Literary devices

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.

1. 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.
 Two different types of allegory:
 The historical or political allegory- the characters and events represent their
historical counterparts.
 The allegory of ideas - , the allegorical effect is created by means
of personifications of more abstract concepts, e.g. virtues and vices.. 
 Examples of allegory are John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678, 1684) George
Orwell's dystopian book Animal Farm(20th century Russian revolution) and the 15th-
century morality play Everyman.
 Species:
 Fable/Apologue: Fable and parable are short, simple forms of naive allegory. The
fable is usually a tale about animals who are personified and behave as though they
were humans. The device of personification is also extended to trees, winds, streams,
stones, and other natural objects. The earliest of these tales also included humans
and gods as characters, but fable tends to concentrate on animating the inanimate.
A feature that isolates fable from the ordinary folktale, which it resembles, is that
a moral—a rule of behaviour—is woven into the story.

 Parable: The parable also tells a simple story. The typical parable uses human
agents. Parables generally show less interest in the storytelling and more in
the analogy they draw between a particular instance of human behaviour (the true
neighbourly kindness shown by the good Samaritan in the Bible story, for example)
and human behaviour at large. Jesus favourite device as a teacher.

 Exemplum, (Latin: “example,” ) plural exempla - short tale originally incorporated by

a medieval preacher into his sermon to emphasize a moral or illustrate a point of
doctrine.  The influence of exempla can be seen in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury
Tales (1387–1400) in the haunting “The Pardoner’s Tale.”
 Proverb - A proverb is a brief, simple, and popular saying, or a phrase that gives
advice and effectively embodies a commonplace truth based on practical experience
or common sense. A proverb may have an allegorical message behind its odd
appearance. The reason of popularity is due to its usage in spoken language, as well
as in folk literature. Lord kennet’s poem A Bird in the Bush, which is a popular
proverb. 

2. Alliteration
  literary devices used in prose, narrative articles, and poetry to add musicality, rhythm, and
rhyming effects to the pieces. They are also used to indulge a reader’s auditory
senses while also making their reading enjoyable.
 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.
 Example: “Peter Piper picked a pot of pickled peppers”; unforgettable titles: Love’s Labour’s
Lost, Sense and Sensibility, and The Haunting of Hill House.

Other repetition of speech sound:

 Consonance - repetition of similar or identical consonant sounds in a sentence, line, or phrase.
tongue twister ‘she sells seashells by the seashore.”
 Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds in neighboring words in a line, sentence, stanza, or
prose and in a quick succession. Example - If I bleat when I speak it’s because I just got f***in’
fleeced – from the movie Deadwood.

3. Allusion
 An allusion is a passing or indirect descriptive reference to something. You probably allude to
things all the time in everyday speech, without even noticing.

 Example - Is there an Einstein in your physics class? (Albert Einstein); arrow of love (allusion to
Cupid)

4. Anaphora/Repetition
  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 a 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.”

5. Antithesis
 Antithesis is a literary device that refers to the juxtaposition of two opposing elements through
parallel grammatical structure. The word antithesis, meaning absolute opposite, is derived from
Greek for “setting opposite,” indicating when something or someone is in direct contrast or the
obverse of another thing or person.
 Example- Speech is silver but silence is gold; No pain, no gain.

Parallelism

 the repetition of grammatical elements in writing and speaking. Parallelism influences the

grammatical structure of sentences but can also impact the meaning of thoughts and ideas being
presented.
 It may feature repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis, or it can be used as a literary device to
create a parallel position between opposite ideas through grammatical elements as a means of
emphasizing contrast.
 Parallelism takes many forms in literature, such as anaphora, antithesis, asyndeton, epistrophe, etc.
 Example -That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”; stupid is as stupid does;
cousins by chance; friends by choice

