that explains why things are how they are in the world—for instance, the creation myth of the Bible, or the story of how Raven stole the moon and stars in Indigenous mythology. Myths and legends are a fantastic archive of character archetypes and big, thematic ideas.

Unlike myths, legends are stories of something that may or may not have happened at some point in history, like the legends of Robin Hood or King Arthur’s knights. More importantly, both myths and legends are stories that stay with us for the long game because they represent values, needs, and desires that transcend generational divides.

Many stories—if not all stories—have their roots somewhere in this collective library of imagination. When composing your own work, try using old myths and legends to ground your story as you retell them from a new perspective. You could retell of a familiar story, or you could simply use myths and legends as inspiration for the sort of values, strengths, and weaknesses you want to explore in your own characters.

22. Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a way of communicating sounds in a way that relates to what they actually sound like. “Buzz” for the sound of a bee, “ruff” for the bark of a dog, and “plop” for the sound of a drop of water are all words that sound like the action they’re describing. “Slam,” “pop,” and “pow” are other common words you see in superhero comics.

Onomatopoeia is a literary device used most often in children’s literature and in the comic book medium, though we find it in just about everything including our everyday dialect. It’s best approached sparingly in literature, but the right word choices can add a lot of depth to your sensory environment: describing a stream as “burbling” or a wind as “shrieking” (notice the harsh “ee” vowel followed by the hard “k”) makes the scene clearer and more vibrant to the reader.

23. Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a literary device closely related to a paradox , in that they both present two seemingly contradictory ideas. Unlike a paradox, an oxymoron is a figure of speech that having to do with two words one after the other: a “deafening silence” is an oxymoron, because it combines two words that contradict each other. A “friendly argument,” “act natural,” and “openly deceptive” are some oxymorons.

Although they would appear to be impossible contradictions, many of us have experienced these ideas in our own lives and know that there is a deeper meaning lying behind them.

As a figure of speech, oxymorons can be used in humour and to convey an aspect of a character’s personality—sometimes at the same time.

24. Paradox

A paradox is quite similar to an oxymoron , but it presents two contrasting ideas instead of two contrasting words.

Oscar Wilde’s famous on-brand quote, “I can resist anything except temptation,” is an example of a paradox. By its very nature it can’t be true, and yet one feels that there is some resonant truth hidden somewhere within it.

Others examples are the sayings “the only constant is change” and “the louder you shout, the less they hear.” Both of these examples are composed of ideas that appear to be in conflict with each other, and yet both can be true statements.

The first tells us the only thing that never truly changes is the fact that things are always changing, and the second shows us that causing a scene isn’t always the way to get your voice across.

Paradoxes are useful literary devices that help readers see ideas from a new perspective.

25. Personification

Personification is a literary device that uses figurative language to give recognizable human-like qualities to inanimate or non-human entities.

The most extreme example of this is anthropomorphism, which is giving human traits to an animal or other non-human character. This is a very popular literary device in children’s literature, as it tends to make the ideas and lessons in these stories feel more accessible (this is the same device used to give life to a French candelabra in Beauty and the Beast ).

However, personification can be done on a smaller scale in order to make sensory images more vivid and easier for the reader to understand. A “weeping willow” is an example of attaching a human action to a non-human thing, and to say the weeping willow’s boughs were “lazily sweeping the dust from the road” is another.

26. Perspective

Perspective is the view from which the story is being told .

For instance, if you were to set your story in an old country manor house, you could tell a story following the same events in several different ways.

The matriarch of the house would be one perspective; a small, privileged child another. What would the housemaid see that no one else would? What about the cook or the gardener? What secrets, prejudices, or knowledge would they give to the story?

Not only would all of these people contribute different worldviews, cultural upbringings, and dialects, but they might genuinely believe in different series of events.

27. Repetition

In fiction writing and story structure, repetition is a literary device used to emphasize central themes and to create a subtle kind of rhythm.

The most famous example of repetition is in the “three wishes” often found in faerie tales, as well as three quests, three trials, three paths to choose from. This is because three is the number in which our brains start to recognize patterns. In your own writing, you can use this kind of repetition to support your story’s theme and character arcs.

You can also use targeted repetition of a word or phrase to emphasise an idea or create rhythm (which we’ll look at next!)

In prose writing, rhythm is all about the pacing of your story . Slow, languid writing can feel like being wrapped up in a snuggly blanket. Too much of this, however, becomes suffocating.

Short sentences are more like quick footsteps against a sidewalk. Readers like them because they make us feel like we’re going somewhere, but too many of them for too long and it starts to get hard to keep up.

It’s your job as a writer to use sentences of varying lengths to keep the reader engaged. Longer sentences will slow down the pace, so they’re best used for quiet, reflective moments. Short sentences will kick up the pace, so lean into them for action scenes.

While all good writers use both longer and shorter sentences to some degree, you’ll find that some tend to rely more on one than the other. This is part of what forms their signature voice . Experimenting with sentences of all rhythms will help you find yours.

Satire has been around since its inception in ancient Greece and shows no sign of slowing down. It’s a literary device that uses irony and humour as a way to draw attention to prevalent cultural and societal flaws .

Sometimes this can be done in a lighthearted way: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was considered a gentle satire of the upper classes of that time period. But sometimes satires are darker and more biting, such as in dystopian fiction like George Orwell’s 1984 .

Much like a metaphor , a simile is a literary device that compares two unrelated concepts to create vivid, sense-driven imagery. While a metaphor is used to stand in place for something else, a simile is used only in description: “he was as brave as a lion,” for instance, is a simile, while “he had a lion’s heart” is a metaphor.

Similes are great in descriptive passages because you have a whole world in which to draw inspiration from. Is the new girl at school like a “cascading waterfall”? A “fire hydrant”? A “broken chair”? She could be reminiscent of any one of those things, and you as the writer are going to tell us why.

A well-placed simile can give the reader a better sense of a character or place than pages and pages of telling us what it looks like.

31. Suspense

One of the most marvelous literary devices for engaging your readers is suspense —creating a darkly indulgent sort of tension between the reader and the story that keeps them turning page after page. The writer accomplishes this by posing one dramatic question after another.

Cliffhangers are one great way to make this happen. Putting time constraints on your characters is another, as well as shifting perspectives to reveal more information to the reader.

32. Symbolism

Symbolism is the act of using a person, place, or object to convey a larger, more abstract idea . When used repeatedly in a story to emphasise this idea, it’s called a motif .

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet , the skull of Yorik is a symbol of death and fate—it serves as a tangible, physical representation of these things in the context of the story.

Symbolism can also be used in setting—for instance, a rising sun to symbolize a new beginning—or in character, like a young child symbolising a parent’s lost innocence.

A writer can also use colours, animals, or icons that have made their way into our cultural consciousness in order to support the mood and theme of the story. Symbols that we see in our everyday lives include things like red roses for love, butterflies for transformation, or the the caduceus for medicine.

Tone is the way your story world feels to the reader. In film this would be a combination of lighting, cinematography, and soundtrack.

“It was a dark and stormy night” is an infamous opening line that immediately sets the tone for the story. In addition to giving us some context as to the setting of the scene, words like “dark,” “stormy,” and “night” naturally resonate with us in a particular way.

When trying to create an atmospheric tone for your story, you can try brainstorming words that you associate with the feeling you want to evoke, and then working them into your story.

In longer works, it’s a good idea to use different tones for different scenes or chapters. This helps each one stand out from the rest, and keeps them fresh and vibrant for the reader.

How to use literary devices to craft your own story

Now that you have an understanding of the literary devices available to you as a writer, you’re ready for the next part: putting it into practice in your novel, poem, or short story. The literary device examples we’ve looked at are a great starting point for thinking about how to apply them in your own writing.

Plus, we have dedicated lessons on all of these techniques waiting for you in our writing academy !

Every writer is unique, and the literary devices you see other authors using to fantastic effect might not be the ones that bring out the best in your own writing. The sort of imagery, dialect, and characterization we bring into our own work as storytellers is directly related to the way we view the world around us.

Finding your own unique style and voice is an exciting journey that can only be travelled by trying things out, finding what feels right deep in your bones, and practicing them again and again.

To get an idea of what literary devices will work best for you, take a look at the stories that you’ve written so far. Most likely, many of the things on this literary devices list will already be present in some form or another—you’ll be naturally drawn to them because of the powerful stories you’ve absorbed over your life.

Once you see where these literary devices are beginning to take shape, you can work on refining, enriching, and mastering them to create powerful stories of your own.

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Last updated on Aug 18, 2023

60 Literary Devices and Techniques Every Writer Must Know

A literary device is a writing technique that writers use to express ideas, convey meaning, and highlight important themes in a piece of text. A metaphor, for instance, is a famous example of a literary device.

These devices serve a wide range of purposes in literature. Some might work on an intellectual level, while others have a more emotional effect. They may also work subtly to improve the flow and pacing of your writing. No matter what, if you're looking to inject something special into your prose, literary devices are a great place to start.

Sentence-level devices

1. alliteration.

Alliteration describes a series of words in quick succession that all start with the same letter or sound. It lends a pleasing cadence to prose and Hamlet and the dollar as currency in Macbeth .

Example: “ One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.” — “Death, Be Not Proud” by John Donne

Exercise: Pick a letter and write a sentence where every word starts with that letter or one that sounds similar. 

2. Anaphora

Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a series of clauses or sentences. It’s often seen in poetry and speeches, intended to provoke an emotional response in its audience.

Example: Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.

"… and I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

"… I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Exercise: Pick a famous phrase and write a paragraph elaborating on an idea, beginning each sentence with that phrase. 

Similar term: repetition

3. Anastrophe

Anastrophe is a figure of speech wherein the traditional sentence structure is reversed. So a typical verb-subject-adjective sentence such as “Are you ready?” becomes a Yoda-esque adjective-verb-subject question: “Ready, are you?” Or a standard adjective-noun pairing like “tall mountain” becomes “mountain tall.”

Example: “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing.” — “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

Exercise: Write a standard verb-subject-adjective sentence or adjective-noun pairing then flip the order to create an anastrophe. How does it change the meaning or feeling of the sentence?

4. Chiasmus

Chiasmus is when two or more parallel clauses are inverted. “Why would I do that?” you may be wondering. Well, a chiasmus might sound confusing and unnecessary in theory, but it's much more convincing in practice — and in fact, you've likely already come across it before.

Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy

5. Congeries

Congeries is a fancy literary term for creating a list. The items in your list can be words, ideas, or phrases, and by displaying them this way helps prove or emphasize a point — or even create a sense of irony. Occasionally, it’s also called piling as the words are “piling up.”

Example: "Apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order, what have the Romans done for us?" — Monty Python’s Life of Brian

6. Cumulative sentence

A cumulative sentence (or “loose sentence”) is one that starts with an independent clause, but then has additional or modifying clauses. They’re often used for contextual or clarifying details. This may sound complex, but even, “I ran to the store to buy milk, bread, and toilet paper” is a cumulative sentence, because the first clause, “I ran to the store,” is a complete sentence, while the rest tells us extra information about your run to the store.

Example: “It was a large bottle of gin Albert Cousins had brought to the party, yes, but it was in no way large enough to fill all the cups, and in certain cases to fill them many times over, for the more than one hundred guests, some of whom were dancing not four feet in front of him.” – Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

Example: Write three sentences that are related to each other. Can you combine the information into a cumulative sentence? 

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7. Epistrophe

Epistrophe is the opposite of anaphora, with this time a word or phrase being repeated at the end of a sentence. Though its placement in a sentence is different it serves the same purpose—creating emphasis—as an anaphora does. 

Example: “I’ll be ever’where – wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there . If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’ – I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry an’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build, why, I’ll be there .” — The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Similar terms: repetition, anaphora

Exercise: Write a paragraph where a phrase or a word is repeated at the end of every sentence, emphasizing the point you’re trying to make. 

8. Erotesis

Erotesis is a close cousin of the rhetorical question. Rather than a question asked without expectation of an answer, this is when the question (and the asker) confidently expects a response that is either negative or affirmative. 

Example: “ Do you then really think that you have committed your follies in order to spare your son them?” — Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Similar term: rhetorical question

9. Hyperbaton

Hyperbaton is the inversion of words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence that differs from how they would normally be arranged. It comes from the Greek hyperbatos, which means “transposed” or “inverted.” While it is similar to anastrophe, it doesn’t have the same specific structure and allows you to rearrange your sentences in whatever order you want. 

Example: “Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire.” — “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Similar terms: anastrophe, epistrophe

10. Isocolon

If you’re a neat freak who likes things just so , isocolon is the literary device for you. This is when two or more phrases or clauses have similar structure, rhythm, and even length — such that, when stacked up on top of each other, they would line up perfectly. Isocolon often crops up in brand slogans and famous sayings; the quick, balanced rhythm makes the phrase catchier and more memorable.

Example: Veni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”)

11. Litotes

Litotes (pronounced lie-toe-teez ) is the signature literary device of the double negative. Writers use litotes to express certain sentiments through their opposites, by saying that that opposite is not the case. Don’t worry, it makes more sense with the examples. 😉

Examples: “You won’t be sorry” (meaning you’ll be happy); “you’re not wrong” (meaning you’re right); “I didn’t not like it” (meaning I did)

12. Malapropism

If Shakespeare is the king of metaphors, Michael Scott is the king of malapropisms . A malapropism is when similar-sounding words replace their appropriate counterparts, typically to comic effect — one of the most commonly cited is “dance a flamingo,” rather than a “flamenco.” Malapropisms are often employed in dialogue when a character flubs up their speech.

Example: “I am not to be truffled with.”

Exercise: Choose a famous or common phrase and see if you can replace a word with a similar sounding one that changes the meaning. 

13. Onomatopoeia

Amusingly, onomatopoeia (itself a difficult-to-pronounce word) refers to words that sound like the thing they’re referring to. Well-known instances of onomatopoeia include whiz, buzz, snap, grunt, etc.

Example: The excellent children's book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type . “Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears: Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo. ”

Exercise: Take some time to listen to the sounds around you and write down what you hear. Now try to use those sounds in a short paragraph or story. 

14. Oxymoron 

An oxymoron comes from two contradictory words that describe one thing. While juxtaposition contrasts two story elements, oxymorons are about the actual words you are using.

Example: "Parting is such sweet sorrow.” — Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. (Find 100 more examples of oxymorons here .)

Similar terms: juxtaposition, paradox

Exercise: Choose two words with opposite meanings and see if you can use them in a sentence to create a coherent oxymoron. 

15. Parallelism

Parallelism is all about your sentence structure. It’s when similar ideas, sounds, phrases, or words are arranged in a way that is harmonious or creates a parallel, hence the name. It can add rhythm and meter to any piece of writing and can often be found in poetry. 

Example: “ That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong

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16. Polysyndeton

Instead of using a single conjunction in lengthy statements, polysyndeton uses several in succession for a dramatic effect. This one is definitely for authors looking to add a bit of artistic flair to their writing, or who are hoping to portray a particular (usually naïve) sort of voice.

Example: “Luster came away from the flower tree and we went along the fence and they stopped and we stopped and I looked through the fence while Luster was hunting in the grass.” — The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Exercise: Write three or four independent sentences. Try combining them using conjunctions. What kind of effect does this have on the overall meaning and tone of the piece?

17. Portmanteau

A portmanteau is when two words are combined to form a new word which refers to a single concept that retains the meanings of both the original words. Modern language is full of portmanteaus. In fact, the portmanteau is itself a portmanteau. It’s a combination of the French porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). 

Example: Brunch (breakfast and lunch); cosplay (costume and roleplay); listicle (list and article); romcom (romance and comedy)

Exercise: Pick two words that are often used together to describe a single concept. See if there’s a way to combine them and create a single word that encompasses the meaning of both.

18. Repetition

Repetition , repetition, repetition… where would we be without it? Though too much repetition is rarely a good thing, occasional repetition can be used quite effectively to drill home a point, or to create a certain atmosphere. For example, horror writers often use repetition to make the reader feel trapped and scared.

Example: In The Shining , Jack Torrance types over and over again on his pages,  “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” In this case, obsessive repetition demonstrates the character’s unraveling mind.

Similar term: anaphora

Exercise: Repetition can be used to call attention to an idea or phrase. Pick an idea you want to emphasize and write a few sentences about it. Are there any places where you can add repetition to make it more impactful? 

19. Tautology

A tautology is when a sentence or short paragraph repeats a word or phrase, expressing the same idea twice. Often, this is a sign that you should trim your work to remove the redundancy (such as “frozen ice”) but can also be used for poetic emphasis.

Example: "But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door" – “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

20. Tmesis 

Tmesis is when a word or phrase is broken up by an interjecting word, such as abso-freaking-lutely. It’s used to draw out and emphasize the idea, often with a humorous or sarcastic slant.

Example: "This is not Romeo, he's some-other-where." – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Narrative devices

21. allegory.

An allegory is a type of narrative that uses characters and plot to depict abstract ideas and themes . In an allegorical story, things represent more than they appear to on the surface. Many children's fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare , are simple allegories about morality — but allegories can also be dark, complex, and controversial. 

Example: Animal Farm by George Orwell. This dystopian novella is one of modern literature’s best-known allegories. A commentary on the events leading up to Stalin's rise and the formation of the Soviet Union, the pigs at the heart of the novel represent figures such as Stalin, Trotsky, and Molotov.

Exercise: Pick a major trend or problem in the world and consider what defines it. Try and create a story where that trend plays out on a smaller scale. 

22. Anecdote

An anecdote is like a short story within a story. Sometimes, they are incredibly short—only a line or two—and their purpose is to add a character’s perspective, knowledge, or experience to a situation. They can be inspirational, humorous, or be used to inspire actions in others. Since anecdotes are so short, don’t expect them to be part of a main story. They’re usually told by a character and part of the dialogue. 

Example: Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way , part of his series of novels, In Search of Lost Time, deals with the themes of remembrance and memory. In one section of this book, to illustrate these ideas, the main character recalls an important memory of eating a madeleine cookie. “Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised in the theatre and the drama of my going to bed there, had any existence for me, when one day in winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular reason, changed my mind. She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called ‘petites madeleines,’ which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell.”

23. Deus Ex Machina

Literally meaning “god in the machine” in Greek, deus ex machina is a plot device where an impossible situation is solved by the appearance of an unexpected or unheard of character, action, object, or event. This brings about a quick and usually happy resolution for a story and can be used to surprise an audience, provide comic relief, or provide a fix for a complicated plot. However, deus ex machinas aren’t always looked upon favorably and can sometimes be seen as lazy writing, so they should be used sparingly and with great thought. 

Example: William Golding’s famous novel of a group of British boys marooned on a desert island is resolved with a deus ex machina. At the climax of The Lord of the Flies, just as Ralph is about to be killed by Jack, a naval officer arrives to rescue the boys and bring them back to civilization. It’s an altogether unexpected and bloodless ending for a story about the boys’ descent into savagery. 

Exercise: Consider the ending of your favorite book or movie and then write an alternate ending that uses a deus ex machina to resolve the main conflict. How does this affect the overall story in terms of theme and tone?

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24. Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony is when the readers know more about the situation going on than at least one of the characters involved. This creates a difference between the ways the audience and the characters perceive unfolding events. For instance, if we know that one character is having an affair, when that character speaks to their spouse, we will pick up on the lies and double-meanings of their words, while the spouse may take them at face value.

