literary device
Author's craft element
A literary device is a technique writers use to produce specific effects—metaphor, irony, foreshadowing, alliteration, and dozens more.
Some devices operate at the level of individual words or sounds; others shape entire narratives.
The term encompasses both figures of speech and broader structural choices: The author's use of unreliable narration is a powerful literary device.
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- personificationAttributing humanity to non-humans
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
metonymy · synecdoche · conceit · hyperbole · understatement · symbolism · imagery · allusion
Inverted parallel construction
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- antithesisDirect opposite; contrasting juxtaposition
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- zeugmaOne word, multiple applications
anaphora · epistrophe · tricolon · enjambment · caesura · stanza · couplet · quatrain
Hinting at later events
- flashbackInvoluntary past memory
- in medias resStarting amid events
- subplotSubordinate narrative strand
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
climax · denouement · cliffhanger · red herring · Chekhov's gun · unreliable narrator · stream of consciousness · point of view
Vowel sound repetition
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- onomatopoeiaSound-imitating word formation
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
- meterDevice that measures usage
cadence · rhythm · prosody · euphony · cacophony · repetition · anaphora · refrain
Choice of words
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- toneQuality of sound
- voiceSound from throat
- registerRecord officially; vocal range
vernacular · dialect · jargon · archaic language · colloquialism · formal language · rhetorical question · apostrophe
Audience-character knowledge gap
- situational ironyOutcome opposite to expectations
- verbal ironySaying one thing, meaning another
- cosmic ironyFate undermining human purpose
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
satire · paradox · understatement · overstatement · incongruity · contradiction · twist · subversion
Wordplay using double meanings
- double entendrePhrase with hidden lewdness
- malapropismSound-alike word confusion
- spoonerismAccidental sound transposition
- portmanteauWord combining two others
neologism · oxymoron · paradox · ambiguity · innuendo · paronomasia · equivocation · irony
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- personificationAttributing humanity to non-humans
allegory · metonymy · synecdoche · conceit · hyperbole · understatement · symbolism · imagery · allusion · archetype
chiasmus
Inverted parallel construction
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- antithesisDirect opposite; contrasting juxtaposition
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
zeugma · anaphora · epistrophe · tricolon · enjambment · caesura · stanza · couplet · quatrain · sonnet
foreshadowing
Hinting at later events
- flashbackInvoluntary past memory
- in medias resStarting amid events
- subplotSubordinate narrative strand
exposition · climax · denouement · cliffhanger · red herring · Chekhov's gun · unreliable narrator · stream of consciousness · point of view · narrative arc
assonance
Vowel sound repetition
- consonanceHarmonious sound combination
- onomatopoeiaSound-imitating word formation
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
meter · cadence · rhythm · prosody · euphony · cacophony · repetition · anaphora · refrain · iambic
diction
Choice of words
register · vernacular · dialect · jargon · archaic language · colloquialism · formal language · rhetorical question · apostrophe · invocation
dramatic irony
Audience-character knowledge gap
- situational ironyOutcome opposite to expectations
- verbal ironySaying one thing, meaning another
- cosmic ironyFate undermining human purpose
sarcasm · satire · paradox · understatement · overstatement · incongruity · contradiction · twist · subversion · double meaning
pun
Wordplay using double meanings
- double entendrePhrase with hidden lewdness
- malapropismSound-alike word confusion
- spoonerismAccidental sound transposition
portmanteau · neologism · oxymoron · paradox · ambiguity · innuendo · paronomasia · equivocation · irony · wit
- literary analysischaracter analysis, book review, plot, critical analysis, analysis
- rhetoricrhetoric, persuasion, oratory, argumentation, debate
- figurative languagemetaphor, simile, figure of speech, analogy, personification
- speechesspeech, addresses, historic speeches, lecture, soliloquy
- literary termsmetaphor, character analysis, symbolism, prologue, epilogue
- essay writingexpository essays, persuasive essays, descriptive essays, narrative essays, argumentative essays
literary deviceplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
natural language · vernacular · colloquial speech · everyday language · conversational language
literary devicegrammar
Language's structural rules
punctuation · syntax · mechanics · punctuation mark · orthography
literary devicedenotation
Word's explicit dictionary meaning
plain meaning · literal meaning · expository writing · bare facts
device, literature, literal, literary, literate, literacy, illiterate, illiteracy, obliteration