6. Apostrophe
  an apostrophe is a poetic phrase or speech made by a character that is addressed to a subject that
is not literally present in the literary work. The subject may be dead, absent, an inanimate object, or
even an abstract idea. A literary apostrophe is designed to direct a reader or audience member’s
attention to the entity being addressed as a means of indicating its importance or significance. In
addition, apostrophe is also utilized as a way for a character to express their internal thoughts and
feelings to someone or something that is not able to respond.
 Example -1 Well, the big black horse said “Look this way”
He said, “Hey lady, will you marry me?”
But I said “No, no, no, no, no, no”
I said “No, no, you’re not the one for me”
-2. Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone / without a dream in my heart, without a love of
my own

6. Bathos
 Bathos is a literary term derived from a Greek word meaning “depth.” Bathos is the act of a writer or
a poet falling into inconsequential and absurd metaphors, descriptions, or ideas in an effort to be
increasingly emotional or passionate.
  The term was used by Alexander Pope to explain the blunders committed inadvertently by unskilled
writers or poets.
 Example - I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again (BBC Radio Comedy); Northanger Abbey (By Jane Austin.
7. Conceit
 Conceit is a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help
of similes or metaphors.
 Conceit develops a comparison which is exceedingly unlikely but is, nonetheless, intellectually
imaginative. A comparison turns into a conceit when the writer tries to make us admit a similarity
between two things of whose unlikeness we are strongly conscious. For this reason, conceits are
often surprising.
 Types
 Petrarchan conceit is named for the Italian poet Petrarch, and applies only to love
poetry in which the beloved is compared hyperbolically to extreme experiences or
things. Sometimes Petrarchan conceits are examples of oxymoron, as Shakespeare
parodies in Romeo’s insistence that his love for Rosaline is like “bright smoke, cold
fire, sick health.”
 Metaphysical conceit is an imaginative leap made to compare two very unlike things
and explore their similarities.
 Example - Life is a bowl of cherries;“The Sun Rising” by John Donne
8. Circumlocution
 Circumlocution is a rhetorical device that can be defined as an ambiguous or paradoxical way of
expressing things, ideas, or views. In fact, when somebody wants to remain ambiguous about
something, and he does not want to say a thing directly, it means he is using circumlocution.
 Example - Hamlet (By William Shakespeare); The Rape of the Lock (By Alexander Pope)
 Features
 It is used when the speaker is unable to choose the right words to express or say
something.
 It is used for social purposes in order to avoid using offensive words.
 It is used in politics and law, and sometimes it becomes difficult to judge
which perspective of a politician or a lawyer should be supported.
 In poetry and verse, it is used to create a regular meter.
9. Chiasmus
 Chiasmus is a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by
the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect.
 Example - “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You”; “Ask not what your country can do for you;
ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy
10. Diacope
 Diacope has originated from a Greek work thiakhop, which means “to cut into two.” This literary
device is a repetition of a phrase or word, broken up by other intervening words.
 For instance, a very popular example of diacope is in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “to be, or not
to be!” In this line, you can notice that the speaker has repeated the phrase “to be,” which is
separated by another phrase “or not.” This is called diacope.
 Types
  Vocative diacope - This type of diacope just repeats a phrase or word for emphasis such
as:“The horror! Oh, the horror!”. Repetition in this line is on the phrase “the horror,” which
emphasizes how horrific something is! It also shows how a character is mentally
overwhelmed.
 Elaborative diacope - This version of diacope repeats a phrase or word with an additional
description or adjective that describes, clarifies, or further lays emphasis on a particular
aspect of the thing or subject such as:“He is standing with a lovely woman. A tall, well-
dressed and beautiful woman.” Here elaborative diacope adds further clarity to the
appearance of a woman: tall, well-dressed and beautiful.

11. 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
12. Irony
 Irony creates a contrast between how things seem and how they really are.
 There are three types of literary irony:
 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.