Example: In Titanic , the audience knows from the beginning of the movie that the boat will sink. This creates wry humor when characters remark on the safety of the ship.

25. Exposition

Exposition is when the narrative provides background information in order to help the reader understand what’s going on. When used in conjunction with description and dialogue, this literary device provides a richer understanding of the characters, setting, and events. Be careful, though — too much exposition will quickly become boring, thus undercutting the emotional impact of your work.

Example: “The Dursley’s had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Exercise: Pick your favorite story and write a short paragraph introducing it to someone who knows nothing about it. 

26. Flashback

Flashbacks to previous events split up present-day scenes in a story, usually to build suspense toward a big reveal. Flashbacks are also an interesting way to present exposition for your story, gradually revealing to the reader what happened in the past.

Example: Every other chapter in the first part of Gone Girl is a flashback, with Amy’s old diary entries describing her relationship with her husband before she disappeared.

Similar term: foreshadowing

27. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when the author hints at events yet to come in a story. Similar to flashbacks (and often used in conjunction with them), this technique is also used to create tension or suspense — giving readers just enough breadcrumbs to keep them hungry for more.

Example: One popular method of foreshadowing is through partial reveals — the narrator leaves out key facts to prompt readers’ curiosity. Jeffrey Eugenides does this in The Virgin Suicides : “On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide — it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese, the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope.”

Similar term: flashback

Exercise: Go back to your favorite book or movie. Can you identify any instances of foreshadowing in the early portions of the story for events that happen in the future? 

28. Frame story

A frame story is any part of the story that "frames" another part of it, such as one character telling another about their past, or someone uncovering a diary or a series of news articles that then tell the readers what happened. Since the frame story supports the rest of the plot, it is mainly used at the beginning and the end of the narrative, or in small interludes between chapters or short stories.

Example: In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Kvothe is telling Chronicler the story of his life over the span of three days. Most of the novel is the story he is telling, while the frame is any part that takes place in the inn.

29. In Medias Res

In medias res is a Latin term that means "in the midst of things" and is a way of starting a narrative without exposition or contextual information. It launches straight into a scene or action that is already unfolding. 

Example: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” — The opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Exercise: Pick a story you enjoy and rewrite the opening scene so that it starts in the middle of the story. 

30. Point of view

Point of view is, of course, the mode of narration in a story. There are many POVs an author can choose, and each one will have a different impact on the reading experience.

Example: Second person POV is uncommon because it directly addresses the reader — not an easy narrative style to pull off. One popular novel that manages to employ this perspective successfully is Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney: “You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy.”

Exercise: Write a short passage in either first, second, or third person. Then rewrite that passage in the other two points of view, only changing the pronouns. How does the change in POV affect the tone and feel of the story? 

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31. Soliloquy 

Soliloquy involves a character speaking their thoughts aloud, usually at length (and often in a Shakespeare play). The character in question may be alone or in the company of others, but they’re not speaking for the benefit of other people; the purpose of a soliloquy is for a character to reflect independently.

Example: Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech, in which he ruminates on the nature of life and death, is a classic dramatic soliloquy.

Exercise: Pick a character from your favorite book or movie and write a soliloquy from their point of view where they consider their thoughts and feelings on an important part of their story or character arc. 

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Tone refers to the overall mood and message of your book. It’s established through a variety of means, including voice, characterization, symbolism, and themes. Tone sets the feelings you want your readers to take away from the story.

Example: No matter how serious things get in The Good Place , there is always a chance for a character to redeem themselves by improving their behavior. The tone remains hopeful for the future of humanity in the face of overwhelming odds.

Exercise: Write a short paragraph in an upbeat tone. Now using the same situation you came up with, rewrite that passage in a darker or sadder tone. 

33. Tragicomedy

Tragicomedy is just what it sounds like: a blend of tragedy and comedy. Tragicomedy helps an audience process darker themes by allowing them to laugh at the situation even when circumstances are bleak.

Example: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events uses wordplay, absurd situations, and over-the-top characters to provide humor in an otherwise tragic story.

Conceptual devices

34. allusion.

An allusion is a reference to a person, place, thing, concept, or other literary work that a reader is likely to recognize. A lot of meaning can be packed into an allusion and it’s often used to add depth to a story. Many works of classic Western literature will use allusions to the Bible to expand on or criticize the morals of their time. 

Example: “The two knitting women increase his anxiety by gazing at him and all the other sailors with knowing unconcern. Their eerie looks suggest that they know what will happen (the men dying), yet don’t care.” The two women knitting in this passage from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are a reference to the Fates from Greek mythology, who decide the fate of humanity by spinning and cutting the threads of life.

Exercise: In a relatively simple piece of writing, see how many times you can use allusions. Go completely crazy. Once you’re finished, try to cut it down to a more reasonable amount and watch for how it creates deeper meaning in your piece. 

35. Analogy

An analogy connects two seemingly unrelated concepts to show their similarities and expand on a thought or idea. They are similar to metaphors and similes, but usually take the comparison much further than either of these literary devices as they are used to support a claim rather than provide imagery. 

Example: “ It has been well said that an author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a man who drops a rose petal down the Grand Canyon of Arizona and listens for the echo.” — P.G. Wodehouse

Exercise: Pick two seemingly unrelated nouns and try to connect them with a verb to create an analogy. 

36. Anthropomorphism

To anthropomorphize is to apply human traits or qualities to a non-human thing such as objects, animals, or the weather. But unlike personification, in which this is done through figurative description, anthropomorphism is literal: a sun with a smiling face, for example, or talking dogs in a cartoon.

Examples: In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast , Mrs. Potts the teapot, Cogsworth the clock, and Lumière the candlestick are all household objects that act and behave like humans (which, of course, they were when they weren’t under a spell).

Similar term: personification

Exercise: Pick a non-human object and describe it as if it was human, literally ascribing human thoughts, feelings, and senses to it. 

37. Aphorism

An aphorism is a universally accepted truth stated in a concise, to-the-point way. Aphorisms are typically witty and memorable, often becoming adages or proverbs as people repeat them over and over.

Example: “To err is human, to forgive divine.” — Alexander Pope

38. Archetype

An archetype is a “universal symbol” that brings familiarity and context to a story. It can be a character, a setting, a theme, or an action. Archetypes represent feelings and situations that are shared across cultures and time periods, and are therefore instantly recognizable to any audience — for instance, the innocent child character, or the theme of the inevitability of death.

Example: Superman is a heroic archetype: noble, self-sacrificing, and drawn to righting injustice whenever he sees it.

Exercise: Pick an archetype — either a character or a theme — and use it to write a short piece centered around that idea. 

A cliché is a saying or idea that is used so often it becomes seen as unoriginal. These phrases might become so universal that, despite their once intriguing nature, they're now looked down upon as uninteresting and overused. 

Examples: Some common cliches you might have encountered are phrases like “easy as pie” and “light as a feather.” Some lines from famous books and movies have become so popular that they are now in and of themselves cliches such as Darth Vader’s stunning revelation from The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, I am your father.” Also, many classic lines of Shakespeare are now considered cliches like, “All that glitters is not gold” from The Merchant of Venice. 

Exercise: Write a short passage using as many cliches as possible. Now try to cut them out and replace them with more original phrasing. See how the two passages compare. 

40. Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of casual and informal language in writing, which can also include slang. Writers use colloquialisms to provide context to settings and characters, and to make their writing sound more authentic. Imagine reading a YA novel that takes place in modern America, and the characters speak to each other like this:

“Good morning, Sue. I hope that you slept well and are prepared for this morning’s science exam.”

It’s not realistic. Colloquialisms help create believable dialogue :

“Hey Sue, what’d you get up to last night? This science test is gonna suck.”

Example: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh takes place in Scotland, a fact made undeniably obvious by the dialect: “Thing is, as ye git aulder, this character-deficiency gig becomes mair sapping. Thir wis a time ah used tae say tae aw the teachers, bosses, dole punters, poll-tax guys, magistrates, when they telt me ah was deficient: ’Hi, cool it, gadge, ah’m jist me, jist intae a different sort ay gig fae youse but, ken?’”

Exercise: Write a dialogue between two characters as formally as possible. Now take that conversation and make it more colloquial. Imagine that you’re having this conversation with a friend. Mimic your own speech patterns as you write. 

41. Euphemism

A euphemism is an indirect, “polite” way of describing something too inappropriate or awkward to address directly. However, most people will still understand the truth about what's happening.

Example: When an elderly person is forced to retire, some might say they’re being “put out to pasture.”

Exercise: Write a paragraph where you say things very directly. Now rewrite that paragraph using only euphemisms. 

42. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that emphasizes the significance of the statement’s actual meaning. When a friend says, "Oh my god, I haven't seen you in a million years," that's hyperbole.

Example: “At that time Bogotá was a remote, lugubrious city where an insomniac rain had been falling since the beginning of the 16th century.” — Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel García Márquez

Exercise: Tall tales often make use of hyperbole to tell an exaggerated story. Use hyperbole to relate a completely mundane event or experience to turn it into a tall tale. 

43. Hypophora

Hypophora is much like a rhetorical question, wherein someone asks a question that doesn't require an answer. However, in hypophora, the person raises a question and answers it immediately themselves (hence the prefix hypo, meaning 'under' or 'before'). It’s often used when characters are reasoning something aloud.

Example: “Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.” — Daisy in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

An idiom is a saying that uses figurative language whose meaning differs from what it literally says. These phrases originate from common cultural experiences, even if that experience has long ago been forgotten. Without cultural context, idioms don’t often make sense and can be the toughest part for non-native speakers to understand. 

Example: In everyday use, idioms are fairly common. We say things like, “It’s raining cats and dogs” to say that it’s downpouring. 

Exercise: Idioms are often used in dialogue. Write a conversation between two people where idioms are used to express their main points. 

45. Imagery

Imagery appeals to readers’ senses through highly descriptive language. It’s crucial for any writer hoping to follow the rule of "show, don’t tell," as strong imagery truly paints a picture of the scene at hand.

Example: “In the hard-packed dirt of the midway, after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone to bed, you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream cones and wooden sticks of lollipops.” — Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Exercise: Choose an object, image, or idea and use the five senses to describe it. 

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Irony creates a contrast between how things seem and how they really are. There are three types of literary irony : dramatic (when readers know what will happen before characters do), situational (when readers expect a certain outcome, only to be surprised by a turn of events), and verbal (when the intended meaning of a statement is the opposite of what was said).

Example: This opening scene from Orson Welles’ A Touch of Evil is a great example of how dramatic irony can create tension.

47. Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition places two or more dissimilar characters, themes, concepts, etc. side by side, and the profound contrast highlights their differences. Why is juxtaposition such an effective literary device? Well, because sometimes the best way for us to understand something is by understanding what it’s not .

Example: In the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens uses juxtaposition to emphasize the societal disparity that led to the French Revolution: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”

Similar terms: oxymoron, paradox

Exercise: Pick two ideas, objects, places, or people that seem like complete opposites. Introduce them side by side in the beginning of your piece and highlight their similarities and differences throughout. 

48. Metaphor

A metaphor compares two similar things by saying that one of them is the other. As you'd likely expect, when it comes to literary devices, this one is a heavy hitter. And if a standard metaphor doesn't do the trick, a writer can always try an extended metaphor : a metaphor that expands on the initial comparison through more elaborate parallels.

Example: Metaphors are literature’s bread and butter (metaphor intended) — good luck finding a novel that is free of them. Here’s one from Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass : “Wishes are thorns, he told himself sharply. They do us no good, just stick into our skin and hurt us.”

Similar term: simile

Exercise: Write two lists: one with tangible objects and the other concepts. Mixing and matching, try to create metaphors where you describe the concepts using physical objects.

One metaphor example not enough? Check out this post , which has 97 of ‘em!

49. Metonymy

Metonymy is like symbolism, but even more so. A metonym doesn’t just symbolize something else, it comes to serve as a synonym for that thing or things — typically, a single object embodies an entire institution.

Examples: “The crown” representing the monarchy, “Washington” representing the U.S. government.

Similar term: synecdoche

Exercise: Create a list of ten common metonymies you might encounter in everyday life and speech.

Whatever form a motif takes, it recurs throughout the novel and helps develop the theme of the narrative. This might be a symbol, concept, or image.

Example: In Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trains are an omnipresent motif that symbolize transition, derailment, and ultimately violent death and destruction.

Similar term: symbol

Exercise: Pick a famous book or movie and see if you can identify any common motifs within it. 

51. Non sequitur

Non sequiturs are statements that don't logically follow what precedes them. They’ll often be quite absurd and can lend humor to a story. But they’re just not good for making jokes. They can highlight missing information or a miscommunication between characters and even be used for dramatic effect. 

Example: “It was a spring day, the sort that gives people hope: all soft winds and delicate smells of warm earth. Suicide weather.” — Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen 

Exercise: Write a conversation that gets entirely derailed by seemingly unrelated non sequiturs. 

52. Paradox

Paradox derives from the Greek word paradoxon , which means “beyond belief.” It’s a statement that asks people to think outside the box by providing seemingly illogical — and yet actually true — premises.

Example: In George Orwell’s 1984 , the slogan of the totalitarian government is built on paradoxes: “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.” While we might read these statements as obviously contradictory, in the context of Orwell’s novel, these blatantly corrupt sentiments have become an accepted truth.

Similar terms: oxymoron, juxtaposition

Exercise: Try writing your own paradox. First, think of two opposing ideas that can be juxtaposed against each other. Then, create a situation where these contradictions coexist with each other. What can you gather from this unique perspective?

53. Personification

Personification uses human traits to describe non-human things. Again, while the aforementioned anthropomorphism actually applies these traits to non-human things, personification means the behavior of the thing does not actually change. It's personhood in figurative language only.

Example: “Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin.” — The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Similar term: anthropomorphism

Exercise: Pick a non-human object and describe it using human traits, this time using similes and metaphors rather than directly ascribing human traits to it. 

54. Rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is asked to create an effect rather than to solicit an answer from the listener or reader. Often it has an obvious answer and the point of asking is to create emphasis. It’s a great way to get an audience to consider the topic at hand and make a statement. 

Example: “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” — The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Writers use satire to make fun of some aspect of human nature or society — usually through exaggeration, ridicule, or irony. There are countless ways to satirize something; most of the time, you know it when you read it.

Example: The famous adventure novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic example of satire, poking fun at “travelers' tales,” the government, and indeed human nature itself.

A simile draws resemblance between two things by saying “Thing A is like Thing B,” or “Thing A is as [adjective] as Thing B.” Unlike a metaphor, a similar does not posit that these things are the same, only that they are alike. As a result, it is probably the most common literary device in writing — you can almost always recognize a simile through the use of “like” or “as.”

Example: There are two similes in this description from Circe by Madeline Miller: “The ships were golden and huge as leviathans, their rails carved from ivory and horn. They were towed by grinning dolphins or else crewed by fifty black-haired nereids, faces silver as moonlight.”

Similar term: metaphor

57. Symbolism

Authors turn to tangible symbols to represent abstract concepts and ideas in their stories  Symbols typically derive from objects or non-humans — for instance, a dove might represent peace, or a raven might represent death.

Example: In The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald uses the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg (actually a faded optometrist's billboard) to represent God and his judgment of the Jazz Age.

Similar term: motif

Exercise: Choose an object that you want to represent something — like an idea or concept. Now, write a poem or short story centered around that symbol. 

58. Synecdoche

Synecdoche is the usage of a part to represent the whole. That is, rather than an object or title that’s merely associated with the larger concept (as in metonymy), synecdoche must actually be attached in some way: either to the name, or to the larger whole itself.

Examples: “Stanford won the game” ( Stanford referring to the full title of the Stanford football team) or “Nice wheels you got there” ( wheels referring to the entire car)

Similar term: metonymy

Zeugma is when one word is used to ascribe two separate meanings to two other words. This literary device is great for adding humor and figurative flair as it tends to surprise the reader. And it’s just a fun type of wordplay. 

Example: “ Yet time and her aunt moved slowly — and her patience and her ideas were nearly worn out before the tete-a-tete was over.” — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

60. Zoomorphism 

Zoomorphism is when you take animal traits and assign them to anything that’s not an animal. It’s the opposite of anthropomorphism and personification, and can be either a physical manifestation, such as a god appearing as an animal, or a comparison, like calling someone a busy bee .

Example: When vampires turn into bats, their bat form is an instance of zoomorphism.

Exercise: Describe a human or object by using traits that are usually associated with animals. 

Similar terms: anthropomorphism, personification

Readers and writers alike can get a lot out of understanding literary devices and how they're used. Readers can use them to gain insight into the author’s intended meaning behind their work, while writers can use literary devices to better connect with readers. But whatever your motivation for learning them, you certainly won't be sorry you did! (Not least because you'll recognize the device I just used in that sentence. 😏)

6 responses

Ron B. Saunders says:

16/01/2019 – 19:26

Paraprosdokians are also delightful literary devices for creating surprise or intrigue. They cause a reader to rethink a concept or traditional expectation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian)

ManhattanMinx says:

17/01/2019 – 02:07

That's pore, not pour. Shame.....

↪️ Coline Harmon replied:

14/06/2019 – 19:06

It was a Malapropism

↪️ JC JC replied:

23/10/2019 – 00:02

Yeah ManhattanMinx. It's a Malepropism!

↪️ jesus replied:

07/11/2019 – 13:24

Susan McGrath says:

10/03/2020 – 10:56

"But whatever your motivation for learning them, you certainly won't be sorry you did! (Not least because you'll recognize the device I just used in that sentence. 😏)" Litote

Comments are currently closed.

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Literary Devices: 30 Elements & Techniques for Writers (With Examples)

Every Author wants to write a good book . That’s a given.

But you don’t need to know the names and definitions of 30 or 40 literary devices to accomplish that goal.

Knowing the difference between alliteration, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole won’t make or break your book.

Literary devices are especially common in novels, where writers need to use flashbacks, foreshadowing, or figurative language to keep the reader enthralled.

But most nonfiction doesn’t need literary devices to be effective.

As an Author, your goal is to explain how your knowledge can solve a reader’s problems in a clear, concise manner. If you can toss in some good storytelling, so much the better.

Remember, being a good writer isn’t about checking off every writing trick on the list. It’s about expressing your information in an authentic, clear way.

This literary device crash course is a helpful tool, but if you want to publish a great book, devices shouldn’t be your primary focus.

What Are Literary Devices?

Literary devices, also known as literary elements, are techniques that writers use to convey their message more powerfully or to enhance their writing.

Many Authors use literary devices without even realizing it. For example, if you exaggerate and say, “This method has the potential to revolutionize the world,” that’s hyperbole. Your method may be impactful, but it probably isn’t really going to upend the way every single country does things.

More complicated literary devices are a common feature in fiction, but most nonfiction books don’t need them. A nonfiction Author’s job is to deliver information in an engaging way. “Engaging” doesn’t necessarily mean “literary.”

Still, literary devices can add a lot to a text when they’re used correctly.

For example, in The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald uses the following metaphor to describe human struggle: “So we beat on, boats against the current…”

The image of boats fighting against the current is a powerful way to express the simple idea that “life is hard.”

Literary devices are especially effective when they’re used sparingly. Don’t overdo it.

