Literary Devices

Commonly Used in
a Literary Piece
Literary Devices
• Techniques that writers use to create a
special and pointed effect in their writing,
to convey information, and/or to help the
reader understand the piece on a deeper
level.
Literary Devices
• These devices are often used for emphasis or
clarity; they are also used to get the reader to
more strongly connect with either the story
as a whole or specific characters, themes, etc.
 ALLITERATION
 Series of words or phrases that all (all or almost all) start
with the same sound. These sounds are typically
consonants to give more stress to that syllable.

Examples:
1. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”
2. Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for
Billy.
3. Can you keep the cat from crawling the couch? It’s creating
chaos.
 ALLUSION
 When the 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.

Examples:
1. “Stop acting so smart – it’s not like you’re Einstein or
something.”
2. “I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinnochio’s.”
3. “He was a real Romeo with the ladies.”
 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.
 Often used for comedic effect.

Examples:
1. A Renaissance king who says, “That’s dope, dude!”
2. “So easy, a caveman could do it.”
 COLLOQUIALISM
 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”)

Examples:
1. “Hey, what’s up man?”
 COLLOQUIALISM
Examples:

When your dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I
do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the
river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam
cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on
your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flower
when you’re dead? Nobody.
(The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
 EUPHEMISM
 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.

Examples:
1. “I’m sorry, but he didn’t make it.”
2. Making a deposit in the porcelain bank. (Instead of going to
the bathroom)
3. Not the sharpest pencil in the box. (Instead of not smart)
 HYPERBOLE
 Exaggerated statement that’s not meant to be taken literally
by the reader. It I often used for comedic effect and/or
emphasis

Examples:
1. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
2. I’ve told you to clean your room a million times!
3. It was cold, I saw polar bears wearing hats and jackets.
4. Her brain is the size of a pea.
 IMAGERY
 When the 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.

Examples:
1. I could hear the popping and crackling as mom dropped the
bacon into the frying pan, and soon salty, greasy smell wafted
toward me.
 IMAGERY
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.
 METAPHOR/SIMILE
 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
using the words “as” or “like”.
 METAPHOR/SIMILE
Examples:
1. What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east,
and Juliet is the sun.
2. Time is a thief!
3. He is the apple of my eye.
4. She is as vicious as a lion.
5. As big as an elephant
6. As black as a coal.
 METONYMY
 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.

Examples:
1. The pen is mightier than the sword.
2. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.
3. Let me give you a hand.
 ONOMATOPOEIA
 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:
1. Buzz, boom, chirp, creak, sizzle, zoom, etc.
2. The cash register popped open with a heart warming ca-
ching.
3. Someone is knocking on the door.
 OXYMORON
 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.

Examples:
1. Deafening silence, organized chaos, cruelly kind, insanely
logical, etc.
2. The comedian was seriously funny.
3. Her singing was enough to raise the living dead.
4. Do you have the original copies that we requested?
 PARADOX
 Statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly,
but which may include a latent truth. It is often used to
make a reader think over an idea in an innovative way.

Examples:
1. Your enemy’s friend is your enemy.
2. I am nobody.
3. Truth is honey, which is bitter.
 PERSONIFICATION
 When a nonhuman figure or other abstract concept or
element is given human-like qualities or characteristics. It is
used to help the reader create a clearer mental picture of the
scene or object being described.

Examples:
1. The wind moaned, beckoning me to come outside.
2. The moon played hide and seek with the clouds.
3. The leaves waved in the wind.
 REPETITION
 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).

Examples:
1. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love
cannot be killed or swept aside.
2. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
 SYMBOLISM
 Refers to the use of an object, figure, event, situation, or
another idea in a written work to represent something else –
typically a broader message or deeper meaning that
differs from its literal meaning.

Examples:
1. The dove is a symbol of peace.
2. A broken mirror may symbolize separation.
3. Black is a symbol that represents evil or death.
 SYNECDOCHE
 Literary device in which part of something is used to represent
the whole, or vice versa. It’s similar to a metonymy; however, a
metonymy doesn’t have to represent the whole – just
something associated with the word used.

Examples:
1. If the world is not treating you well, I am always here for you.
2. The phrase “hired hands” can be used to refer to workers.
3. The word “wheels” refers to a vehicle.
 ACTIVITY:
Directions: Create a three-stanza
poem with four lines each about a
topic of you choice using at least five
different literary devices.