Stylistic Devices

- are techniques that add significance to a text.

- Refer to any of a variety of techniques to give an additional and/or supplemental
meaning, idea, or feeling.

1. Simile
- Is used to draw comparisons between two different things. In a simile, something is said
to be ‘like’ something else.
- is a literary device that directly compares two things to show their similarities using the
words 'like' or 'as'.

Example:
a. Her lips are as cold as ice.

2. Metaphor
- It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words “like”
or “as”.

Example:
My friend’s sister, Sharon, is a night owl.

3. Personification
- a poetic literary device in which non-living things are given human traits.

Example:
The leaves let go of the tree and danced in the breeze.

4. Synecdoche
- derived from the Greek phrases “synekdochē” and “ekdechesthai”, meaning “to sense”
and “to understand.”
- a figure of speech which allows a part to stand for a whole or for a whole to stand for a
part.

Two Types:
a. Microcosm
- is the phrase for synecdoche in which a
smaller part signifies a larger whole.
 b. Macrocosm
- is the phrase for synecdoche in which a larger whole signifies a smaller collection of
parts.

Example:
A boy has been admitted to the hospital. The nurse says, “He’s in good hands.”

5. Symbolism
- a literary devices that uses symbols, be they words, people, marks, locations, or abstract
ideas that represent something beyond the literal meaning.

Example:
The color white is a symbol of purity.

6. Alliteration
- a sentence that consists of a series of words that have the same consonant sound at the
beginning.

Example:
She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

7. Metre
- Is the systematic arrangement of language in a series of rhythmic movements involving
stressed and unstressed syllables.

Types:
a. Trochaic Tetrameter
- Four metrical feet of two syllables each (for a total of eight syllables) alternating
between stressed and unstressed syllables.

Example:
“BY the SHORES of GITche GUMee”

b. Iambic Pentameter
- The most common meter in English language poetry, iambic pentameter has five feet of
two syllables each (for a total of ten syllables) alternating between unstressed and
stressed syllables.

Example:
“Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer’s DAY?”
 c. Double Dactylic
- Two metrical feet of three syllables each (for a total of six syllables) alternating between
one stressed syllable and two unstressed syllables.

Example:
“HIGgledy PIGgledy, / BACon, lord CHANcellor.”

d. Anapestic Tetrameter
- Four metrical feet of three syllables each (for a total of twelve syllables) which
alternates between two unstressed syllables and one stressed syllable.

Example:
Twas the NIGHT before CHRISTmas, when ALL through the HOUSE.”

8. Iambic
- Is the pattern of a poetic line made up of “iambs”
- An iamb is a unit of meter with two syllables, where the first syllable is unstressed and
the second syllable is stressed.

Example:
amuse (a-MUSE)

9. Onomatopoeia
- a stylistic device in which a word is used to imitate or suggest the sound of the thing
being described. In other words, it is a word that phonetically resembles the sound it
describes.

Example:
Buzz - a bee makes a buzzing sound

10. Rhyme
- comes from the word ‘rime’ or ‘ryme’ meaning rhythm or meter.
- refers to the repetition of the sounds at the end of a word.

Example:
Cat and Hat

11. Anaphora
- is a rhetorical device that features the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of
successive sentences, phrases, or clause.
 Example:
I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

12. Repetition
- the use of the same word or phrase multiple times within a sentence, a paragraph, or a
longer piece of writing or speech.

Example:
"She walked and walked and walked.“

13. Parallelism
- the repetition of the same grammatical form in two or more parts of a sentence.

Not Parallel
I like to jog, bake, paint, and watching movies.

Parallel
I like to jog, bake, paint, and watch movies.

14. Triple/Tricolon
- A series of three words phrases or sentences that are parallel in structure, length, and
rhythm.

Example:
“I require three things in a man: he must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid.

15. Climax
- involves arranging words, phrases, or ideas in a series of increasing importance or
intensity. It is also known as gradation or ascending order, and it is often used in
literature, speeches, and other forms of communication to create a sense of tension or
drama, and to build towards a powerful conclusion.