If your entire book is written in metaphors, it’s not only going to be an overkill of flowery language, but it’s probably going to be confusing too.

If you can incorporate literary devices in a way that makes sense and adds something to the readers’ experience, great. But don’t force it.

30 Common Literary Devices

1. alliteration.

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds within a group of words. For example, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

Nonfiction Authors can use alliteration to create catchy chapter or subsection titles. For example, “4 Best Bets for Better Business.”

Alliteration is also particularly effective for highlighting concepts you want your readers to remember. For example, if the takeaway of your chapter is a pithy, one-line sentence, alliteration can really make it stand out. Think, “Clear communication is key.”

Be careful not to overuse alliteration, or your book will start to sound like a nursery rhyme.

2. Onomatopoeia

An onomatopoeia is a word that imitates, suggests, or resembles the sound it’s describing. Common onomatopoeias include “gurgle,” “hiss,” “boom,” “whir,” and “whizz.”

In storytelling, onomatopoeia is an effective way to draw your reader into the environment. For example, if you’re telling an anecdote about a meeting you had with a client, it’s more vivid to say, “He plopped a sugar cube into his coffee and slurped,” than to say, “He drank his coffee with sugar.”

3. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is an advance warning about something that’s going to happen in the future.

In fiction, foreshadowing can be subtle. For example, something that happens in the first chapter of a murder mystery can come into play at the end of the book.

But in nonfiction, foreshadowing tends to be more obvious. Authors often use it to tell readers what they can expect to learn. For example, an Author might say, “We’re going to talk more about this example later,” or “I’ll discuss this at length in Chapter Three.”

4. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggeration that’s not meant to be taken literally. For example, if my friend surprised me by eating a lot of pizza, I might say, “Hey man, remember that time you ate, like, fifteen pizzas in one night?”

Good nonfiction Authors often use hyperbole to emphasize the power of their statements. For example, “We all know how miserable it can be to work 24/7.” Do we really all know that? And it’s impossible to literally work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Nonfiction Authors have to be careful with hyperbole, though. If you’re using data, you want it to seem credible. In nonfiction, readers often want precision, not exaggeration.

5. Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a figure of speech where seemingly contradictory terms appear together. For example, “the dumbest genius I know.”

Oxymorons are useful if you want to create an unexpected contrast. For example, “Your unhappiest customers are often your business’ happiest accident.”

6. Flashback

A flashback is a scene set in an earlier time than the main story. They’re often used to provide important context or backstory for an event you’re discussing.

Because most nonfiction books aren’t chronological (unless it’s a memoir), you probably won’t have many opportunities to use flashbacks. But in anecdotes, a touch of flashback can be effective.

For example, “My boss congratulated me for landing the largest account our company had ever seen. It was hard to believe that only seven months earlier, I was struggling to keep the few clients I already had.”

7. Point of View

Point of view is the perspective you use to tell your story.

A lot of nonfiction is written with a first-person point of view, which means writing from an “I” perspective. For example, “I’ve developed the following ten-point system to improve your finances.”

It’s much rarer, although possible, to write nonfiction from the third-person perspective. For example, “They saw how powerful their methods could be.” Sometimes co-authors choose this method to avoid first-person confusion.

Nonfiction writers occasionally use second person (“you”) to directly address their readers. For example, “You know how hard it can be to fire someone.”

8. Euphemism

A euphemism is a polite way of describing something indirectly.

Many Authors use euphemisms to vary their language or soften the blow of a difficult concept. For example, “passed away” is a euphemism for “died.”

Some Authors use euphemisms to keep their texts more palatable for a general audience.

For example, if an Author is writing about sexual harassment in the workplace, they may not want to repeat lewd phrases and could use euphemisms instead. Or, an Author who wants to avoid the political controversy around the term “abortion” might opt for “pregnancy termination.”

9. Colloquialism

A colloquialism is a word or phrase that’s not formal or literary. It tends to be used in ordinary or familiar conversation instead. For example, it’s more colloquial to say, “How’s it going?” instead of “How are you doing?”

Slang is also a form of colloquialism. If you say something was “awesome,” unless you literally mean it inspired awe, you’re being colloquial.

No matter how professional your audience is, some colloquialism can make your book feel more relatable. Readers like to feel as if they’re talking with the Author. Colloquialism can help you create that personal, one-on-one feeling.

10. Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is when you give human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human creatures or things.

If you think of your dog as having a “funny personality,” you’re anthropomorphizing him. The same goes for your “stubborn” toaster or “cranky” computer.

In nonfiction, you generally won’t encounter a lot of opportunities for anthropomorphism, but some Authors may want to humanize their products or services. For example, your software may be “friendly” or “kind” to new users.

11. Anaphora

Anaphora is a rhetorical device where you repeat a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. This is a great way to draw emphasis to a certain portion of text.

For example, Charles Dickens uses anaphora in the opening of A Tale of Two Cities : “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief…”

12. Anachronism

An anachronism is a chronological inconsistency where you juxtapose people, things, or sayings from different time periods. If you were reading a book about colonial America where characters talk about cars, that would be anachronistic.

In nonfiction, you might want to use anachronism to make it easier for a current audience to relate to people in your stories.

For example, if you’re writing about the history of the banking industry, you might refer to certain individuals as “influencers” or talk about ideas that were “trending.”

13. Malapropism

A malapropism is the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one. This usually creates some kind of humorous effect. Imagine a person saying, “I know how to dance the flamingo,” instead of, “I know how to dance flamenco.”

There aren’t a lot of good reasons to use malapropism in nonfiction, but you could do this if you’re trying to amuse or delight your reader in an unexpected way. It’s a lot like using a pun.

For example, if you’re writing a book about sports, you might say, “The client and I saw things so eye-to-eye, it was almost like we had ESPN” (instead of “ESP”).

14. Figurative Language

Figurative language is language that dresses up your writing in an attempt to engage your readers. Figurative language is often more colorful, evocative, or dramatic.

For example, “She was chained to her desk for sixty hours a week.” Let’s hope not.

Still, it conjures a vivid image that’s more exciting for readers than, “She worked a lot.”

Figurative language is like taking your everyday language and putting it in a tuxedo.

15. Dramatic Irony

Irony is a literary technique where what appears to be the case differs radically from what is actually the case.

Dramatic irony is a type of irony that occurs when an audience understands the context more than the character in a story.

Let’s say you’re telling a story about an interaction with a client that didn’t go the way you expected. You might write, “Things seemed to be going well, but little did I know, she had already hired someone else.”

At the moment you were meeting with the client, you didn’t have that information. But now, the reader does. So, they get to follow along with the rest of the story, knowing more than you did at the time.

16. Verbal Irony

Verbal irony occurs when a person says one thing but means another. Sarcasm is a good example of verbal irony. For example, you might say, “It was a wonderful dinner,” when, in fact, the food was terrible, and your partner showed up an hour late.

Depending on the tone of your book, verbal irony can help create humor or make you more relatable.

17. Figure of Speech

Think of “figure of speech” as a kind of catch-all term for any word or phrase that’s used in a non-literal sense to create a dramatic effect.

For example, it’s a figure of speech to say that it was “raining cats and dogs” or that something stands “an ice cube’s chance in Hell” of happening.

A lot of the devices we’ve already discussed (e.g., alliteration, oxymoron, and metaphors) also fall into the category of figures of speech.

18. Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting way. It often highlights the similarities between two different ideas.

Take, for example, “The classroom was a zoo.” It wasn’t literally a zoo, but this metaphor expresses the wild energy of a room full of children.

Or, “the curtain of night fell.” Night doesn’t have a curtain, but we can all imagine darkness falling like one.

Metaphors form direct comparisons by saying something is something else. (Similes, explained below, form comparisons by saying something is like something else.)

Metaphors are a useful tool for “showing” your reader something instead of just “telling.” They help your reader see and feel the scene, and they paint a vivid picture.

If you use a metaphor, though, make sure it’s intelligible. There are a lot of bad ones out there. The point of a metaphor is to make a scene clearer, not to confuse your reader.

A simile is also a figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting way. But unlike a metaphor, a simile uses comparison words like “like” or “as.”

“She was as bright as a lightbulb.”

“He was stubborn like a mule.”

Using similes can make your writing more interesting. The comparisons can spark your readers’ imagination while still getting your information across clearly.

20. Metonymy

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.

For example, a businessman is sometimes known as “a suit.”

Or, in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar , “lend me your ears,” is a metonymy for “give me your full attention.”

People use metonymy all the time without being conscious of it. For example, if you get in a car wreck, you’re likely to say, “That car hit me,” instead of, “That car hit my car.”

If you’re writing in relatable, colloquial language, your book will probably have metonymy in it.

21. Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something stands in for the whole or vice versa. It’s a subset of metonymy.

For example, if you have “hungry mouths to feed,” you actually need to feed people. Their mouths are just a stand-in for the whole person.

Or, you might say, “All of society was at the gala,” when you really mean, “All of high society was there.”

Typically, synecdoche will come out in your writing naturally. When you force synecdoche, it can sound strange.

For example, what do you think I mean when I say, “I sat on the legs?” I’m guessing a chair didn’t come to mind, even though “legs” is a part of the whole “chair.”

22. Aphorism

An aphorism is a concise statement of a general truth or principle. For example, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Most aphorisms are handed down over time, so chances are, you won’t coin your own. Think of these as the tried-and-true statements people already know.

For example, if you’re describing toxic leadership, you could quickly say, “After all, power corrupts,” and your audience would immediately know what you mean.

Aphorisms are great for emphasis because they’re quick, clear, and to the point. They aren’t flowery, and their simplicity makes them memorable.

23. Rhetorical Question

A rhetorical question is a question asked for effect, not because you want an answer.

“Do you want to make money? Do you want to sleep better at night? Do you want to run a successful company?”

Who wouldn’t say yes? (See what I did there?)

Be careful not to overuse rhetorical questions because too many can get tedious. But used sparingly, they’re a great way to invite your reader into the conversation and highlight the benefits of your knowledge.

24. Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton comes from the Ancient Greek for “many” and “bound together.” As its name implies, it’s a literary technique in which conjunctions (e.g., and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession.

Here it is in action: “I wanted an employee who was self-motivated and enterprising and skilled. I needed someone who could write and talk and network like a pro.”

In most cases, you’ll use a regular list instead of polysyndeton (e.g., “I like cats, dogs, and ferrets.”). But when it’s used correctly, polysyndeton is useful for drawing emphasis to different aspects of a sentence.

One common way to use polysyndeton is, “You’ll find everything in this book, from billing and buying to marketing and sales.”

25. Consonance

Consonance occurs when you repeat consonant sounds throughout a particular word or phrase. Unlike alliteration, the repeated consonant doesn’t have to come at the beginning of the word.

“Do you like blue?” and “I wish I had a cushion to squash” are examples of consonance.

Consonance can help you build sentences and passages that have a nice rhythm. When a text flows smoothly, it can subconsciously propel readers forward and keep them reading.

26. Assonance

Assonance is similar to consonance, except it involves repeating vowel sounds. This is usually a subtler kind of echo. For example, the words “penitence” and “reticence” are assonant.

Like consonance, assonance can help you build compelling, rhythmic language.

27. Chiasmus

Chiasmus is a rhetorical device where grammatical constructions or concepts are repeated in reverse order.

For example, “Never let a kiss fool you or a fool kiss you.” Or, “The happiest and best moments go to the best and happiest employees.”

In nonfiction, chiasmus can be an effective way to make a significant point. It often works because it’s unexpected and punchy.

28. Litotes

Litotes is a figure of speech closely related to verbal irony. With litotes, you use understatement to emphasize your point. They often incorporate double negatives for effect.

For example, “You won’t be sorry” is the litotes way of saying, “You will be glad.”

If I say, “He wasn’t a bad singer,” you can probably assume that he was actually a good singer. But the negative construction conveys a different tone.

If hyperbole lends more force to your claims, litotes diminishes your statement. In nonfiction, there are situations where you might want to downplay your judgment.

Take this statement, for example: “He wasn’t the worst lawyer I had ever seen, but he could have been more organized.” You aren’t completely bashing the lawyer, but you’re still showing there’s room for improvement.

Still, I recommend using litotes sparingly if you don’t want people to think you’re constantly damning with faint praise.

29. Epigraph

An epigraph is a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme.

For example, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather begins with a quotation from the French writer Balzac: “Behind every great fortune, there is a crime.”

An epigraph is a great way to honor a writer or thinker you admire. It also immediately puts your work in conversation with theirs. In nonfiction, an epigraph can be a great way to signal to readers, “Hey, Tim Ferriss’ book has informed mine!”

But don’t rely too heavily on epigraphs. The point of writing a book is to show that you are an expert. You don’t want to constantly defer to other Authors to contextualize your ideas.

Also, epigraphs are only effective when they are truly relevant to your book. Don’t just pick a person that you think readers will recognize. Pick a quotation that really adds something to your book.

30. Epistrophe

Epistrophe is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. It’s sometimes called epiphora or antistrophe.

Epistrophe is the cousin of anaphora, where the repetition happens at the beginning of successive phrases.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is a great example of a text that uses epistrophe: “… that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

His repetition of “the people” really drives home the importance of “the people” to American government. They are central, no matter how you slice it.

Epistrophe can be very dramatic, and it’s a great way to draw attention to crucial concepts or words in your book. But because it’s so impactful, it should be used in moderation.

The Scribe Crew

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Rhetorical Devices Make Speeches Spring To Life

A rhetorical device is a verbal technique a speaker or writer uses to make their presentation more compelling to the audience so that listeners are persuaded to accept their position. They can evoke an emotional response, although this is not the main reason why the speaker chooses the device.

Rhetoric is the art of using language to persuade, inform, or entertain an audience. It has been studied and practiced for thousands of years and has produced a variety of techniques and devices that speakers and writers use to achieve their goals.

One such device is the rhetorical device, a technique that creates a memorable and effective message. Rhetorical devices include  figures of speech , such as  similes and metaphor s, as well as techniques like  repetition and parallelism .

This article explores the different types of rhetorical devices and how they can be used in written and spoken communication to enhance the impact of a message.

Table of Contents

What Is A Rhetorical Device?

A speaker or writer uses  a rhetorical device  to convey meaning and persuade their audience. These devices can include figures of speech, such as metaphors and similes, as well as techniques like repetition and parallelism.

The purpose of rhetorical devices is to make language more memorable, persuasive, or entertaining. Using these techniques effectively, a speaker or writer can create a more impactful message that resonates with their audience.

How Does This Compare With A Literary Device?

Rhetorical devices focus primarily on persuasion and communication, while literary devices create artistic effects in literature. They are straightforward and often used in non-fiction writing and speeches, while literary devices are more commonly used in fiction, poetry, and drama. 

Literary devices may be more subtle and complex. Some literary devices include allegory, symbolism, and imagery, while rhetorical devices center around the use of words.

What Are The Four Modes Of Persuasion Aided by Rhetorical Devices?

The four modes of persuasion, also known as the rhetorical appeals, are ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. These modes are aided by various rhetorical devices to create a persuasive message.

• Ethos  appeals to the audience’s sense of  ethics and credibility . Rhetorical devices that aid ethos include using expert testimony, presenting a speaker’s or writer’s credentials, and establishing trustworthiness.
•   Logos  appeals to the audience’s  logic and reasoning . Examples of logos include statistics and facts, logical arguments, analogies, and illustrations.
•   Pathos  appeals to the audience’s  emotions . Pathos uses vivid imagery, personal stories, and figurative language to create an emotional impact.
•   Kairos  appeals to the  timing and context  of the message. It would use current events and news stories to make a persuasive case, as well as timing and urgency to make the audience feel compelled to act.

Aristotle’s Setup

Aristotle’s Setup , also known as  Aristotle’s dramatic or narrative arc , is a structure used in storytelling first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his work “Poetics.” The system consists of three parts: the beginning or exposition, the middle or complication, and the end or resolution.

The beginning or exposition sets the stage for the story by introducing the characters, setting, and conflict. The middle or complication builds tension and develops the competition through rising action, leading to a climax or turning point. The end or resolution resolves the conflict and ties up loose ends.

Aristotle’s Setup is still used today as a framework for storytelling in various forms of media, including literature, film, and television. It provides a clear structure for creating a compelling narrative that engages the audience and keeps them invested in the story.

How Do A Rhetorical Device And A Rhetorical Technique Differ?

A rhetorical device is a specific technique a speaker or writer uses to create a particular effect, such as a metaphor or repetition. It is a specific tool in the writer or speaker’s toolbox that achieves a particular goal.

Rhetorical technique, on the other hand, refers to the strategies and methods a speaker or writer employs to persuade or communicate effectively. It encompasses a broader range of tools and techniques, including rhetorical devices.

In other words,  rhetorical technique is the larger umbrella under which rhetorical devices fall.  Rhetorical devices are specific examples of the techniques used in rhetoric, but they only encompass a partial range of strategies used to communicate effectively.

What is A Rhetorical Strategy

Here are 10 examples of  rhetorical strategies :

• Appeal to emotion: “Don’t you want to keep your family safe?”
• Appeal to authority: “As the leading expert in this field, I can tell you that this product is the best.”
• Call to action: “Join our cause and help make a difference in the world!”
• Comparison and contrast: “This product is not only more effective but also more affordable than our competitors.”
•  Testimonial: “I tried this product, and it completely changed my life.”
•  Cause and effect: “If we don’t take action now, the consequences will be catastrophic.”
•  Humor: “Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing!”
•  Narration: “Let me tell you a story about how this product changed my life.”
•  Logical appeal: “Based on the evidence presented, it’s clear that this is the best choice.”
•  Storytelling: “Once upon a time, a young girl dreamed of changing the world.”

What Are The Most Common Rhetorical Devices?

Rhetorical Devices are  powerful tools that add emphasis, clarity, and emotion to written and spoken language.  From the time of Shakespeare to the famous speeches of John F. Kennedy, rhetorical devices have played a crucial part in shaping the way we communicate.

Ten examples of rhetorical devices are as follows:

• Metaphor  – using a comparison to make a point or create an image in the audience’s mind
•   Simile  – the comparison of two things using “like” or “as” to create a vivid picture.
•   Alliteration  – the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of multiple words in a phrase or sentence to create rhythm and emphasis.
•   Hyperbole  – using exaggeration to create a dramatic effect or to emphasize a point.
•   Personification  – attributing human qualities or actions to non-human objects or ideas to make a point or create a vivid image.
•   Irony  – using language to convey the opposite of its literal meaning for humorous or dramatic effect.
•   Repetition  – the most commonly used device involves repeating a word or phrase to create emphasis or to reinforce a point.
•   Onomatopoeia  – using words that imitate the sound they represent to create a vivid image.
•   Oxymoron  – using two contradictory words together to create a paradoxical effect.
•   Rhetorical question  – asking a question to make a point or to emphasize a message without expecting a direct answer.

Consonant sounds can also be emphasized through devices like  consonance and alliteration. Metonymy and synecdoche  are two devices that involve substituting one word or phrase for another, with the former using a related term and the latter using a part to represent the whole.

Which Rhetorical Device Is Most Often Used In Speeches?

The most commonly used rhetorical device in a speech is  repetition .