 Examples –

 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.
13. Juxtaposition
 Juxtaposition places two or more dissimilar characters, themes, concepts, etc. side by side, and the
profound contrast highlights their differences.
 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…”
14. Kenning
 A kenning, which is derived from Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry, is a stylistic device defined as a
two-word phrase that describes an object through metaphors. A Kenning poem is also defined
a riddle that consists of a few lines of kennings, which describe someone or something in confusing
 detail. It is also described as a “compressed metaphor,” which means meanings illustrated in a few
words. For example, a two-word phrase “whale-road” represents the sea.
 Characteristics
 It is used to describe an object in detail.
 The two parts of a compound word represent a relationship between subjects and objects,
which creates associations in an abstract and concise way.
 It is also called a compressed metaphor.
 Example - The Dream of the Rodd (By Caedmon and Cynewulf)
 “Listen, I will tell the best of visions,
what came to me in the middle of the night,
when Voice-bearers dwelled in rest.
It seemed to me that I saw a more wonderful tree…
That beacon was entirely … likewise there were five
upon the cross-beam. All those fair through creation.
Wondrous was the victory-tree, and I stained with sins,
wounded with guilts…”
This is an example of kenning from an old Anglo-Saxon poem. Here, the phrases “voice-bearer,”
“cross-beam,” and “victory-tree” serve as metaphors. These help in describing an object’s detail by
employing compound words.

15. 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)
16. Metaphor
 A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things.
 Example - Laughter is the best medicine; A Dream is a wish your heart makes. ; Life is pain,
highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something. (The Princess Bride).

Difference between metaphor and simile

While both similes and metaphors are used to make comparisons, the difference between similes
and metaphors comes down to a word. Similes use the words like or as to compare things—“Life is
like a box of chocolates.” In contrast, metaphors directly state a comparison—“Love is a battlefield.”

17. 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

Difference Between Synecdoche and Metonymy

Synecdoche  is a figure of speech referring to when a part of something is used to refer to

the whole, such as in the phrase "all hands on deck," where "hands" are people. It's easy to
confuse with  metonymy, which refers to using one thing to describe something related to it,
 such as referring to the Queen as simply "the crown," or a sports team as simply the city
they are from as in "Boston led by 2 points."
18. 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” ; The buzzing bee flew away; The sack fell into the river with a splash.
19. Pathetic fallacy

 Pathetic fallacy is a literary device that attributes human qualities and emotions to inanimate
objects of nature. The word pathetic in the term is not used in the derogatory sense of being
miserable; rather, it stands for “imparting emotions to something else.

 Macbeth (By William Shakespeare)

“The Night has been unruly. Where we lay,

Our chimneys were blown down and, as they say,
Lamentings heard i’ th’ air, strange screams of death,
And prophesying with accents terrible
Of dire combustion and confused events
New hatched to the woeful time. The obscure bird
Clamored the livelong night. Some say the Earth
Was feverous and did shake.”

Difference Between Pathetic Fallacy and Personification

Generally, pathetic fallacy is confused with personification. The fact is that they differ in their function.
Pathetic fallacy is a kind of personification that gives human emotions to inanimate objects of nature; for
example, referring to weather features reflecting a mood. Personification, on the other hand, is a broader
term. It gives human attributes to abstract ideas, animate objects of nature, or inanimate non-natural
objects.

For example, the sentence “The somber clouds darkened our mood” is a pathetic fallacy, as human
attributes are given to an inanimate object of nature reflecting a mood. But, the sentence “The sparrow
talked to us” is a personification because the animate object of nature – the sparrow – is given the human
quality of “talking.”

