Literary Devices 

in literature
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.

Below is a list of literary devices, most of which you'll often come across in both prose
and poetry.

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

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.
 Bed, Bath & Beyond
 “We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow / and watch where the chalk-
white arrows go.” Shel Silverstein

Assonance
It is a literary device in which the repetition of similar vowel sounds takes place in two
or more words in proximity to each other within a line of poetry or prose. Assonance
most often refers to the repetition of internal vowel sounds in words

 Ex:
 Motion of the ocean
 “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” (Hans Carste)
 “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” (musical “My Fair Lady”)

Simile
Simile is used as a literary device to assert similarity with the help of like or as, which
are language constructs that establish equivalency. A proper simile creates an
explicit comparison between two things that are different enough from each other

 Blind as a bat
 Old as the hills
 Cheeks like roses
 Flat as a pancake
 Sweet as sugar
 Being with her I feel a pain, like a frozen knife stuck in my chest. (Haruki
Murakami)
 All those moments will be lost in time, like… tears in rain. (Blade Runner)
  Life is like writing with a pen. You can cross out your past but you can’t erase
it. (E.B. White)

Metaphor
It is a figure of speech  that makes a comparison between two unlike things. As a
literary device, metaphor creates implicit comparisons without the express use of
“like” or “as.”
 Laughter is the best medicine.
 Is there a black sheep in your family?
 He’s buried in a sea of paperwork.
 Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you. (Terry Pratchet)
 Time is money.
 Last night I slept the sleep of the dead.

Hyperbole
It is a figure of speech and literary device that creates heightened effect through
deliberate exaggeration. 

 I’m so hungry that I could eat a horse.

 That purse looks like it cost a million dollars.
 This suitcase weighs a ton.
 He heard an ear-splitting shriek.

Repetition
It is a literary device that involves intentionally Repeating the same words or phrases 

 Time after time

 Boys will be boys
 Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” (Back to the Future)
 The sad truth is that the truth is sad. (Lemony Snicket)

Onomatopoeia
It is defined as a word which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound
effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and
interesting.

 The buzzing bee flew away.

 The sack fell into the river with a splash.
 The rustling leaves kept me awake.

Personification
It 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.

 My alarm yelled at me this morning.

 I wanted to get money, but the ATM died.
  The school bell called us from outside.
 The wind is whispering outside.
 The wind whistled past my ears like a familiar tune I’d long forgotten.
 The moon yanked a blanket of silver light over the forest.

Symbolism
It is a literary device that refers to the use of symbols in a literary work. A symbol
is something that stands for or suggests something else; it represents something
beyond literal meaning. In literature, a symbol can be a word, object,
action, character, or concept that embodies and evokes a range of additional
meaning and significance.

 Red rose–symbolizes love and romance

 Rainbow–symbolizes hope and promise
 Dollar sign–symbolizes money, earnings, wealth
 Black clothes – death
 Crows - are used to symbolize a bad omen, like death

Flashback

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.
Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition means placing contrasting elements next to one another in order to

emphasize one or both, including words, scenes, or themes.

Example:
  “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.” – A Tales
of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

 I hate loving you.

Irony

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.

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.

Imagery

It is language used by poets, novelists and other writers to create images in the mind of
the reader. Imagery includes figurative and metaphorical language to improve the
reader’s experience through their senses.

a. Visual Imagery
Visual imagery describes what we see: comic book images, paintings, or images
directly experienced through the narrator’s eyes. Visual imagery may include:
 Color, such as: burnt red, bright orange, dull yellow, verdant green, and Robin’s
egg blue.
 Shapes, such as: square, circular, tubular, rectangular, and conical.
 Size, such as: miniscule, tiny, small, medium-sized, large, and gigantic.
 Pattern, such as: polka-dotted, striped, zig-zagged, jagged, and straight.

b. Auditory Imagery
Auditory imagery describes what we hear, from music to noise to pure silence.
Auditory imagery may include:
 Enjoyable sounds, such as: beautiful music, birdsong, and the voices of a chorus.
 Noises, such as: the bang of a gun, the sound of a broom moving across the floor,
and the sound of broken glass shattering on the hard floor.
 The lack of noise, describing a peaceful calm or eerie silence.