Anaphora i nvolves  repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.  This can create a rhythmic effect and draw attention to the repeated phrase. John F. Kennedy’s famous line, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” is a great example of anaphora.

Another device is  chiasmus,  which involves repeating words or ideas in reverse order. For example, “Do not let your schooling interfere with your education” is a famous quote by Mark Twain that uses chiasmus.

Repetition of a word or phrase can be used to reinforce a point or idea and can be seen in famous speeches like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. As seen in Yoda’s unique speech pattern, sentence structure and syntax can also be manipulated for emphasis.

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Blogs / For Writers / 11 Literary Devices: Definitions, Examples, and Tips

11 Literary Devices: Definitions, Examples, and Tips

Want to know a secret? You are already an expert at literary devices!

Don’t let the fancy words or a stern-looking English teacher scare you away!

You are already using and noticing anaphora and chiasmus in the words around you, whether you recognize the terms or not.

Read on for a quick understanding of literary devices, a deeper look at a few fundamental terms, and a painless plan for applying this powerful tool in your writing. Through literary devices, authors offer the reader the gift of crafting their writing with layers of beauty and meaning.

Before you start, I should warn you, this may lead to a quiet (or not so quiet) obsession to hunt down even more devices in your reading and slip them into your writing.

You may become a word nerd…if you’re not already!

Feeling brave? Undeterred? We’ll need the field guide as we enter the wilds…

What Are Literary Devices?

First, train your eyes on those tricky words.

We use technical terms as a shortcut to understanding within a field of study.

For example, photosynthesis is a single word that conveys an entire process. Writers and students of literature have technical terms too. Within the broad label of literary devices, authors find:

• Techniques,
• Styles, and;

To enhance their writing.

The tracks narrow and branch. Literary elements are the big picture devices found in the full work, like:

Techniques tunnel into individual words or sentences, like alliteration or onomatopoeia.

11 Literary Device Examples

There are 1,000s of literary devices out there, but here are 11 of our favorites.

Alliteration

The repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginnings of words.

“Gnus never know pneumonia” is an example of alliteration since, despite the spellings, all four words begin with the “n” sound. Fitzgerald’s repetition of the “b” sound in “buoyed,” “balloon” and “blown back” draw attention to the wind and the sense of floating.

Alliteration causes a reader to focus on a specific section of the text which can create a certain rhythm in the words and mood in the text.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sound suggests their meaning.

With “whip and snap,” Fitzgerald helps the reader to feel as if they are situated in that scene and hearing the sound effects. It also adds extra emphasis as we notice in the use of “boom” as Tom shuts the windows and the wind dies.

• Personification

Personification gives human characteristics to inanimate objects or to animals.

The “groan of a picture” emphasizes the pressure caused by the wind and enhances the sense of struggle or tension in the space.Personification helps the reader to relate to the object that is given human attributes.

The combination of these three devices in the final sentence intensify the shift in the scene for the reader.

Comparison of the couch with a balloon that the women are flying on begins an extended metaphor that is completed as they “ballooned slowly to the floor.” A metaphor is a figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparative term.

Instead of saying ‘like’ something, you say it ‘is’ something.

The comparison begins with a simile, “on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon.” To simplify, the couch is like an anchored balloon.

Extended Metaphors

An extended metaphor develops the comparison over several lines or paragraphs.

The extended metaphor builds on the comparison with figurative language and more complex, varied descriptions.

In this case, the extended metaphor offers an image of Daisy and Jordan free and captivating as well as the power of Tom to control them and the atmosphere of the room.

These images remain in the reader’s mind as the characters are developed through the story.

A “rule of three” emerges in the final line.

In this sentence, Fitzgerald uses a group of three words that parallel each other in form or length, a tricolon, to create a memorable and rhythmic phrase:

“…and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor.”

The device hunter in you is already seeing repetition and noticing how it is creating emphasis and atmosphere. Didn’t we see “two young women” at the start of the paragraph?

There’s another balloon!

Anaphora is the repetition of  a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines. It helps to drill home a specific point or idea. It is most commonly used in poetry and speeches, but it can be used in fiction, too.

Example of Anaphora

Many writers use anaphora with great success. One of the most famous examples is in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities : “ It was the  best of times,  it was the  worst of times,  it was the  age of wisdom,  it was the age of  foolishness,  it was the epoch of  belief,  it was the epoch of  incredulity,  it was the season of  Light,  it was the season of  Darkness,  it was the  spring of hope,  it was the winter of despair.”

Epistrophe is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive lines. Like anaphora, it can be used for effect and to highlight an important point or idea.

Epistrophe Examples

Epistrophes are most commonly found in music, as they create a nice beat and make a song memorable. For example:

• “Sunshine or rain,  I’ll be there /whether good times or bad,  I’ll be there .”—Mac Miller
• “Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it/ If you liked it then  you shoulda put a ring on it.”—Beyonce

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by another thing that is related to the concept. Writers normally use it to simplify larger more complicated concepts into small and digestible images.

Metonymy Examples

We use many metonyms in our day to day speech. Here are a few examples

• Lend me your ears.
• May I have your hand in marriage?
• I gave you my heart, but you gave it away.
• The Crown have been in the news lately.

Antithesis is a thing that is the exact opposite of another thing. It is a rhetorical device were writers can contrast ideas using exactly opposed clauses, or sentences.

When two exactly opposite words are placed together for effect, this is called an oxymoron.

Antithesis Example

Much like metonyms, we use regularly use antithesis in our day to day lives. Here are a few examples:

• Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
• Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
• Give me liberty or give me death.
• No pain, no gain.

Chiasmus is a literary device that takes two parallel clauses and inverts the word order of one to create a greater meaning. It originates from a Greek word that means crossing.

Chiasmus Examples

Chiasmus can be very persuasive when spoken aloud as they repeat the same concept twice to help it stick with the audience. This is why they are most commonly used in speeches and plays. Here are two examples:

• “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. ” —John F. Kennedy.
• “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”—William Shakespeare

A motif is a repeated element that illuminates the:

• Central idea,
• Themes, and;
• Deeper meaning of a story.

The repetition of something concrete or tangible leads to a greater understanding of more abstract themes and symbolic significance within a story.

In The Great Gatsby , the green light is both a symbol of what Gatsby desires but can never reach and a motif of the unfulfilled American Dream as it reappears at key moments in the story.

How to Identify Stylistic Devices

You don’t need to recognize or name the techniques to enjoy encountering literary devices as you read. As a reader, becoming a device hunter gives you the chance to marvel at the artistry of the writer and helps you discover deeper meaning or messages in the writing.

Writing hunters know what devices are, how they work and why they create effects on readers. With this knowledge, they use devices to craft prose or bend the technique to challenge their readers’ expectations.

How to Write Literary Devices

Learn about them.

We have only begun the exploration! Seek out new devices and definitions.

Look for them

Notice the moment when you read something you love.

Take a step back. Are any of the literary devices you know being used? If yes, celebrate and add these examples to your collection. If not, notice what is being done. Is this a literary device you haven’t encountered before? Add it to your collection and to the options you have to craft your writing.

Try them out

As you are free writing or working on a scene, consider the effect you want to create and try different options.

Play with the devices!

Weed them out

After you experiment with many options, find the ones that work the best. Editing down to the most effective choices is part of crafting your prose.

Don’t force it

Just like using new vocabulary, look for how to allow these tools to add spice, depth and flow to your writing.

Use literary devices to amp reader enjoyment and engagement.

Literary Devices Examples in Literature

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, offers a prime hunting ground for literary devices.

Nick describes his impression on entry into the Buchanan’s living room. Keep your eyes and senses ready as you read the following paragraph.

Trust your instincts!

Use your pencil as a snare to capture words or phrases that strike you as memorable.

“The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house. I must have stood for a few moments listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor.”

Fitzgerald has used:

• Alliteration,
• Onomatopoeia, and;

To name just a few of the devices here.

Look at your haul:

• Did you catch any of the following examples?
• Did you capture something different?
• Did you find even more?
• Can you already see your talent in this hunt?

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Definition of Allusion

An allusion is a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar. As a literary device, allusion allows a writer to compress a great deal of meaning and significance into a word or phrase . However, allusions are only effective to the extent that they are recognized and understood by the reader, and that they are properly inferred and interpreted by the reader. If an allusion is obscure or misunderstood, it can lose effectiveness by confusing the reader.

For example, in his novel   Ragtime , E.L. Doctorow’s character “Little Boy” tells another character who is going to Europe to “warn the Duke.” This is an allusion to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination initiated the chain of events leading to World War I. Doctorow’s allusion is effective for readers that recognize and understand the reference, and it underscores the significance for readers of how one action in history can lead to long-term global consequences.

Common Examples of Allusion in Everyday Speech

People often make allusions in everyday conversation, sometimes without the realization that they are doing so and sometimes without knowing the material to which they are alluding. Typically, these allusions are in reference to popular culture, including movies, books, music, public figures, and so on.

Here are some common examples of allusion in everyday speech, along with the source material to which they reference:

• His smile is like kryptonite to me. (Superman’s weakness)
• She felt like she had a golden ticket . (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
• That guy is young, scrappy, and hungry . (Hamilton)
• I wish I could just click my heels . (The Wizard of Oz)
• If I’m not home by midnight, my car might turn into a pumpkin . (Cinderella)
• She smiles like a Cheshire cat . (Alice in Wonderland)
• His job is like pulling a sword out of a stone . (King Arthur Legend )
• Is there an Einstein in your physics class? (Albert Einstein)
• My math teacher is he who must not be named . (Voldemort from the Harry Potter series)
• I want to sound like Queen B . (Beyoncé)
• Today might be the Ides of March . (Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar)
• Now might be a good time to sit in my thinking chair . (Blue’s Clues)
• I have a caped crusader costume. (Batman)
• Does it count if we were on a break ? (Friends)
• I’m listening to the king . (Elvis Presley)

Examples of Allusion to Classical Mythology

Writers often utilize allusion as a literary device for an incidental mention of something or a passing reference to create context . Greek and/or Roman mythology are commonly used as sources for allusions in literature, directly or by implication, due to the familiarity most readers have with classical myths, their stories, and characters.

Here are some examples of allusion to classical mythology:

• Achilles’ heel (alluding to the one weakness of Achilles)
• arrow of love (allusion to Cupid)
• carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders (allusion to Atlas)
• pushing a boulder uphill every day (allusion to Sisyphus)
• hot as Hades (alluding to the god of death/king of the underworld)
• looking like Venus (alluding to the goddess of beauty )
• Herculean effort (alluding to the strength of Hercules)
• opening Pandora’s box (alluding to Pandora’s myth of letting trouble into the world)
• protean form of management (alluding to Proteus who could change his shape)
• can’t stop staring at himself (allusion to Narcissus)

Famous Examples of Biblical Allusion

The Bible is another frequently referenced source for writers utilizing allusion as a literary device. Here are some famous examples of Biblical allusion :

• garden (Eden, creation)
• Snake (serpent, Satan)
• flood (Noah’s Ark)
• apple/fruit (tree of knowledge, temptation)
• Cross (Christ, crucifixion)
• great patience (Job)
• fraternal competition (Cain and Abel)
• betrayal (Judas)
• generosity/philanthropy (Good Samaritan)
• slingshot/stone (David and Goliath)

Writing Allusion

Allusion is a very effective literary device in all forms of literature. Writers can use allusions for character development by associating them with other well-known and familiar characters or archetypes . Literary allusions can also provide context for the reader through comparison or contrast to another literary work. In addition, allusion can provide exposition for a story by referring to the plot and/or character of another work that helps the reader understand more about the story’s events or character motivations .

When creating allusions in a literary work, writers must balance what they choose to reference and how to incorporate it into their work so it is understandable and meaningful for the reader. Here are some common types of allusion for a writer to consider when using this literary device:

• self reference–when a writer references another work of their own
• single reference–when a writer connects their work to another through allusion
• causal reference–when an allusion is made but it is not essential to the story
• corrective reference–when a writer references another work that is in opposition by comparison
• apparent reference–when a writer alludes to a specific source but in a challenging way
• multiple references–when a writer uses a variety of allusions

Types of Literary Allusion

• Casual Allusion: It is not an integral part of the story. It just occurs when a character feels something or sees something and recalls the persona or the happening that matches it.
• Single Allusion: It means that allusion given, or the reference given is just about that single person or happening and that readers and the audiences should also infer the same. There are no further connotations in such allusions. In other words, it has a single meaning.
• Self-Reference: When a writer refers to his own work or his own personality in his different works, it is called self-reference or even self-allusion.
• Corrective Allusion: Such allusions correct or seem to correct the original source to which the allusion alludes to. Although such allusions are not always meant for correction, sometimes they are considered to have corrective usage.
• Apparent Reference: These types of allusions are clear and specific and the writers do not use them without specific knowledge of the source, though, sometimes they also challenge the very source.
• Multiple Allusions or Conflation: Sometimes writers use several allusions in a single tradition that is prevalent in cultural traditions.

Allusion Vs. Analogy

Analogy and allusions are entirely different from each other. An analogy is a comparison between two things, objects , persons, or situations. It is based on some aspects of resemblances in both objects and things. On the other hand, an allusion is just a reference to something, or some person, or some situation. This does not mean that that they should have some resemblance. In fact, they seem to be the same thing; just an allusion points to the actual thing to which the reference has been made.

Using Allusion in Sentences

• He seems to be a Cupid during his love affair with the girl even if it was on the stage.
• My Friend is the Shakespeare of this school, for he has worked very hard on his plays.
• He has traveled so much and removed so many obstacles from his voyages, he seems a new Columbus.
• Most of the time Muslims recall the Ottoman Empire just to satisfy themselves as they have no such a powerful state now .
• Seething with shame and anger, he recalls his old days as if he has lived in paradise in Sweden.

Examples of Allusion in Literature

As a literary device, allusion is used for a context in a literary work through reference to a well-known or familiar person, place, event, or other work of literature. In this way, allusions help develop a relationship between a writer’s creation and its association with something else that the reader would recognize. This is effective in developing characters. creating settings , and contextualizing a story. Most literary allusions are not directly explained to the reader but instead rely on the reader’s inferential ability.

Here are some examples of allusion in well-known literary works:

Example 1: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Here is the house it is green and white it has a red door it is very pretty here is the family mother father dick and jane live in the green-and-white house they are very happy see jane she has a red dress she wants to play who will play with jane see the cat it goes meow-meow come and play come play with jane the kitten will not play see mother mother is very nice mother will you play with jane mother laughs laugh mother laugh see father he is big and strong father will you play with jane father is smiling smile father smile see the dog bowwow goes the dog do you want to play do you want to play with jane see the dog run run dog run look look here comes a friend the friend will play with jane they will play a good game play jane play

In her novel, Morrison alludes to the familiar wording of the reading primer series  Dick and Jane , used as part of educational curricula from the 1930s to the 1970s. The series featured simple, repetitive wording and pictured a white, middle-class family made up of a boy, girl, mother, father, dog, and a cat living in an idyllic American neighborhood. In this passage, Pecola’s character challenges the language, intention, and aesthetic of the Dick and Jane series by running the words together and making them difficult to understand for the novel’s reader.

This reflects the breakdown and disparity of images in Pecola’s mind between her environment and experience as an African American girl in 1940 Ohio, and the white children in the world of  Dick and Jane . Morrison’s use of allusion to  Dick and Jane as a literary device is effective in that it is widely recognized and understood by readers, and gives meaning to the meaninglessness Pecola finds in the primer’s words.

Example 2: Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay .

In his poem , Frost makes an allusion to the “fall of man” and exile from Paradise by referring to Eden and how it “sank to grief.” This allusion helps to connect the human experience to the poet’s lament about the cycle of life and death, beginning and ending, in nature. The allusion to Eden also provides an interesting context to the poem, in that the reader can infer that the fall of man was a natural and possibly inevitable occurrence, adding to the appreciation of life in its temporary existence.

Example 3: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

While I waited for him in the woods, waiting for him before he saw me, I would think of him as dressed in sin. I would think of him as thinking of me as dressed also in sin, he the more beautiful since the garment which he had exchanged for sin was sanctified. I would think of the sin as garments which we would remove in order to shape and coerce the terrible blood to the forlorn echo of the dead word high in the air.

Faulkner’s novel relies heavily on the reader’s ability to deduce and infer plot elements and character motivations. This is particularly true with Addie Bundren’s character, as she is limited to narrating one chapter through death. In this passage, Addie remembers her adulterous affair with Reverent Whitfield that produced her son, Jewel. This passage is an allusion to Nathaniel Hawthorne ’s literary work The Scarlet Letter in which Hester Prynne conceived a child through her affair with Reverend Dimmesdale.

Faulkner’s use of this allusion helps contextualize Addie’s character, her relationship with Jewel, and the fractured structure of her family. However, Faulkner is relying on the reader to catch this brief allusion to Hawthorne’s work, infer its significance and meaning, and apply that to his own novel. If the reader misses or misinterprets Faulkner’s subtle allusion, then it is ineffective and without meaning.

Example 4: I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King

Five score years ago…

Although Martin Luther King has used several allusions in his speech, “I Have a Dream ,” one of the best is “Five scores ago…”. This allusion has been used to echo Abraham Lincoln. He used this phrase during his address at Gettysburg saying, “Four score…” When Martin Luther King uses this phrase, the reference to that allusion is unmistaken. Therefore, his argument is also unmistakable in that it connects to the same issues that Lincoln raised and resolved several decades back.

Example 5: The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe has used several allusions in his poem, The Raven . These include Pallas and Night ’s Plutonian that shows the use of Roman and Greek myths. The second allusion reminds the Roman god that controls the underworld. As it alludes to death, Raven is also associated with death through this reference. The reference to Pallas also points to the wisdom of the goddess in Greek mythology.

Example 6: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

We’ll have no Cupid hoodwinked with a scarf. (Act 1, Scene 4) You are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings. (Act 1, Scene 4) Oh, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. (Act 1, Scene 4)

These lines from Romeo and Juliet show the use of several allusions such as Cupid, Queen Mab, and English folklore . Almost all of them are associated with love, hate, and chivalry.

Synonyms of Allusion

The following synonyms are closest to allusion: inference , a clue, a cue, a hint, an inkling, a whiff, a sing, or even a signal. There are some other synonyms, but their meanings slightly differ such as mention, suggestion, lead, or intimation.

Related posts:

• Romeo and Juliet Allusion
• Difference between Allusion and Illusion
• Examples of Historical Allusion
• A Huge List of Famous Allusions
• Examples of Biblical Allusion
• 10 Beautiful Allusions in Poetry
• 10 Unforgettable Allusions in 90s Music
• Hamlet Act-I, Scene-I Study Guide
• Ships That Pass in the Night
• The Quality of Mercy is Not Strain’d
• Raining Cats and Dogs

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75 Literary Devices (A to Z List) | Definitions & Examples

Literary devices are techniques and tools used by writers to convey meaning, create a particular mood or tone, and enhance the overall effect of their writing. We use these literary devices in creative writing such as literature and poetry. These are also used in non-fiction works and other types of communication. We have compiled a huge life of 75 literary devices for you.

Let’s read!

• Alliteration

Alliteration is a literary device that involves using the same sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in close proximity. It is utilized to make writing sound musical and to stress particular words or phrases. The repeated sound can be a consonant or a vowel sound.