20. Paradox
 A paradox is a statement that appears at first to be contradictory, but upon reflection then makes
sense. This literary device is commonly used to engage a reader to discover an underlying logic in a
seemingly self-contradictory statement or phrase. As a result, paradox allows readers to
understand concepts in a different and even non-traditional way.
 Example - “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.” (Dr. Strangelove or: How I
Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb); “If everyone is special, no one is.” (Disney’s The
Incredibles)
21. Personification
 Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or
feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. 
 Examples - My alarm yelled at me this morning; I like onions, but they don’t like me.
22. Prolepsis
 Flash-forward, or “prolepsis,” is a literary device in which the plot goes ahead of time;
meaning a scene that interrupts and takes the narrative forward in time from the current time
in the story. Generally, a flash-forward represents expected or imagined events in the future,
interjected into the main plot, revealing important information to the story that has yet to be
brought to light. It is the opposite of a flashback, or “analepsis,” which reveals past events.
 The Dead Zone (By Stephen King) - In Stephen King’s novel The Dead Zone, the hero receives
a special power of predicting the future after a car crash. Through physical contact, he sees
the future of a person. After some time, he feels cursed with the gift. Like when he shakes
hands with a politician and flash-forwards to the future, seeing a nuclear war. He says:“If you
knew Hitler was going to do what he did to the Jews, would you kill him before he had the
chance?”At this moment, the hero suffers from a moral conflict between what he knows
about the future, and what he might do to save people.

Difference Between Flash-Forward and Foreshadowing

Flash-forward is similar to foreshadowing. However, foreshadowing hints at the possible outcome in the
future, without any interruption. Instead, it uses events or character dialogue in the current time. It may
also be present in the titles of narratives or chapters.

Flash-forward, on the other hand, is an interjected scene in a narrative, which takes the narrative forward
in time. The events presented in a flash-forward are bound to happen in the story. Foreshadowing predicts
the future events, but the events do not necessarily take place in the future.
23. Simile

 A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or concepts are expressly
compared with one another through the use of “like” or “as.”

 Example - Slept like a log; Sly as a fox

24. 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)

25. Synaesthesia

  Synesthesia refers to a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters, or places in such
a manner that they appeal to more than one sense, like hearing, sight, smell, and touch at a given
time.
 The Divine Comedy (By Dante Alighieri) - Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy contains a good
synesthesia example in literature. In the first canto, the poet tells us about a place called “Inferno.”
He says,“Back to the region where the sun is silent.” Here, Dante binds the sense of sight (sun) with
the sense of hearing (silent).
 Example #2: Ode to a Nightingale (By John Keats) -We notice synesthetic imageries in John
Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale:“Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provencal song, and sun burnt mirth!”In the above example, Keats combines visual
sensation with the sensations of taste and hearing. In the same poem, he further states:“In some
melodious plot,
Of beechen green,
Singest of summer in full throated ease.” Keats associates the act of melodious singing with a plot
covered with green beechen trees, and thus connects visual sense with the sense of hearing.

26. Transferred Epithet

 Transferred Epithet is a figure of speech that refers to the shifting or transfer of an epithet from its
proper subject to another associated with it. The transfer is the result of the mental operation of the
writer or speaker.
 Thus, the expression, “a sleepless pillow’, contains the epithet ‘sleepless’. But the epithet is not
appropriate to the noun pillow, for sleepless is not the pillow, but the person lying on the pillow.
Thus, the epithet “sleepless’, which is applicable to the man, is transferred to the noun pillow. A
relation, however, exists between ‘man’ and ‘pillow’, as the person, who is sleepless, is lying on the
pillow. This is an instance of the transferred epithet.
(ii) In holy anger and pious grief.
He solemnly cursed that rascally thief.
This is a transferred epithet. Here the epithets ‘holy’ and ‘pious’, which properly belong to the ‘man’,
are transferred to ‘anger’ and ‘grief”, respectively. ‘Anger’ and ‘grief’, which the man feels, are
certainly associated with him.

27. Zeugma
 Zeugma, from Greek meaning “yoking” or “bonding,” is a figure of speech in which a word, usually
a verb or an adjective, applies to more than one noun, blending together grammatically and
logically different ideas.

 For instance, in the sentence, “John lost his coat and his temper,” the verb “lost” applies to both the
nouns “coat” and “temper.” Losing a coat and losing temper are logically and grammatically
different ideas, which are brought together in this sentence. Zeugma, when used skillfully, produces
a unique artistic effect, making the literary works more interesting and effective as it serves to
adorn expressions, and to add emphasis to ideas in impressive style.

 “She lowered her standards by raising her glass,

Her courage, her eyes and his hopes.”