c. Olfactory Imagery
Olfactory imagery describes what we smell. Olfactory imagery may include:
 Fragrances, such as perfumes, enticing food and drink, and blooming flowers.
 Odors, such as rotting trash, body odors, or a stinky wet dog.

d. Gustatory Imagery
Gustatory imagery describes what we taste. Gustatory imagery can include:
 Sweetness, such as candies, cookies, and desserts.
 Sourness, bitterness, and tartness, such as lemons and limes.
 Saltiness, such as pretzels, French fries, and pepperonis.
 Spiciness, such as salsas and curries.
 Savoriness, such as a steak dinner or thick soup.

e. Tactile Imagery
Lastly, tactile imagery describes what we feel or touch. Tactile imagery includes:
 Temperature, such as bitter cold, humidity, mildness, and stifling heat.
 Texture, such as rough, ragged, seamless, and smooth.
 Touch, such as hand-holding, one’s in the grass, or the feeling of starched fabric on
one’s skin.
 Movement, such as burning muscles from exertion, swimming in cold water, or
kicking a soccer ball.

Pun
It is a literary device that is also known as a “play on words.” Puns involve words with
similar or identical sounds but with different meanings. Their play on words also relies
on a word or phrase having more than one meaning. Puns are generally intended to be
humorous, but they often have a serious purpose as well in literary works.

 Her cat is near the computer to keep an eye on the mouse.

Theme

Theme is defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work, which

may be stated directly or indirectly.

 The bus was travelling at a great speed when it was stopped by a gang of
robbers. The passengers were ordered to get out, leaving their precious
belongings in the bus.
(Theme of fear)
 The teacher said that she hoped all of her students would pass with good grades.
(Theme of optimism)

Sarcasm
Generally, takes the form of an ironic remark, somewhat rooted in humor, that is
intended to mock or satirize something. When a speaker is being sarcastic, they are
saying something different than what they actually mean.

 Zombies eat brains. You’re safe.

 Ugliness can be fixed, stupidity is forever.
 I’m not insulting you. I’m just describing you.
 I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.

Oxymoron
Oxymoron is a figure of speech pairing two words together that are opposing and/or
contradictory. This combination of contrary words is also known as a contradiction.

 My sister and I had a friendly fight over the lipstick.

 It is considered a false truth that a broken mirror means bad luck.
 Good night, good night! Parting is such a sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow. (William Shakespeare)

Rhyme
The usage of words in a way to create musical effect. It can be internal rhyme or end
rhyme.
 Internal rhyme : a rhyme that typically occurs within the same line of poetry.
Eg : Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.
“The guests are met, the feast is set
(Here the rhyming words are met and set)

 End rhyme: occurs when two words at the end of lines rhyme.
 Eg: A word is dead
When it is said
 Enjambment / Run on lines
When a sentence continues into two or more lines in a poem

Eg: “They tell them a curious story

I don’t believe ‘tis true;
And yet you may learn a lesson
If I tell the tale to you.”
(The sentence continues in the last two lines) 

Tone
Tone is a literary device that reflects the writer’s attitude toward the subject matter of a
literary work.

Eg: “…I was delighted to know that you were safe, even after the flood that occurred
two weeks ago..” (Tone of happiness)

 Tone of sadness/ melancholiness, Tone of frustration/ disappointment…etc.

Types of Narration

The way a story is written. This is known as point of view. There are three popular
forms:

1. First person narration- In this point of view, a character (typically the protagonist) is

telling the story. You'll notice a lot of "I" and "me" or "we" in first person narrations.

Eg: “…I woke up early in the morning to get ready to go to school but then I
remembered that the school was closed…”

2. Second person narration- In this point of view, the author uses a narrator to speak to
the reader. You'll notice a lot of "you," "your," and "yours" in second person
narration.

Eg: “…You were not able to make a good decision. You were confused in that
moment…”

3. Third person narration - In this point of view, an external narrator is telling the
story. You'll notice a lot of "he," "she," "it," or "they" in this form of narration.

Eg: … “He often walked to school on foot. Sometimes he came with his father. But
his mother never came to school. His interests were also different than other
children…”