Example: S he s ells s eashells by the s eashore.

Each word in the sentence starts with the repetition of letter “s”. It creates a musical and rhythmic effect in the sentence. This repetition also helps to emphasize the words and draw attention towards them. Alliteration is commonly used in poetry, slogans, and advertising to create a catchy and memorable effect.

Allusion is a literary device where the author makes a reference to something like a person, place, event, or artwork without directly naming it. The author expects the reader to know what they are referring to. Writers do this to make their writing richer by drawing on shared cultural knowledge or by making connections and associations between different works of literature.

For example, a writer may mention Julius Caesar to talk about power or politics. Or they may use a famous work of literature like Shakespeare’s Hamlet to add more meaning to their own characters or themes.

Allusions can be direct or indirect. A direct allusion is when the reference is made explicitly, like “He was a real Romeo, always chasing after the ladies.” An indirect allusion is more subtle and requires the reader to connect the dots between the text and the alluded-to reference, like “Her smile was like the Mona Lisa’s, enigmatic and mysterious.”

Allusions can be found in different types of writing such as poems, plays, novels, and essays. Allusion can make the work of writers more meaningful and thought-provoking.

Ambiguity is a literary device where a writer uses of language or words that have multiple meanings or interpretations. Ambiguity creates a sense of uncertainty or mystery in the writing. It may force readers to engage more actively in order to understand meaning of text.

The example of ambiguity is the famous riddle,

• “What is black and white and red all over?” The answer, “A newspaper,” Here, the word “red” shows different meanings (which can mean both the color red and the past tense of “read”).

Ambiguity can be used deliberately by writers to create a sense of uncertainty or to leave interpretations open to the reader. However, excessive use of ambiguity can be frustrating or confusing for readers. The writers should maintain a balance between clarity and complexity in their use of language.

• Anachronism

Anachronism refers to a technique in literature that employs an element that is inconsistent with the time period or context of the narrative. This may include a historical object, a character, a language, or an event that did not transpire during that specific era.

For instance, imagine a tale set in medieval Europe where characters speak using modern-day slang or utilize modern technology; this would undoubtedly be an example of anachronism. Similarly, in a historical fiction novel set during the American Revolution, if a character is portrayed riding a motorcycle, it would also be deemed an anachronism.

Writers can use anachronism intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes, writers use anachronism to add humor or satire to their work or to highlight the differences between different time periods.

The writers should be aware of the use of anachronisms. Its excessive usage can detract from the authenticity of a story and take readers out of the narrative. However, a well-placed anachronism can add an unexpected twist or bring a playful element to the story, and even provide an opportunity for commentary or satire.

An analogy is a literary device that involves drawing a comparison between two things in order to clarify or explain something. Analogies can be useful for helping readers understand complex or abstract concepts by comparing them to something more concrete or familiar.

For example, the phrase “life is like a box of chocolates” from the movie Forrest Gump is an analogy that compares the unpredictable nature of life to the unpredictability of a box of assorted chocolates. Another example of an analogy might be comparing the structure of an atom to a miniature solar system, with the nucleus at the center and electrons orbiting around it like planets around the sun.

Analogies can be used in a variety of ways in literature. They can help to illustrate complex ideas or emotions, create vivid imagery, or add depth and richness to descriptions. Analogies can also be used to create humor or irony, by comparing two things that are seemingly dissimilar in unexpected ways.

It is important for writers to choose analogies carefully and thoughtfully, and to ensure that the comparison they are making is both accurate and appropriate for the context of the text. When used effectively, analogies can be a powerful tool for engaging and enlightening readers.

Anaphora is a literary device that involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. This repetition can create a sense of emphasis, rhythm, or momentum in a text, and can help to unify a piece of writing or highlight a particular idea or theme.

For example, Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech is known for its use of anaphora, with the repeated phrase “I have a dream” emphasizing King’s vision for racial equality and justice. Another example of anaphora might be the repetition of the phrase “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” at the beginning of each paragraph in Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities.

Anaphora can be used in a variety of ways in literature. It can be used to create a sense of urgency or excitement, to build suspense or anticipation, or to emphasize a particular message or idea. Anaphora can also be used to create a sense of unity or coherence in a text, by repeating key phrases or ideas throughout a piece of writing.

Anastrophe is a literary device that involves the inversion of the typical word order in a sentence. In anastrophe, words are rearranged in a way that deviates from the normal subject-verb-object order of English sentences, in order to create a particular effect or emphasis.

For example, in the famous opening line of Yoda’s dialogue from Star Wars, “Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you,” the subject and verb are inverted, with “you” coming after “powerful,” and “the dark side” coming after “become.” This inversion creates a sense of emphasis on the unusual word order, and helps to highlight the importance of Yoda’s message.

Anastrophe can be used in a variety of ways in literature. It can create a sense of emphasis or urgency, by placing important words or phrases at the beginning or end of a sentence. Anastrophe can also be used to create a particular rhythm or flow in a text, by changing the normal order of words and creating a sense of variation or contrast.

It is important for writers to use anastrophe carefully and thoughtfully, and to ensure that the unusual word order they are using is appropriate for the context and message of the text. When used effectively, anastrophe can be a powerful tool for creating memorable and impactful writing.

In literature, an antagonist is a character or force that opposes the protagonist, or main character, in a story. The antagonist can take many forms, including a person, group, or organization, as well as abstract concepts like fear, guilt, or injustice.

The antagonist is typically portrayed as an obstacle that the protagonist must overcome in order to achieve their goals or complete their journey. The conflict between the protagonist and antagonist is often the driving force of the story, and can create tension, suspense, and drama.

Examples of antagonists in literature include characters like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, who opposes the protagonist Harry Potter at every turn, and Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, who becomes obsessed with hunting down the titular whale and ultimately meets his demise as a result.

While the antagonist is often seen as a villain or antagonist, they can also be more complex and nuanced characters. Some antagonists may have sympathetic motivations or be fighting for what they believe is right, even if it is in opposition to the protagonist. This complexity can create a more layered and interesting story, and can force the protagonist to confront their own beliefs and values in order to succeed.

Ultimately, the antagonist is a crucial element of any story, as they provide a source of conflict and tension that drives the plot forward and challenges the protagonist to grow and change.

Antithesis is a literary device that involves the use of contrasting ideas, words, or phrases within a sentence or paragraph to create a sense of balance or tension. Antithesis often involves parallelism, where the structure of the contrasting ideas or phrases is similar or identical.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously declares, “My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” This use of antithesis creates a sense of balance and contrast within the lines, highlighting the conflict between the two opposing forces of love and hate.

Antithesis can be used in a variety of ways in literature. It can create a sense of tension or opposition, emphasizing the differences between two ideas or concepts. It can also create a sense of balance or symmetry, by pairing contrasting ideas in a way that creates a satisfying structure or rhythm.

In addition to being used in individual sentences or phrases, antithesis can also be used on a larger scale to create a sense of contrast or opposition between different characters, themes, or storylines in a work of literature. This can create a complex and nuanced story that explores multiple perspectives and ideas.

Overall, antithesis is a powerful literary device that can be used to create contrast, tension, and balance within a work of literature, and can help to highlight important themes and ideas.

An aphorism is a concise statement that expresses a general truth or moral principle in a memorable and pithy way. An aphorism can take many forms, including a proverb, a saying, a maxim, or a quotation.

Aphorisms are often used to convey wisdom or insight in a succinct and memorable way. They are commonly found in literature, philosophy, and everyday conversation, and can be used to convey a range of ideas and values.

Some famous examples of aphorisms include:

• “Actions speak louder than words.” (Proverb)
• “All that glitters is not gold.” (Proverb)
• “Know thyself.” (Maxim)
• “The unexamined life is not worth living.” (Quotation from Socrates)

Aphorisms can be used in a variety of ways in literature. They can be used to highlight important themes or ideas, provide insight into a character’s personality or worldview, or to create a memorable and impactful line of dialogue.

When used effectively, aphorisms can be a powerful tool for conveying complex ideas in a concise and memorable way. They can also provide a sense of cultural continuity and connection, as many aphorisms have been passed down through generations and across cultures.

Apostrophe is a literary device in which a writer or speaker addresses a person, place, thing, or idea that is not present or is unable to respond. The apostrophe is used to give voice to an absent entity, and to express strong emotions or feelings towards it.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Mark Antony speaks directly to the dead body of Caesar, saying “O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!” This use of apostrophe allows Antony to express his grief and anger towards Caesar’s assassins, and to give voice to his own emotions.

Apostrophe can be used in a variety of ways in literature. It can be used to create a sense of intimacy or connection between the speaker and the absent entity, as well as to express strong emotions or feelings towards it. It can also be used to convey a sense of longing, nostalgia, or regret.

Apostrophe is commonly used in poetry, where it can be used to create a sense of heightened emotion and lyrical intensity. It can also be used in drama and other forms of literature, where it can be used to create a sense of dramatic tension or to highlight important themes and ideas.

Overall, apostrophe is a powerful literary device that allows writers to give voice to absent entities and to express strong emotions and feelings towards them. When used effectively, apostrophe can create a sense of intimacy and connection between the speaker and the absent entity, and can help to convey complex ideas and emotions in a memorable and impactful way.

An archetype is a universal symbol, image, or theme that is present across cultures and throughout history. Archetypes are deeply rooted in the human psyche, and are often associated with universal human experiences such as birth, death, love, and transformation.

Archetypes can take many forms, including characters, symbols, settings, and plots. Some common archetypes include:

• The hero: A courageous and determined character who is on a quest or journey to achieve a goal.
• The mentor: A wise and experienced character who guides and supports the hero on their journey.
• The trickster: A mischievous and unpredictable character who disrupts the established order and often has a transformative effect on the other characters.
• The shadow: A dark and often sinister character who represents the protagonist’s repressed or negative aspects.
• The mother: A nurturing and supportive figure who provides emotional sustenance and guidance to the hero.

Archetypes are often used in literature and other forms of art to convey deep and universal themes and ideas. They can be used to create a sense of familiarity and connection between the reader or viewer and the work of art, as well as to explore complex human experiences and emotions.

Overall, archetypes are a powerful tool for writers and artists, allowing them to tap into universal human experiences and emotions in order to create impactful and meaningful works of art. By using archetypes, writers and artists can create works that resonate with audiences across cultures and throughout history, and that continue to inspire and move people for generations to come.

Assonance is a literary device that involves the repetition of vowel sounds within a series of words or phrases. It is often used in poetry and other forms of literature to create a musical or rhythmic effect, and to draw attention to particular words or ideas.

Assonance can occur within a single word or between multiple words. For example, the phrase “fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese” contains the repeated “ee” sound in “fleet,” “feet,” “sweep,” and “sleeping,” creating a sense of musicality and rhythm.

Assonance is often used in conjunction with other literary devices, such as alliteration and rhyme, to create a sense of unity and coherence within a piece of writing. It can also be used to emphasize particular words or ideas, or to create a specific mood or tone.

Overall, assonance is a powerful tool for writers and poets, allowing them to create works that are both musical and meaningful. By using assonance, writers can draw attention to particular words or ideas, and can create works that are both aesthetically pleasing and emotionally impactful.

Asyndeton is a literary device that involves the omission of conjunctions (such as “and,” “or,” or “but”) between a series of words, phrases, or clauses. It is often used in literature and rhetoric to create a sense of speed, urgency, or excitement.

By omitting conjunctions, asyndeton creates a sense of connection and momentum between the words or phrases. For example, the phrase “I came, I saw, I conquered” uses asyndeton to create a sense of power and determination, emphasizing the rapid sequence of actions.

Asyndeton can also be used to create a sense of surprise or contrast, by breaking the expected pattern of conjunctions. For example, the phrase “She was smart, talented, beautiful, a force to be reckoned with” uses asyndeton to create a sense of surprise, emphasizing the unexpected absence of a conjunction between “beautiful” and “a force to be reckoned with.”

Overall, asyndeton is a powerful tool for writers and speakers, allowing them to create works that are both fast-paced and impactful. By using asyndeton, writers can create a sense of unity and momentum within a piece of writing, while also emphasizing particular words or ideas for greater effect.

Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a literary genre that focuses on the personal growth and development of a protagonist, usually from childhood to adulthood. The term “Bildungsroman” is German for “novel of education” or “novel of formation.”

The Bildungsroman genre often involves a journey or quest of self-discovery, as the protagonist encounters various challenges, learns from their experiences, and ultimately gains a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them. The protagonist typically undergoes a transformation, both in terms of their worldview and their place in society.

Some notable examples of Bildungsroman include “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, and “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte.

Overall, Bildungsroman is a powerful literary genre that allows writers to explore themes of personal growth, self-discovery, and the complex journey of becoming an adult. By following the protagonist on their journey of self-discovery, readers can gain insight into their own experiences and struggles, and can be inspired by the protagonist’s resilience and growth.

Cacophony is a literary device that involves the use of harsh or discordant sounds, often for the purpose of creating a sense of dissonance or tension. The term “cacophony” is derived from the Greek word “kakophonia,” which means “bad sound.”

Cacophony can be created through the use of harsh consonant sounds, such as “k,” “g,” and “t,” or through the repetition of similar sounds or words. For example, the phrase “clammy hands clutched the crumbling cliffs” uses cacophony to create a sense of tension and unease, emphasizing the harsh “c” and “cl” sounds.

Cacophony is often used in literature to convey negative emotions or ideas, such as anger, violence, or chaos. It can also be used to create a sense of contrast or irony, by juxtaposing discordant sounds with more pleasant or harmonious elements.

Overall, cacophony is a powerful tool for writers, allowing them to create works that are both aesthetically impactful and emotionally resonant. By using cacophony, writers can create a sense of tension, dissonance, or discord, and can draw attention to particular words or ideas for greater effect.

Catharsis is a literary device that involves the emotional release or cleansing that a character undergoes during the course of a story. The term “catharsis” comes from the Greek word “katharsis,” which means “purification” or “cleansing.”

In literature, catharsis often occurs when a character experiences a strong emotional response to a traumatic event or revelation, and is able to process and overcome that emotion through some form of release. This release may take the form of a physical action, such as crying or screaming, or it may be more symbolic, such as a change in the character’s perspective or behavior.

The concept of catharsis is often associated with the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who believed that the purpose of tragedy was to create a sense of emotional release or purification in the audience. According to Aristotle, the emotional experience of tragedy allowed the audience to process and overcome their own negative emotions, leading to a greater sense of catharsis and emotional balance.

Overall, catharsis is a powerful literary device that can help to create a sense of emotional depth and resonance in a story. By allowing characters to experience and overcome their emotions, writers can create works that are both meaningful and transformative for readers.

Characterization

Characterization is a literary device that refers to the way in which an author creates and develops characters in a story. Through characterization, authors can provide readers with information about a character’s appearance, personality, backstory, and motivations, allowing readers to form a deeper understanding of the character and their role within the story.

There are two main types of characterization: direct and indirect. Direct characterization involves the author explicitly describing a character’s traits or qualities, while indirect characterization involves revealing information about a character through their actions, dialogue, and interactions with other characters.

Authors can also use various techniques to create and develop characters, such as physical descriptions, internal monologues, and relationships with other characters. For example, a character who is described as tall and muscular may be seen as physically strong, while a character who frequently makes sarcastic remarks may be seen as having a sharp wit.

Effective characterization is essential for creating compelling and memorable characters that readers can relate to and care about. By using a range of techniques to create and develop characters, authors can bring their stories to life and create works that resonate with readers on a deep and emotional level.

Chiasmus is a literary device that involves the repetition of words or phrases in reverse order. It is a type of parallelism, in which the structure of a sentence or phrase is mirrored or reversed. This creates a sense of symmetry and balance, and can be used to emphasize a point or create a memorable phrase.

An example of chiasmus is the famous quote by John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” In this example, the words “country” and “you” are repeated in reverse order, creating a sense of balance and symmetry in the sentence.

Chiasmus is often used in speeches and other forms of persuasive writing, as it can help to emphasize key points and make them more memorable to the audience. It can also be used in poetry and other forms of creative writing to create a sense of rhythm and balance.

Overall, chiasmus is a powerful literary device that can be used to create memorable and impactful writing. By repeating words or phrases in reverse order, writers can create a sense of symmetry and balance in their writing, and emphasize key points in a memorable way.

Climax is a literary device that refers to the point in a story where the conflict or tension reaches its highest point. It is the moment of greatest intensity, where the fate of the characters and the outcome of the story are in the balance.

The climax is typically the turning point in the story, where the protagonist faces their greatest challenge and must make a critical decision or take decisive action to resolve the conflict. It is often the most memorable and emotionally impactful moment in a story, and can have a significant impact on the reader’s experience.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet,” the climax occurs when Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin Tybalt in a fit of rage. This action sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the tragic ending of the play.

The climax of a story is often preceded by rising action, where the tension and conflict build gradually, and followed by falling action, where the consequences of the climax are explored and the story begins to wrap up.

Overall, the climax is a crucial element of storytelling, as it provides a moment of high drama and tension that drives the narrative forward and engages the reader’s emotions.

Comic relief

Comic relief is a literary device that refers to the inclusion of humorous elements or scenes in a work of literature or drama that are intended to provide a temporary break in tension or drama. It is often used to lighten the mood and provide relief from the seriousness or intensity of the story.

Comic relief can take many forms, such as a funny character, a humorous situation, or witty dialogue. It is most commonly used in tragic or dramatic works, where the inclusion of comedic elements can help to balance out the heavier themes and emotions.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” the character of the gravedigger provides a moment of comic relief in the midst of the play’s darker themes of death and revenge. His humorous banter and wordplay with Hamlet provides a break in the tension and adds a lighter touch to the play.

Comic relief is also commonly used in film and television, where it is often used to break up the tension in action or drama movies, or to add humor to sitcoms and other comedic shows.

Overall, comic relief is an important literary device that can help to balance out the serious or intense themes of a work of literature, and provide a moment of levity and humor for the audience.

Connotation

Connotation refers to the emotional or cultural associations that a word carries beyond its literal definition. It is the secondary meaning of a word or phrase, often shaped by personal experiences, cultural context, or societal norms.

For example, the word “home” has a positive connotation for many people, evoking feelings of comfort, safety, and belonging. On the other hand, the word “house” may have a more neutral connotation, simply referring to a physical structure where one lives.

Connotation can also vary depending on the context in which a word is used. For instance, the word “snake” can have a negative connotation when used to describe a person who is sneaky or deceitful, but a positive connotation when used to describe a powerful and transformative symbol in mythology or literature.

In literature, authors often use connotation to create mood and tone, and to convey a deeper meaning beyond the literal definition of a word or phrase. By carefully choosing words with specific connotations, authors can manipulate the reader’s emotional response to a character or situation, and create a more nuanced and complex portrayal of their story.

Overall, connotation is an important literary device that can add depth and complexity to language and literature, and allow authors to convey complex emotions and ideas beyond the literal meaning of words.

Consonance is a literary device that refers to the repetition of consonant sounds within a phrase or sentence, often at the end of words. Unlike alliteration, which repeats initial consonant sounds, consonance repeats consonant sounds in any part of the word, creating a musical or rhythmic effect.

For example, the phrase “pitter-patter” contains consonance, as the “t” and “r” sounds are repeated in both words. Another example is the phrase “all’s well that ends well,” where the “l” sound is repeated at the end of each word.