Example:
"He was a good man, a great father, and an extraordinary hero."

16. Anticlimax
- a stylistic device that involves a sudden shift from an important or intense idea to a
trivial or unimportant one, often for comedic effect. It is the opposite of climax and is
used to create a sense of surprise or unexpected contrast.
 Example:
He fought valiantly against the dragon, slaying it with his sword, only to realize that it
was just a small lizard."

17. Enumeration
- It is a stylistic device that entails systematically and frequently repetitively listing things,
concepts, or actions. It is employed in literature, speeches, and other kinds of
communication to emphasize a point and to give the list a feeling of order so that the
audience will remember it.

Example:
"She woke up, brushed her teeth, took a shower, got dressed, and ate breakfast."

18. Allusion
- a reference or mention of person, event, statement, piece of art, history, myths,
religion, or popular culture.

Example:
Chocolate is his Kryptonite.

19. Euphemism
- an appropriate expression used in the place of a phrase or words that may be found
inappropriate or offensive.

Example:
"Passed away” instead of “died”

20. Understatement
- is a statement that represents something as smaller or lessintense, or less important
than it really is.

Example:
It isn't too serious, I have a tiny tumor on my brain.

21. Hyperbole
- is a literary device used to draw emphasis through extreme exaggeration.

Example:
I've seen this movie a hundred times.
22. Irony
- is a type of figurative language that refers to the clash between expectations and reality.

Example:
Mary posts on social media about how she is tired of social media.

23. Satire
- is a literary device for the artful ridicule of folly or vice as a means of exposing or
correcting it.

Example:
People say satire is dead. It’s not dead; it’s alive and living in the White House. (Robin
Williams)

24. Paradox
- appears at first to be contradictory, but upon reflection then makes sense.

Example:
less is more, the beginning of the end

25. Oxymoron
- a figure of speech pairing two words together that are opposing and/or contradictory. It
has the effect of creating an impression, enhancing a concept, and even entertaining the
reader.

Example:
Only Choice, Friendly Fire

26. Pun
- a literary device that is also known as a “play on words.” Puns are generally intended to
be humorous.

Example:
“Common Cents”

27. Rhetorical Question

- is asked just for effect, or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed when no real
answer is expected.
 Example:
“What made you think of love and tears And birth and death and pain?”

28. Foreshadowing
- a narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped
or planted.
- Foreshadowing, when done properly, is an excellent device in terms of creating
suspense and dramatic tension for readers.

Example:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

29. Characterization
- is a literary device that is used step-by-step in literature to highlight and explain the
details of a character in a story. It is in the initial stage in which the writer introduces the
character with noticeable emergence.

Example:
Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.

30. Protagonist
- is the leading character. This character often takes on the role of the good guy, but this
isn’t an essential attribute of a protagonist.

31. Antagonist
- the antagonist is a person who actively opposes or is hostile to the protagonist. In many
stories the antagonist takes on the form of the bad guy in a story.

32. Climax
- a dramatic turning point in a narrative—a pivotal moment at the peak of the story arc
that pits the protagonist against an opposing force in order to resolve the main conflict
once and for all.

33. Conflict
- is any of the problems that a character encounters in a story

34. Mood
- the emotional atmosphere within the story produced by the author's use of language.

Example:
The mood of a piece might be funny, sad, creepy, cheerful, nostalgic, curious, and so on.
35. Motif
- Is a repeated pattern—an image, sound, word, or symbol that comes back again and
again within a particular story.

Example:
Rose and heart to represent love

36. Plot
- Essentially, a story plot is what happens in the story. More specifically, the plot is the
series of events that take place. It's the action of the story that drives the narrative
forward.

37. Point of View

- Point of view is the writer's way of deciding who is telling the story to whom.

38. Setting
- A setting is the time and place in which a story is told.