Consonance is often used in poetry and other forms of literature to create a musical or rhythmic effect, and can also be used to reinforce the meaning or mood of a particular passage. It is sometimes used in combination with other literary devices, such as rhyme or alliteration, to create a more complex and layered effect.

Overall, consonance is an important tool in the writer’s toolbox, allowing writers to create memorable and impactful phrases, and to add musicality and rhythm to their work.

Deus ex machina

Deus ex machina is a literary device that refers to a sudden, unexpected resolution to a story that is often seen as contrived or artificial. It is a Latin term that translates to “god from the machine,” and originated in ancient Greek theater, where actors playing gods would be lowered onto the stage by a crane to resolve the plot.

In literature, a deus ex machina occurs when an author introduces an improbable or unexpected event or character to resolve a seemingly unsolvable problem or conflict in the story. This device is often used as a shortcut to resolve complex plot lines or to provide a quick and easy ending, but can also be seen as a lazy or unsatisfying solution.

For example, in a story about a detective trying to solve a murder, a deus ex machina might occur if the murderer suddenly confesses to the crime without any explanation or reason, rather than the detective solving the mystery through careful investigation and deduction.

While deus ex machina can be a useful tool in certain situations, it is generally frowned upon in modern literature as it can be seen as a cop-out or a failure of the author to resolve the story in a satisfying and logical manner. Instead, authors are encouraged to find more natural and believable ways to resolve conflicts and bring their stories to a close.

Dialogue is a literary device that refers to a conversation between two or more characters in a work of literature. It can be used to reveal character, advance the plot, provide information, and add to the overall atmosphere and tone of the work.

For example, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby,” the following dialogue occurs between the characters Daisy and Gatsby:

“‘You remind me of a—of a rose, an absolute rose. Doesn’t he?’ She turned to her husband. ‘What do you think?’ ‘Creepy,’ he said.”

This dialogue reveals several things about the characters and the situation. It shows that Daisy is trying to flatter Gatsby by comparing him to a beautiful and desirable object, but her husband Tom is dismissive and critical of Gatsby. The contrast between Daisy’s romanticized view of Gatsby and Tom’s negative reaction creates tension and conflict between the characters.

Dialogue can also be used to reveal the personalities and motivations of the characters, as well as to convey information and advance the plot. In well-written dialogue, each character should have a unique voice and style of speaking, which helps to create a sense of realism and depth in the story.

Diction refers to the author’s choice of words and phrases in a literary work. It is an important literary device that can help convey the tone, mood, and theme of a piece of writing. The choice of words can also have an impact on the reader’s interpretation and understanding of the work.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” the character Hamlet’s use of complex and intellectual language reflects his educated and thoughtful nature. On the other hand, the character of the gravedigger speaks in a more simple and colloquial manner, reflecting his lower social status and more practical outlook on life.

In addition to the level of formality, diction can also involve the connotations of words and the author’s use of figurative language such as metaphors and similes. By carefully choosing their diction, an author can create a certain tone or mood in their work, whether it be serious, humorous, or emotional.

For example, in Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise,” she uses powerful and uplifting language to convey her message of resilience and strength in the face of adversity:

“I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.”

The repetition of “I rise” creates a sense of momentum and determination, while the use of powerful imagery such as “the dream and the hope of the slave” conveys the historical and cultural significance of the poem’s message.

An elegy is a type of poem that is used to mourn or commemorate the death of someone or something. It is often characterized by its melancholic tone and its use of imagery and symbolism to convey the emotions and thoughts of the speaker.

As a literary device, an elegy often uses figurative language such as metaphors, similes, and personification to convey the emotions of the speaker. It may also use allusions to historical or mythological figures or events to create a sense of grandeur or to add depth to the poem’s themes.

One famous example of an elegy is John Milton’s “Lycidas,” written in memory of his friend Edward King. The poem uses pastoral imagery to convey a sense of loss and mourning, and it also makes allusions to classical mythology to add depth to its themes of death and rebirth.

Another example of an elegy is “In Memoriam A.H.H.” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, which is a long poem written in memory of Tennyson’s friend Arthur Henry Hallam. The poem is structured as a series of short lyrics, each expressing a different emotion or thought about the loss of Hallam. It uses a variety of literary devices, including imagery, allusion, and repetition, to create a sense of emotional depth and to convey the complexity of grief.

In literature, an ellipsis is used to indicate the omission of a word or words, which are unnecessary to convey a complete thought. It’s usually represented by three dots (…) and can be used in various ways to create different effects.

Examples of ellipsis in literature:

• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” – Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

In this example, the ellipsis is used to indicate a series of contrasts and opposites, building up to a dramatic conclusion.

• “To be, or not to be… that is the question.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet

The ellipsis here is used to create a pause in Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, emphasizing the gravity of his decision and adding to the emotional intensity of the scene.

Here are some more examples of how ellipsis can be used:

• To create suspense or build tension:

Example: “The door slowly creaked open, and inside… nothing.”

• To indicate a trailing off or a pause in speech or thought:

Example: “I don’t know, I was just thinking… maybe we should take a break.”

• To indicate an intentional omission of information:

Example: “She had been through a lot lately… more than anyone should have to endure.”

• To indicate a change in tone or thought:

Example: “I know I said I wouldn’t go… but maybe just this once.”

• To indicate a hesitation or uncertainty in speech:

Example: “I don’t know if I should tell you this… but I heard that he’s leaving.”

Enjambment is a poetic device that involves running one sentence or clause into the next line of a poem without a pause or punctuation mark. This creates a sense of flow and continuity, as the meaning of the sentence is carried over to the next line.

For example, consider the following lines from William Wordsworth’s poem, “The Solitary Reaper”:

Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland Lass! Reaping and singing by herself;

In these lines, the sentence “Behold her, single in the field” is carried over to the next line without any pause or punctuation, creating an enjambment. This technique creates a sense of continuity, linking the description of the woman to the next line where she is shown to be reaping and singing by herself.

Enjambment can also be used to create tension or surprise in a poem, as the meaning of a sentence may not be immediately clear until the following line. It can also be used to control the pace and rhythm of a poem, as the reader is forced to continue on to the next line without a natural pause.

Epiphany is a literary device that refers to a sudden realization or insight that occurs in a character’s mind, often leading to a significant change in their perspective or behavior. The term is derived from the Greek word “epiphaneia,” meaning “manifestation” or “appearance,” and is often associated with a moment of clarity or enlightenment.

Epiphanies can occur at any point in a story, but they are often used to mark a turning point or climax in a character’s development. They can be subtle or dramatic, and may involve a character discovering a new truth about themselves, their situation, or the world around them.

One famous example of an epiphany in literature is the ending of James Joyce’s short story “The Dead,” where the main character, Gabriel Conroy, experiences a sudden realization about the true nature of his relationship with his wife. As he watches snow falling outside, Gabriel is struck by the idea that he has been living his life “unmindful of the past, present and future,” and that he has failed to understand the depth of his wife’s feelings for a past lover. This realization leads to a profound sense of loss and a reevaluation of Gabriel’s identity and relationships.

Epiphanies can be powerful tools for character development, as they allow characters to confront their own flaws and biases and to see the world in a new light. They can also be used to create a sense of resolution or closure at the end of a story.

In literature, an epithet is a descriptive word or phrase that is used to characterize a person, place, or thing. It is a type of literary device that helps to add color and depth to descriptions and can be used to create a more vivid and memorable image of a character or object in the reader’s mind.

Epithets can be used in a variety of ways. They can be positive or negative, depending on the author’s purpose. For example, a character might be described as “brave” or “wise” to emphasize their positive qualities, while another might be described as “deceitful” or “cruel” to highlight their negative traits.

Epithets are often used in epic poetry, where they help to create a more formal and elevated style of writing. Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” are famous examples of epic poetry that make extensive use of epithets. In these works, characters are often referred to using descriptive phrases such as “swift-footed Achilles” or “rosy-fingered Dawn.”

Epithets can also be used in more modern forms of literature, such as novels and short stories. They can help to add depth and nuance to characters and settings, and can be used to create a more vivid and memorable reading experience for the audience.

A euphemism is a word or phrase that is used to substitute a harsh or unpleasant word or phrase. It is a form of linguistic expression that is meant to soften the impact of a message, and to make it more socially acceptable or less offensive.

Euphemisms can be used in a wide variety of contexts, from polite conversation to political discourse. For example, instead of saying that someone has died, one might use the phrase “passed away” or “passed on”. In the context of war, the phrase “collateral damage” is often used to refer to civilian casualties, while in the workplace, the term “downsizing” is often used as a euphemism for laying off employees.

Euphemisms can serve a variety of purposes. They can be used to avoid offending someone, to avoid a taboo topic, or to convey a message in a more indirect or subtle way. They can also be used for humorous effect, as in the phrase “vertically challenged” to refer to someone who is short.

However, euphemisms can also be used to conceal the true nature of a situation, or to downplay the severity of a problem. For example, the phrase “enhanced interrogation techniques” has been used as a euphemism for torture, while the term “ethnic cleansing” is often used to refer to genocide.

A flashback is a literary device in which an earlier event or scene is inserted into the narrative of a story, interrupting the present action. It is a technique often used to provide background information about a character, setting, or plot element, and can help to create a deeper understanding of the story and its themes.

Flashbacks can be used in a variety of ways, including to:

• Reveal a character’s past experiences and how they have influenced their current situation or behavior
• Provide context for a current event or situation in the story
• Build suspense or tension by foreshadowing future events
• Create irony or dramatic irony by revealing information that the reader or audience knows but the characters do not
• Show the evolution of a relationship between characters over time

Flashbacks can be presented in a variety of formats, including as a character’s memory, a dream sequence, or a narration of past events. They can be used to varying degrees of length and detail, from a brief mention to a full chapter or more.

In literature, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character, typically the protagonist, in order to highlight certain qualities or traits. By presenting two contrasting characters side by side, the author can emphasize their differences and bring greater depth to the story.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” the character of Hamlet is a brooding, philosophical prince who is consumed by grief and a desire for revenge. His foil is the character of Laertes, who is impulsive, passionate, and quick to take action. While Hamlet is paralyzed by his own thoughts and doubts, Laertes is driven by his emotions and his desire for justice.

Throughout the play, Laertes serves as a foil to Hamlet, highlighting the contrast between their personalities and motivations. This is most evident in the final act of the play, when the two characters engage in a fencing match that leads to their mutual destruction. While Hamlet hesitates and overthinks his moves, Laertes attacks with ferocity and determination, demonstrating the very qualities that Hamlet lacks.

In this way, the foil serves to highlight and reinforce the qualities of the protagonist, showing them in a different light and providing greater depth and complexity to the story.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary device used by authors to hint at future events or developments in the plot. This is often done through the use of subtle clues, hints, or suggestions, which can be picked up by attentive readers and used to predict or anticipate what might happen later in the story.

For example, in George Orwell’s novel “Animal Farm,” the animals on the farm gradually become more and more oppressed by their human owner, Mr. Jones. This sets the stage for a rebellion led by the pigs, who eventually take over the farm and establish their own government. However, early in the book, there are several instances of foreshadowing that hint at the eventual downfall of the pigs and their oppressive regime. For example, the pigs begin to adopt human-like behavior, such as walking on two legs and wearing clothing, which suggests that they are becoming more like their former oppressors. Additionally, the pigs begin to use propaganda and manipulation to control the other animals, which foreshadows the corruption and abuse of power that will occur later in the story.

By using foreshadowing, authors can create a sense of anticipation and tension in the reader, while also providing a deeper layer of meaning and complexity to the story. This can help to keep the reader engaged and invested in the narrative, while also providing a greater sense of satisfaction and closure when the story reaches its conclusion.

Free indirect speech

Free indirect speech, also known as indirect discourse or free indirect style, is a literary technique in which the narrator temporarily adopts the point of view and language of a character, without explicitly signaling the shift from third-person narration to direct speech.

This technique allows the reader to experience the character’s thoughts and feelings in a more immediate and personal way, without disrupting the flow of the narrative. By blending the voice of the character with that of the narrator, free indirect speech can also create a sense of ambiguity or uncertainty about the character’s motives or intentions, adding depth and complexity to the story.

For example, consider the following passage from Jane Austen’s “Emma”:

“Emma could not resist. ‘I cannot see you acting wrong, without a remonstrance. How could you be so unfeeling to Miss Bates? How could you be so insolent in your wit to a woman of her character, age, and situation?—Emma, I had not thought it possible.'”

Here, the narrator adopts the voice and perspective of Emma, allowing the reader to experience her thoughts and emotions in a more direct way. The use of indirect speech also creates a sense of ambiguity about Emma’s true feelings towards the character of Miss Bates, as she simultaneously criticizes her behavior while expressing surprise at her own harshness.

Free indirect speech is a powerful tool for writers, allowing them to create complex and nuanced characters, while also maintaining control over the narrative voice and structure.

Hyperbole is a literary device that uses exaggeration to create emphasis or effect in a text. It is often used in literature and poetry to make a point or to create a humorous effect. Hyperbole is an extreme form of exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, but rather to convey an intense emotion or sentiment.

Examples of hyperbole include:

• “I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!”
• “He’s as tall as a skyscraper!”
• “I’ve told you a million times not to do that!”
• “I’m dying of boredom!”
• “The weight of the world is on my shoulders!”

In each of these examples, the speaker is exaggerating to make a point or to create an effect. The use of hyperbole can add drama, humor, or emphasis to a text and can make it more engaging for the reader.

Imagery is a literary device that uses sensory language to create mental images and evoke emotion in a reader’s mind. It is a technique used by writers to make their writing more vivid and descriptive, and to engage the reader’s senses. By using imagery, a writer can paint a picture in the reader’s mind, allowing them to see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what is being described.

Examples of imagery include:

• “The sun was a fiery ball in the sky, casting a warm glow over the horizon.”
• “The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, making my mouth water.”
• “The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled my ears, drowning out all other noise.”
• “The soft, velvety petals of the rose brushed against my skin, releasing a sweet fragrance.”
• “The taste of the ripe, juicy peach exploded in my mouth, sending shivers down my spine.”

By using sensory language to create vivid mental images, a writer can transport the reader to another place and time, and make them feel as though they are experiencing the scene firsthand. This makes the writing more engaging and memorable, and can leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Irony is a literary device that involves the use of words or situations in a way that is opposite to their intended or expected meaning. It creates a discrepancy between what is said or done and what is meant, often leading to an unexpected outcome. Irony is commonly used in literature to create humor, emphasize a point, or provide social commentary.

There are three main types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic. Verbal irony occurs when a speaker says something but means the opposite. Situational irony happens when an event occurs that is contrary to what was expected. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or reader knows something that the characters do not, leading to tension or anticipation.

For example, in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, there is dramatic irony when the audience knows that Juliet is not actually dead, but Romeo thinks she is and kills himself. This creates a tragic outcome that could have been avoided if Romeo had known the truth.

Another example of irony can be seen in Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay “A Modest Proposal,” in which he proposes that the poor Irish should sell their children as food to the wealthy English. The proposal is presented in a serious and straightforward manner, but it is intended to draw attention to the absurdity of the English treatment of the Irish.

Irony is a powerful literary device that can be used to convey complex ideas and emotions. It can also add depth and nuance to a work of literature, making it more engaging and thought-provoking for readers.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is a literary device that involves placing two contrasting things side by side in order to highlight their differences. This can be done with characters, settings, ideas, or any other element of a story. The purpose of using juxtaposition is to create a contrast that emphasizes a particular point or theme.

For example, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby,” the author juxtaposes the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy characters with the poverty and despair of the lower classes. This contrast highlights the theme of the corrupting influence of wealth and the emptiness of the pursuit of materialism.

Another example of juxtaposition can be found in William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet.” The characters of Romeo and Tybalt are juxtaposed as they represent two opposing forces – love and hate. This contrast is used to emphasize the theme of the destructive power of hatred and the transformative power of love.

In both of these examples, juxtaposition is used to create a contrast that helps to highlight an important theme or message in the story.

Litotes is a figure of speech that uses negative phrasing to express a positive statement, often in a subtle or understated way. It is a form of understatement that relies on the use of a double negative or a negation of the opposite to emphasize a point.

For example, saying “she’s not unkind” is a litotes that actually means “she’s kind”. Similarly, “I’m not unhappy” could mean “I’m happy” or “it’s not bad” could mean “it’s good”.

Litotes is often used in literature to create a sense of understated irony, to express humility, or to soften the impact of a statement. It is also used in everyday language, particularly in English, where it is a common rhetorical device.

One famous example of litotes can be found in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, when Mark Antony says of Brutus and his fellow conspirators, “They are honorable men.” The use of litotes here emphasizes the irony of the statement, given that the conspirators had just killed Caesar in an act of betrayal.

Metaphor is a literary device that refers to a comparison between two unlike things that share a common characteristic or quality. It creates a direct comparison by describing something as if it is something else. Metaphors are often used in literature to help readers understand and visualize complex ideas or emotions.

Here’s an example of a metaphor:

“The world is a stage.” In this metaphor, the world is being compared to a stage, with people acting out their lives like actors on a stage. The common characteristic between the world and a stage is that both involve people performing and playing different roles.

Metaphors can be found in a wide range of literary works, including poetry, novels, and plays. They can be used to create vivid imagery, convey abstract ideas, and evoke emotions in the reader. A well-crafted metaphor can add depth and richness to a piece of writing and can help the reader to better understand the message the author is trying to convey.

Metonymy is a figure of speech that involves the substitution of the name of one thing with another thing that is closely associated with it. In other words, it is a type of metaphor where a word is replaced with another word or phrase that is closely linked with it in context.

For example, when we say “The White House issued a statement,” we are using metonymy because we are referring to the U.S. government, which is closely associated with the White House.

Another example of metonymy is when people refer to the news media as “the press.” Here, “the press” is being used as a substitute for the journalists and news organizations that make up the news media.

Metonymy is often used in literature to create a deeper, more nuanced meaning or to make a concept more memorable or interesting for the reader.

In literature, mood refers to the emotional atmosphere or feeling that a work of literature creates in the reader. It is the overall emotional tone or ambiance of a text that sets the reader’s emotional response to the story. Mood is achieved through the author’s choice of words, descriptions, setting, and theme.

For example, in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the mood is one of suspense, fear, and anxiety. The description of the setting and the narrator’s thoughts and actions contribute to this mood. The use of dark and ominous imagery, such as the “vulture eye” of the old man, helps to create a sense of unease in the reader.

Similarly, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby,” the mood is one of nostalgia, longing, and disillusionment. The author’s use of vivid descriptions of the setting and characters, such as the grandeur of Gatsby’s mansion and the longing in his eyes as he gazes across the water at the green light, creates a dream-like atmosphere that evokes a sense of loss and sadness.

In both examples, the mood plays an important role in creating a deeper emotional connection between the reader and the story, and in conveying the author’s intended themes and messages.

A motif is a recurring element, image, symbol or theme that appears throughout a literary work, and helps to develop the work’s overall theme or message. A motif can be a word, an object, a symbol or an idea, and it may be repeated throughout the work or only appear a few times.

Motifs are used to enhance the depth and meaning of a story, and to create a sense of unity and coherence. They can add emotional depth to a work, and help to unify different parts of the text. They can also help to reinforce a particular message or theme that the author wishes to convey.

Some common motifs in literature include light and dark, journeys, love, betrayal, and death. For example, in Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” the motif of blood is used to symbolize guilt and the consequences of one’s actions. The repeated appearance of blood throughout the play underscores the tragedy of Macbeth’s actions and the consequences that he must face.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” the motif of the green light that shines across the water serves as a symbol of Gatsby’s unattainable dream of winning back his lost love, Daisy. The repeated appearance of the green light throughout the novel underscores the theme of the American Dream and the impossibility of achieving it.

Motifs can be subtle or obvious, and their significance may only become apparent upon repeated readings or analysis. By repeating certain images, ideas or symbols throughout a literary work, authors can create a sense of coherence and unity, and deepen the reader’s understanding of the work’s overall message or theme.

The narrator is the voice that tells a story or conveys information to the reader. They can be a character within the story or an external voice that is not part of the story. The narrator’s perspective and level of involvement can have a significant impact on the reader’s understanding and interpretation of the story.

There are several types of narrators, each with its own characteristics and limitations. A first-person narrator is a character in the story who refers to themselves as “I” and can only describe events and experiences that they witness or participate in. A third-person narrator is not a character in the story and can provide a more objective view of the events and characters. A third-person limited narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character, while a third-person omniscient narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

The choice of narrator can have a significant impact on the story’s tone, mood, and overall impact. A first-person narrator can create a sense of intimacy and immediacy, while a third-person narrator can provide a more detached and objective view of events. The narrator’s reliability or unreliability can also shape the reader’s understanding of the story and its characters.

In some cases, the narrator may be an unreliable or ambiguous presence, leaving the reader uncertain about the truth of the story. Alternatively, the narrator may be a highly reliable and authoritative source of information, providing the reader with a clear and accurate account of events. Ultimately, the narrator plays a crucial role in shaping the reader’s experience of the story and its characters.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a literary device where a word is used to imitate a sound that it describes. The word itself creates or mimics the sound of the thing it is describing, making the reader better understand and visualize the scene or action in the text. This device is commonly used in poetry, but it can also be used in prose.

Examples of onomatopoeia include words like buzz, crackle, hiss, moo, meow, chirp, rustle, and pop. Here are a few examples of how onomatopoeia can be used in literature:

• The bees buzzed around the flowers in the garden.
• The leaves rustled in the wind.
• The thunder rumbled in the distance.
• The fire crackled and popped as it burned.
• The cat meowed loudly for its food.

Onomatopoeia can add depth and sensory appeal to a piece of writing. It helps to create a more vivid and immersive experience for the reader, allowing them to hear the sounds of the story in their mind as they read.

Oxymoron is a literary device that brings together two contradictory terms in order to create a meaningful phrase. It is often used for emphasis or to create a dramatic effect. The word “oxymoron” comes from the Greek words “oxys” meaning “sharp” and “moros” meaning “dull”.

Examples of oxymoron include:

• Jumbo shrimp
• Bittersweet
• Living dead
• Pretty ugly
• Awfully good
• Open secret
• Virtual reality
• Deafening silence
• Act naturally

These examples all bring together two contrasting terms that create a vivid and memorable image in the reader’s mind. The use of oxymoron can be particularly effective in poetry or prose that deals with complex or contradictory themes.

A paradox is a statement or situation that appears to be self-contradictory or absurd but in reality, it holds a hidden truth. Paradoxes are often used in literature to create an element of intrigue or challenge the reader’s expectations. They can also be used to bring attention to the complexity of a theme or to highlight the paradoxical nature of human existence.

One famous example of a paradox is the statement “less is more.” On the surface, it seems contradictory, as “less” and “more” are opposites. However, the statement can be interpreted to mean that simplicity and clarity can often be more effective than complexity and excess.

Another example of a paradox is the classic time travel paradox, in which a person goes back in time and changes something that affects their own existence, such as preventing their parents from meeting. This paradox creates a logical inconsistency that cannot be resolved, as it questions the very fabric of cause and effect.

In literature, paradoxes can add depth and complexity to characters and themes. For example, in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet,” the titular character states “I must be cruel only to be kind.” This paradoxical statement reveals Hamlet’s inner conflict between his desire for revenge and his sense of duty to do what is ultimately best for those around him.

Parallelism

Parallelism is a literary device where the writer uses a series of words or phrases with similar grammatical structure and length to emphasize and draw attention to an idea or concept. It is also known as parallel structure or parallel construction.

Example: Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech “I Have a Dream” is an excellent example of parallelism: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

In this excerpt, King repeats the phrase “I have a dream” to emphasize his message of hope and equality, while also using parallel structure in the phrases “rise up and live out” and “sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners” to highlight the importance of unity and brotherhood.

Parataxis is a literary device in which coordinating conjunctions are used to link phrases or clauses in quick succession, without the use of subordination. This creates a simple and direct style of writing or speech. Parataxis is often used in poetry, where the brevity of the lines lends itself to a quick, staccato rhythm.

An example of parataxis can be found in William Carlos Williams’ poem “The Red Wheelbarrow”:

Here, the poet uses short, simple phrases with coordinating conjunctions (“so much depends upon,” “glazed with rain water”) to create a sense of immediacy and clarity. The paratactic structure emphasizes the simplicity and importance of the image presented, while the line breaks provide a sense of pause and emphasis on each phrase.

Personification

Personification is a literary device in which an inanimate object, animal or abstract idea is given human-like qualities or attributes. This is done in order to make the object or idea more relatable, and to add depth and emotion to the writing.

Examples of personification include:

• “The wind howled in the night” – In this sentence, the wind is personified as it is given the human-like quality of being able to howl.
• “The sun smiled down on us” – The sun is personified here as it is given the human-like quality of being able to smile.
• “The flowers danced in the breeze” – Here, the flowers are personified as they are given the human-like quality of being able to dance.

Personification is commonly used in poetry and prose, and is often used to create vivid and memorable images in the reader’s mind. By attributing human-like qualities to objects or ideas, writers can create a sense of familiarity and empathy in their readers, allowing them to connect with the text on a deeper level.

Point of view

Point of view (POV) is a literary device that describes the perspective from which a story is told. It refers to the person or entity that narrates or tells the story, and the vantage point from which they view the events that unfold.

There are three types of point of view:

• First Person Point of View: This is when the narrator is a character in the story and refers to themselves as “I” or “we.” In first person point of view, the reader only has access to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of the narrator.

Example: “I woke up to the sound of the rain pouring down outside. I knew it was going to be a dreary day.”

• Second Person Point of View: This is when the narrator addresses the reader directly as “you.” Second person point of view is not commonly used in fiction writing but is often used in instructional or self-help books.

Example: “You woke up to the sound of the rain pouring down outside. You knew it was going to be a dreary day.”

• Third Person Point of View: This is when the narrator is not a character in the story and refers to characters as “he,” “she,” or “they.” Third person point of view can be further divided into two subcategories:

a. Third Person Limited: In this type of narration, the narrator is not a character in the story and only has access to the thoughts and feelings of one character.

Example: “John woke up to the sound of the rain pouring down outside. He knew it was going to be a dreary day.”

b. Third Person Omniscient: In this type of narration, the narrator is not a character in the story and has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story.

Example: “John woke up to the sound of the rain pouring down outside. He knew it was going to be a dreary day. Meanwhile, Sarah was already up and ready to face the day, despite the bad weather.”

Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is a literary device in which conjunctions (such as “and,” “or,” or “but”) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed. It is the opposite of asyndeton, which is the omission of conjunctions between phrases or clauses.

Here’s an example of polysyndeton:

“I ate pancakes and bacon and eggs and toast and orange juice for breakfast.”

In this sentence, the conjunction “and” is used repeatedly to connect all of the items the speaker ate for breakfast. The use of polysyndeton creates a sense of accumulation or buildup, and can give the sentence a sense of urgency or excitement.

Protagonist

In literature, a protagonist is the central character or leading figure in a story, often referred to as the hero or heroine. The story revolves around this character, and their actions and decisions drive the plot forward.

The protagonist is usually portrayed as having strengths and weaknesses, and they often face challenges and obstacles that they must overcome in order to achieve their goals. In some cases, the protagonist may also undergo a significant transformation or character development throughout the course of the story.

Examples of protagonists in literature include Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Santiago in The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

A pun is a form of wordplay that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. It usually involves a play on words that sound similar but have different meanings, or on words with multiple meanings. Puns can be used to add humor or wit to a sentence or a conversation, or to create a memorable phrase or catchphrase.

For example, “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana” is a classic pun that plays on the multiple meanings of the words “flies” and “like”. Another example is “I’m reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.” This pun exploits the multiple meanings of the phrasal verb “put down”, which can mean “to stop reading” or “to place something on a surface”.

Red herring

Red herring is a literary device that is used to distract the reader or audience from an important issue. It involves introducing a false clue or character that misleads the reader or audience and leads them away from the real solution or plot point. Red herrings are often used in mystery, suspense, and thriller genres to throw the reader off the trail of the real culprit or solution.

For example, in the classic mystery novel “Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie, the detective Hercule Poirot is presented with multiple suspects who each have a motive for committing the murder. However, the real solution involves a complex plot involving multiple people, and the murderer turns out to be someone who was not initially suspected. Throughout the novel, Christie uses various red herrings to throw the reader off the trail of the real culprit, including false clues and misleading character traits.

Repetition is a literary device that involves repeating a word, phrase, or sentence for emphasis or emphasis on a particular idea or theme. It is commonly used in poetry, prose, speeches, and song lyrics to create rhythm and enhance the meaning of a text.

Repetition can take many forms, such as the repetition of a single word, the repetition of a phrase, or the repetition of an entire sentence. Some common types of repetition include anaphora, epiphora, and symploce.

An example of repetition is the famous speech by Martin Luther King Jr., where he repeats the phrase “I have a dream” throughout the speech to emphasize his vision for a better future:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'”

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”

Rhyme is a literary device that involves the use of similar or identical sounds in two or more words, usually at the end of lines in poetry or at the end of phrases in prose. Rhyme is used to create a musical quality to the writing and can add emphasis or impact to certain words or phrases.

There are different types of rhyme including:

• End rhyme: The most common type of rhyme where the ending sounds of words in a line match with the ending sounds of words in another line. Example: “I saw a cat/ In a big straw hat.”
• Internal rhyme: Words within a line of poetry that rhyme with one another. Example: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.”
• Slant rhyme: Words that are similar in sound but not identical. Example: “Soul” and “all”.
• Eye rhyme: Words that look like they should rhyme but do not because of pronunciation. Example: “Love” and “move”.

Rhyme is used in poetry to create rhythm, emphasize certain words or phrases, and create a musical quality to the writing. In addition, it can be used to create a sense of closure or completeness to a poem or to connect different ideas and concepts.

Rhythm is a literary device that refers to the recurring pattern of sounds and silences in poetry and prose. It is created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a sentence or line of poetry. Here is an example of rhythm in poetry:

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

In this poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, the rhythm is created by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. The pattern of the stressed syllables creates a rhythm that gives the poem a musical quality.

Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony that is intended to mock, criticize or ridicule something or someone. It is often characterized by a tone of voice that is opposite of the speaker’s intended meaning. Here’s an example:

Imagine a rainy day, and someone says, “Oh great, just what I needed today.” The tone of their voice suggests annoyance or frustration, but their words literally say the opposite, as rain is often seen as beneficial for plants and the environment. This is a sarcastic remark because the speaker is using irony to convey a different message than what is literally said.

Satire is a genre of literature or art that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to criticize and expose societal flaws or issues. The goal of satire is often to bring about change or encourage people to think more critically about a particular subject.

For example, the television show “The Daily Show” is a satirical news program that often pokes fun at politicians and the media, using humor and irony to point out flaws in the political system and highlight the absurdities of contemporary society. Similarly, the novel “Animal Farm” by George Orwell is a satirical allegory that critiques the Soviet Union and the dangers of totalitarianism.

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things using “like” or “as”. Similes are used to make a comparison between two things that are seemingly unrelated, but share common traits. By using similes, writers can create vivid and imaginative descriptions, which can help readers to understand the text in a more engaging and interesting way. For example, “Her eyes were like sparkling diamonds,” is a simile that compares the brightness and brilliance of a person’s eyes to the sparkle of a diamond. Another example is “He was as quiet as a mouse,” which is a simile that compares a person’s silence to the quietness of a mouse. Similes are commonly used in literature, poetry, and everyday language to add depth and color to descriptions, and to create powerful imagery that engages the reader’s imagination.

• She sings like an angel.
• His eyes sparkled like diamonds in the sun.
• The runner was as fast as a cheetah.
• Her hair was as curly as a spring.
• The clouds floated by like cotton candy in the sky.

In each of these examples, one thing is being compared to another using “like” or “as” to create a vivid image or to emphasize a particular quality or trait.

Soliloquy is a literary device that refers to a dramatic monologue spoken by a character in a play, often revealing their inner thoughts and feelings to the audience. The character speaks as if they are alone, and their words are not intended to be heard by anyone else in the scene. Soliloquies are a common feature of Shakespearean plays, and are often used to reveal the inner turmoil of a character, their motivations and their plans.

For example, in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, the character Hamlet delivers several soliloquies throughout the play, including the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy, in which he contemplates the nature of existence and the possibility of suicide. Soliloquies allow the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the character’s thoughts and feelings, and can add depth and complexity to a play.

A sonnet is a type of poem that consists of 14 lines and follows a strict rhyme scheme and meter. There are two main types of sonnets: the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet and the English or Shakespearean sonnet. The Italian sonnet is composed of an octave, or eight lines, and a sestet, or six lines, while the English sonnet is composed of three quatrains, or four-line stanzas, and a final couplet. Both types typically use iambic pentameter, which consists of ten syllables per line with a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables.

Here is an example of an English sonnet:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

This is a famous sonnet by William Shakespeare, known as Sonnet 18. In this poem, the speaker is comparing his beloved to a summer’s day, but ultimately concludes that his beloved is more lovely and everlasting than any seasonal beauty. The poem follows the traditional English sonnet structure with three quatrains and a final couplet, and uses iambic pentameter throughout.

Stream of consciousness

Stream of consciousness is a literary technique that involves presenting a character’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they occur, without any editing or structure. It aims to reveal the character’s innermost thoughts and feelings in a continuous flow, allowing readers to experience the character’s mind as if they were inside it. This technique often involves the use of long, uninterrupted passages of thought and can be challenging for readers to follow. An example of stream of consciousness can be found in James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses,” which uses this technique to portray the inner lives of its characters as they navigate through a single day in Dublin.

In literature, style refers to the way an author uses words and language to convey their message or story. It includes elements such as sentence structure, diction, tone, and literary devices. The style of a writer can often be recognized by their unique use of language, syntax, and the way they structure their sentences. For example, Ernest Hemingway is known for his simple, direct style that uses short, declarative sentences, while William Faulkner is known for his complex, poetic style that uses long, meandering sentences with intricate syntax. The style of a writer can greatly impact the reader’s experience and perception of the story being told.

Symbolism is a literary device used to imbue objects, actions, or characters with a deeper meaning that goes beyond their literal interpretation. Through the use of symbolism, writers can evoke emotions, convey themes, and add depth to their works. A symbol can take many forms, such as an object, color, or even a sound, and its meaning can vary depending on the context and the reader’s interpretation. For instance, a red rose can symbolize love, passion, or even blood, depending on the context. Similarly, a white dove can symbolize peace or the Holy Spirit, while a black cat can symbolize bad luck or witchcraft. Symbolism can be found in all types of literature, from poetry to novels to plays. It is often used to enhance the overall meaning and impact of a work by adding a layer of complexity and nuance.

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole or vice versa. It’s a type of metonymy, which is a broader term for the use of one word to refer to something closely related to it.

Examples of synecdoche include:

• “All hands on deck” – “hands” refers to the entire crew or people on board the ship.
• “Nice wheels” – “wheels” refers to the entire car.
• “The pen is mightier than the sword” – “pen” represents writing or written communication, while “sword” represents military force or violence.
• “Gray beard” – “beard” represents the entire person or the old age they symbolize.
• “Check out my new threads” – “threads” refers to an entire outfit or clothing.

In each of these examples, a part of something is used to represent the whole, or the whole is used to represent a part. The use of synecdoche can add complexity and nuance to language and literature.

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a literary device that involves the blending of multiple sensory experiences, such as seeing colors while hearing music or feeling tastes while reading words. It is used to create a vivid and sensory-rich experience for the reader or listener. An example of synesthesia can be found in the famous opening line of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel “Lolita”: “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.” In this line, the speaker is combining the visual image of light with the physical sensation of fire to create an intense and memorable description of his love for the title character. By using synesthesia, Nabokov is able to evoke a powerful emotional response from the reader and create a memorable and sensory-rich opening to his novel.

In literature, a theme refers to the central idea or message that a writer wishes to convey through their work. It is a universal concept or idea that is explored and developed throughout the story. Themes can range from broad, overarching concepts like love, loss, or power, to more specific ideas like the importance of family or the dangers of prejudice.

For example, in Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the theme of racial injustice is central to the story. Through the experiences of the protagonist, Scout Finch, and her family, the novel explores the devastating effects of racism and the importance of standing up for what is right, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. The theme is not explicitly stated, but rather woven throughout the novel, providing a deeper meaning and resonance to the characters and events.

Tone is the attitude or mood that an author conveys in their writing. It refers to the way the author expresses their feelings towards the subject matter, which can be conveyed through the use of language, style, and other literary devices. For example, a writer may use a somber tone to express sadness or grief, or a humorous tone to convey amusement or satire. Tone can also vary depending on the intended audience or purpose of the writing. For instance, a persuasive essay may use a persuasive or authoritative tone, while a personal narrative may use a reflective or nostalgic tone. In summary, tone is an essential aspect of a writer’s style, as it helps to create a certain emotional response or reaction from the reader.

Tragedy is a type of drama that deals with serious, often somber and distressing events that lead to a disastrous or fatal conclusion for the protagonist or the main character. It explores the darker aspects of the human experience and often involves the tragic flaw or error in judgment of the protagonist, which leads to their downfall. The themes of tragedy may include fate, power, morality, love, and the struggle of the human condition. Tragedies often evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience, as they witness the tragic events unfolding before them. Examples of well-known tragedies include William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex,” and Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”

Understatement

Understatement is a figure of speech that intentionally downplays the significance or exaggerates the triviality of something to create emphasis or a humorous effect. It involves stating less than what is actually meant or expected.

For example, if someone just won the lottery and says, “I guess this will help me pay a few bills,” it is an understatement because winning the lottery is much more significant than simply paying a few bills.

Another example is if someone receives a standing ovation and says, “I don’t deserve this,” it is also an understatement because they clearly do deserve it. Understatement is often used for comedic effect or to create an ironic contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

Zeugma is a literary device in which a single word or phrase is used with two or more parts of a sentence but must be understood differently in relation to each part. This creates a semantic incongruity in the sentence, often for humorous or dramatic effect. For example, in the sentence “She opened her door and her heart to the orphan,” the word “opened” is used with “door” and “heart” but is understood differently in each instance. In the first case, “opened” means physically opening the door, while in the second case, it means emotionally opening up to the orphan. Another example of zeugma is the sentence “He lost his coat and his temper,” where the word “lost” is used with both “coat” and “temper,” but means something different in each case.

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figure of speech

What is a figure of speech definition, usage, and literary examples, figure of speech definition.

Figures of speech  (FIG-yurs of SPEEchuh) are words or phrases used in a non-literal sense for  rhetorical  effect. They are often constructed using literary devices such as  metaphor ,  simile ,  alliteration , metonymy, synecdoche, and personification. Figures of speech allow writers to apply familiar ideas and  imagery  to less familiar concepts, and they are widespread in written and spoken language.

Figure of Speech Categories

Figures of speech fall into two broad categories: tropes and scheme. These are  dozens of figures of speech  that fall into each category, so the following are a select few examples.

These are figures of speech that play with syntax, sound, and words. They often achieve their effects by utilizing repetition of words, phrases, or sounds; omission of words or punctuation; unexpected changes in word order; or paired identical grammatical structures.

• Alliteration : Repeating consonant sounds in a series of words
• Diacope: Repeating words or phrases, interrupted by one or two other words
• Homonyms: Identical words that have different meanings
• Sibilance: Repeating hissing sounds
• Asyndeton: Omitting conjunctions between related series of clauses
• Brachylogia: Omitting conjunctions between individual words
• Ellipsis: Omitting words without losing  context  or understanding
• Syncope: Omitting word or phrase parts

Changes in Word Order

• Anastrophe: Rearranging the subject, object and verb order in a phrase
• Apposition: Two phrases, often separated by commas, where the second defines the first
• Parenthesis: A rhetorical, qualifying phrase inserted into a sentence or passage
• Spoonerism: Switching syllables between two words

Paired Grammatical Structures

• Antithesis : Juxtaposing ideas
• Isocolon: Consecutive phrases of identical length in words or syllables
• Parallelism: Similar grammatical structure between two or more clauses
• Tricolon: Three consecutive phrases of identical length in words or syllables

These are figures of speech that deviate in some way from the literal meanings of words. They tend to include association or comparison to shift readers’ perceptions from words’ true definitions to a layered figurative meaning. They can be broken into five categories: reference, word play/puns, substitutions, overstatement/understatement, and inversion.

• Allegory : A narrative that is an indirect metaphor for a broader, real-world concept
• Allusion : An intertextual reference to another creative work
• Metaphor : A direct comparison between two unrelated things
• Personification: Attributing human characteristics to non-human entities

Word Play/Puns

• Innuendo: A phrase or  sentence  with a hidden (often salacious) meaning
• Malapropism: Confusing a word with a similar sounding one
• Paraprosdokian : An unexpected ending to a phrase
• Pun : Word play that makes use of a word’s multiple meanings

Substitutions

• Dysphemism: Using a harsh word or phrase to replace a gentler one
• Euphemism : Using a more agreeable word or phrase to replace an offensive one
• Metonymy: Replacing a word or term with something associated with it
• Synecdoche: Referring to a whole by its part(s) or vice versa

Overstatement/Understatement

• Grandiloquence: Speech that is pompous or grandiose
• Hyperbole : An emphatic exaggeration
• Litotes : Emphasizing a statement by negating its opposite
• Satire: Criticism of society through humorous means
• Irony : Conveying the opposite of a word’s literal meaning
• Oxymoron : Using contradictory words together
• Paradox: Using contradictory ideas to make a point
• Synesthesia: Using sensory-specific words to describe a different sense

Most Common Figures of Speech

The following are some of the most common figures of speech that appear in literature and other written forms.

• Alliteration :  This is a scheme that uses repetition of the same first consonant sound to create a musical effect. “Francine found France quite lovely” is an example of alliteration because of the repeating  f  sound in the words  Francine ,  found , and  France .
• Apostrophe:  With apostrophe, a speaker directly addresses an inanimate object, an abstract concept, or a person who is either imaginary or not present. John Donne use apostrophe in his poem “ Holy Sonnet: Death, be not proud ,” wherein he speaks directly to a personified idea of death.
• Chiasmus:  This is a scheme where the second half of an expression is balanced against the first half in a reversed order. “You should eat to live, not live to eat” is one example; it repeats the words  eat  and  live  but reverses the order the second time they occur.
• Euphemism:  This literary device takes a mild or indirect word or expression and replaces something harsh, unpleasant, or offensive with it. Saying someone  passed on  is a euphemism for  died ;  powder my nose  is a euphemism for  go to the bathroom .
• Hyperbole:  This is the use of exaggeration for emphasis or heightened effect. “If I don’t nap right now, I will die” is a hyperbolic statement; it conveys the experience of feeling tired, but readers understand the speaker won’t literally die.
• Irony:  This literary device occurs when words are used to convey the opposite of their meaning or when a situation seems directly contrary to what is expected. Famously, Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic” lists many situations she deems ironic when they aren’t ironic at all; thus, irony.
• Litotes:  This figure of speech refers to a type of understatement. It is used to negate a statement in a way that actually affirms it. For example, saying “That’s no small chunk of change” indicates that the sum in question is, in fact, large.
• Metaphor :  A form of trope, metaphors make an implicit comparison between two unrelated things. “Love is a battlefield” is metaphoric, as it implies the experience of being in love is the same as being on a battlefield.
• Onomatopoeia :  Words that are onomatopoeic evoke the sounds of the thing they are referring to.  Hiss ,  crash , and  tick tock  are all examples because they sound like what they are describing—the sound of a snake, thunder, and a clock, respectively.
• Oxymoron:  This literary device consists of contradictory words paired together. Although the words initially appear to negate each other, they make sense when joined.  Deafening silence  is an oxymoronic pair; the adjective  deafening  means “a volume so high that nothing can be heard over it,” and the noun  silence  means “without sound.” These words are incongruous, but together they mean an overbearing, noticeable absence of sound.
• Personification:  When greater qualities of animation are given to a non-human or inanimate object, that is personification. In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” fog is described as “The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes/The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes.” Here, Eliot is personifying the fog by giving it the attributes of a cat.
• Pun :  This is a humorous play on words, often using homonyms, homographs, or homophones. For example, “I’ve been to the dentist many times, so I know the drill” is a pun; it plays with the double meaning of the word  drill  as a tool of the dentistry trade and as a concept of something being routine.
• Simile :  Related to metaphors, similes are explicit comparisons made using the words  like  or  as . “Lucille’s dress was as red as a fire truck” makes an explicit comparison between the color of the dress and the color of a fire truck. This allows the reader to properly visualize what Lucille is wearing.
• Synecdoche:  This is a figure of speech wherein a part of something stands in for the whole thing. “All hands on deck” is a synecdoche because  hands  stands in for the whole crew of a ship.”

Figure of Speech and Figurative Language

People often use the terms  figurative language  and  figure of speech  interchangeably; however, they are not the same. Instead, figurative language is a broad category that contains figures of speech, as well as  imagery  and  sound devices .

Imagery adds additional aesthetic resonance to texts through the evocation of sensory details. Sound devices enhance the text through sonic means. These elements, in conjunction with figures of speech, give a deeper meaning to the language a writer uses in their work.

Why Figures of Speech Are Used

These literary devices emphasize, embellish, or clarify written or spoken language. They allow an audience to understand ideas through implied or suggested meaning, thus giving the language a more surprising, creative, and playful effect. Some figures of speech enhance imagery, while others allow writers to employ rich cultural traditions to express their ideas. Even further, other figures of speech allow writers to experiment with structure and sound to create specific effects. No matter which type is used, the expressive quality of figures of speech helps keep audiences engaged.

Examples of Figures of Speech in Literature

1. Hafizah Geter, “ Testimony ”

Geter begins her  poem :

Mr. President,

After they shot me they tackled my sister.

the sound of her knees hitting the sidewalk

made my stomach ache. It was a bad pain.

The poem is a  dramatic monologue  spoken by Tamir Rice, a 12-year old black child who was killed by police officers who mistook his toy gun for a real one. This poem uses apostrophe as the speaker, Tamir, talks directly to “Mr. President” (then president Barack Obama).

2. William Shakespeare,   Macbeth

In Act III, Scene iii., of this play, before King Duncan’s murder is discovered, Lennox and Macbeth converse:

LENNOX: The night has been unruly: where we lay,

Our chimneys were blown down: and, as they say,

Lamentings heard i’the air; strange screams of death,

And prophesying with accents terrible

Of fire combustion and confused events

New hatch’d to the woeful time: the obscure bird

Clamour’d the livelong night: some say, the earth

Was feverous and did shake.

MACBETH: ‘Twas a rough night.

LENNOX: My young remembrance cannot parallel

A fellow to it.

Pathetic fallacy is a type of trope. It occurs when human feelings and attributes are ascribed to nature. This figure of speech is used throughout this  Shakespearean  tragedy. In this particular scene, Lennox describes how terrible and strange the weather was on the evening of the murder. The way the wind and earth seem to embody the horror of King Duncan’s death is pathetic fallacy.

3. Karl Marx,   Das Kapital

In Part I (“Commodities and Money”) of Marx’s treatise on economics, philosophy, history, and political science, he claims:

In the pre-capitalist stages of society, commerce rules industry. In capitalist society, industry rules commerce.

These two sentences are an example of chiasmus. Here, “commerce” first rules “industry,” and then “industry” rules “commerce.” By reversing the order of these words/concepts, Marx employs chiasmus.

4. Toni Morrison,  Sula

The last line of Morrison’s novel is considered by some to be one of the best lines in fiction and nonfiction. The sentence describes protagonist Nel’s grief at the death of her childhood friend Sula:

It was a fine cry—loud and long—but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow.

This sentence is rich in alliteration: “loud and long” contain  L  sounds at the beginning, as well as the repetition of  c  and  s  sounds with  cry ,  circles ,  circles , and  sorrow . The latter is also an example of sibilance.

5. Oscar Wilde,   The Importance of Being Earnest

In Wilde’s play, the main characters John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff pose as men named Ernest, only for Jack to learn that his given name really is Ernest. He delivers the final line of the play:

On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being Earnest.

Jack/Ernest’s declaration is a homographic pun. It means both that he understands the importance of being Ernest (his real name), as well as the importance of being  earnest  (sincere).

6. Aimee Nezhukumatathil, “ On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance ”

In this poem, Nezhukumatathil describes the experience of one’s name being mispronounced by a teacher taking attendance:

everyone turns around to check out

your face, no need to flush red and warm.

Just picture all the eyes as if your classroom

is one big scallop with its dozens of icy blues

and you will remember that winter your family

took you to the China see and you sank

your face in it to gaze at baby clams and sea stars

She uses a simile, “Just picture all the eyes as if your classroom/is one big scallop with its dozens of icy blues,” to explicitly compare the staring kids to the dozens of eyes that a sea scallop has.

Further Resources on Figure of Speech

Thought Catalog has a wonderful list of  figures of speech used by Homer Simpson  in  The Simpsons.

Jamcampus published a  great list  of twenty examples of metaphors in popular songs.

This is an entertaining round up of  oxymorons .

SuperSummary's library of resources and content , such as " A Beginner's Guide to Literary Analysis " and " How to Write a Summary ."

Related Terms

• Figurative language

20th Century American Speeches as Literary Texts

10 Speeches Analyzed for Readability and Rhetoric

• Lesson Plans
• Grading Students for Assessment
• Becoming A Teacher
• Assessments & Tests
• Elementary Education
• Special Education
• Homeschooling
• M.A., English, Western Connecticut State University
• B.S., Education, Southern Connecticut State University

Speeches are given at a moment in history for different purposes: to persuade, to accept, to praise, or to resign.  Giving students speeches to analyze can help them better understand how the speaker effectively meets his or her purpose. Giving students speeches to read or listen to also helps teachers increase their students' background knowledge on a time in history. Teaching a speech also meets the Common Core Literacy Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy Standards for History,Social Studies, Science, and the Technical Subject Areas , that require students to determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and steadily expand their range of words and phrases.  

The following ten speeches have been rated as to their length (minutes/# of words), readability score (grade level/reading ease) and at least one of the rhetorical devices used (author's style). All of the following speeches have links to audio or video as well as the transcript for the speech.

"I Have a Dream" -Martin Luther King

This speech is rated at the top of "Great American Speeches" on multiple media sources. To illustrate what makes this speech so effective, there is a visual analysis on video   by Nancy Duarte. On this video, she illustrates the balanced  "call and response" format that MLK used in this speech. 

Delivered by : Martin Luther King Date : August 28,1963 Location:  Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. Word Count:  1682 Minutes: 16:22 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease  67.5 Grade Level : 9.1 Rhetorical device used:  So many elements in this speech are figurative: metaphors, allusions, alliterations. The speech is lyrical and King incorporates lyrics from " My Country 'tis of Thee"  to create a new sets of verses. The  Refrain  is a verse, a line, a set, or a group of some lines repeated usually in a song or poem.

The most famous refrain from the speech:

"I have a  dream  today!"

"Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation"- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

While members of FDR's Cabinet were "in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific", the Japanese fleet bombed the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. If word choice is an important tool in persuasion, than FDR's word choices to declare war on the Empie of Japan are notable: severe damage, premeditated invasion, onslaught, unprovoked, and dastardly

Delivered by : Franklin Delano Roosevelt Date : December 8, 1941 Location: White House, Washington, D.C. Word Count:  518 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease 48.4 Grade Level : 11.6 Minutes : 3:08 Rhetorical device used: Diction:  refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary ( word choices)  and style of expression in a poem or story. This famous opening line sets the tone of the speech:

 " Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

"The Space Shuttle 'Challenger 'Address" -Ronald Reagan

When the space shuttle "Challenger" exploded, President Ronald Reagan canceled the State of the Union Address to deliver eulogy to the astronauts who had lost their lives. There were multiple references to history and literature including a  line from a World War II era sonnet:  "High Flight", by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and s lipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.”

Delivered by : Ronald Reagan Date : January 28, 1986 Location: White House, Washington, D.C. Word Count:  680 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease 77.7 Grade Level : 6.8 Minutes: 2:37 Rhetorical device used:  Historical reference or Allusion  A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art to enrich the reading experience by adding meaning.   Reagan referred to the explorer Sir Francis Drake who died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. Reagan compares the astronauts in this manner:

"In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He [Drake] lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it."

"The Great Society" -Lyndon Baines Johnson

After the assasination of President John F. Kennedy, President Johnson passed two important acts of legislation: The Civil Rights Act  and the omnibus Economic Opportunity Act of '64. The focus of his 1964 campaign was the War on Poverty which he refers to in this speech.

A Lesson plan on the NYTimes Learning Network  contrasts this speech with a news report of the War on Poverty 50 years later.

Delivered by : Lyndon Baines Johnson Date : May 22,1964 Location:  Ann Arbor, Michigan Word Count:  1883 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease 64.8 Grade Level : 9.4 Minutes: 7:33 Rhetorical device used: Epithet describes a place, a thing or a person in such a way that it helps in making the characteristics of a person, thing or place more prominent than they actually are. Johnson is describing how America could become The Great Society.

"The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning."

Richard M. Nixon-Resignation Speech

This speech is notable as the 1st resignation speech by an American President. Richard M. Nixon has another famous speech - "Checkers" in which he confronted criticism for the gift of a small Cocker spaniel from a constituent.

Years later, confronted in his second term by the Watergate scandal, Nixon announced he would resign the Presidency rather than, "...continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress..." 

Delivered by : Richard M. Nixon Date : August 8, 1974 Location: White House, Washington, D.C Word Count:  1811 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease  57.9 Grade Level : 11.8 Minutes:  5:09 Rhetorical device used: Appositive  When a noun or word is followed by another noun or phrase that renames or identifies it, this is called appositive.

The appositive in this statement indicates Nixon acknowledges the error of decisions made in the Watergate Scandal.

"I would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong -- and some were wrong -- they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interests of the nation."

Farewell Address-Dwight D Eisenhower

 When Dwight D. Eisenhower left office, his farewell speech was notable for the concerns he expressed about the influence of expanding military industrial interests. In this speech, he reminds the audience that he will have the same responsibilities of citizenship that each of them has in meeting this challenge, " As a private citizen, I shall never cease to do what little I can to help the world advance..."

Delivered by : Dwight D. Eisenhower Date :January 17,  1961 Location: White House, Washington, D.C. Word Count:  1943 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease  47 Grade Level : 12.7 Minutes: 15:45 Rhetorical device used:  Comparison is a rhetorical device in which a writer compares or contrasts two people, places, things, or ideas. Eisenhower repeatedly compares his new role as private citzien to that of others separate from government:

"As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow."

Barbara Jordan 1976 Keynote Address DNC

Barbara Jordan was the keynote speaker to the 1976 Democratic National Convention. In her address she defined the qualities of the Democratic party as a party that was "attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal."

Delivered by : Barbara Charlene Jordan Date : July 12, 1976 Location:  New York, NY Word Count:  1869 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease 62.8 Grade Level : 8.9 Minutes: 5:41 Rhetorical device used: Anaphora:   the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect 

" If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If -- If we as public officials propose, we must produce. If we say to the American people, "It is time for you to be sacrificial" -- sacrifice. If t he public official says that, we [public officials] must be the first to give."

Ich bin ein Berliner ["I am a Berliner"]-JF Kennedy

Delivered by : John Fitzgerald Kennedy Date :  June 26, 1963 Location:  West Berlin Germany Word Count:  695 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease 66.9 Grade Level : 9.9 Minutes: 5:12 Rhetorical device used: E pistrophe : a stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the end of the clauses or sentences; reversed form of an anaphora.

Note that he uses this same phrase in German to capture empathy of the German audience in attendance.

"There are some who say -- There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say, in Europe and elsewhere, we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin."

Vice Presidential Nomination,  Geraldine Ferraro

This was the first acceptance speech from a woman nominated for the Vice-Presidency of the United States. Geraldine Ferraro ran with Walter Mondale during the 1984 Campaign.

Delivered by : Geraldine Ferraro Date :19 July 1984  Location: Democratic National Convention, San Francisco Word Count:  1784 Readability  score :  Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease  69.4 Grade Level : 7.3 Minutes : 5:11 Rhetorical device used: Parallelism:   is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter.

Ferraro sets out to show the similarity of Americans in rural and urban areas:

"In Queens, there are 2,000 people on one block. You would think we'd be different, but we're not. Children walk to school in Elmore past grain elevators; in Queens, they pass by subway stops... In Elmore, there are family farms; in Queens, small businesses."

A Whisper of AIDS: Mary Fisher

When Mary Fisher, the HIV-positive daughter of a wealthy and powerful Republican fund raiser, took the stage at the 1992 Republican National Convention Address, she called for empathy for those who had contracted AIDS. She was HIV-positive from her second husband, and she was speaking to remove the stigma many in the party gave to the disease that "was the third leading killer of young adult Americans...."

Delivered by : Mary Fisher Date : August 19, 1992 Location:  Republican National Convention, Houston, TX Word Count:  1492 Readability  score : Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease 76.8 Grade Level : 7.2 Minutes: 12:57 Rhetorical device used: Metaphor:   a resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made based on a single or some common characteristics.

This speech contains multiple metaphors including:

"We have killed each other with our ignorance, our prejudice, and our silence.."

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