Literary Devices | English Literature

What Is a Literary Device?

A Literary Device is a tool used by writers to hint at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in a story or piece of writing. There are many styles of literary devices, each serving a different purpose. Some operate at the sentence level, while others serve the piece of writing as a whole. Writers often use multiple literary devices in tandem.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Examples

"sweet birds sang"

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. ..."

"A good cook could cook as many cookies as a good"

"cook who could cook cookies."

"Black bug bit a big black bear...."

"Sheep should sleep in a shed."

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

(A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else.)

Examples
His words cut deeper than a knife. 

Words don't materialize into sharp objects. ...

I feel the stench of failure coming on. 

Failure isn't fun but it doesn't smell. ...

I'm drowning in a sea of grief. ...

I'm feeling blue. ...

She's going through a rollercoaster of emotions

Your heart is my piñata. ...

Life is a highway. ...

Love is a battlefield. ...

Each friend represents a world in us. ...

You are sunlight and I moon. ...

If music be the food of love, play on

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Examples
The suitcase weighed a ton.

I'm so angry, I could kill him!

I've asked you not to do that a thousand times.

If he doesn't call by tonight, I will absolutely die.

She's as skinny as a toothpick.

Simile

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid 

Examples

You were as brave as a lion.

They fought like cats and dogs.

He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.

This house is as clean as a whistle.

He is as strong as an ox.

Your explanation is as clear as mud.

Watching the show was like watching grass grow.

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
(a figure intended to represent an abstract quality.)

Examples

Lightning danced across the sky.

The wind howled in the night.

The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.

Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.

My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.

Repetition

literary device that involves using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech. Writers of all kinds use repetition, but it is particularly popular in oration and spoken word, where a listener's attention might be more limited.

Examples
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
"Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day!

--
, Romeo and Juliet



"And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
--Robert Frost "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"



"A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course,
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed."
--Theme Song from Mr. Ed, television show

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.

Examples

"We cannot dedicate

We cannot consecrate 

We cannot hallow—

this ground" 

-  Lincoln

“In every cry of every Man,
In every infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban”
- "London," William Blake

“I remember a piece of old wood with termites running around all over it the termite men found under our front porch.
I remember when one year in Tulsa by some freak of nature we were invaded by millions of grasshoppers for about three or four days.
I remember, downtown, whole sidewalk areas of solid grasshoppers.
I remember a shoe store with a big brown x-ray machine that showed up the bones in your feet bright green.”

Imagery

Imagery 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.

Examples

The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.

Her lips tasted as sweet as sugar.

His words felt like a dagger in my heart.

My head is pounding like a drum.

The kitten's fur is milky.

The siren turned into a whisper as it ended.

Allusion

Allusion, in literature, an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text. Most allusions are based on the assumption that there is a body of knowledge that is shared by the author and the reader and that therefore the reader will understand the author's referent.

Examples

His smile is like kryptonite to me. ...

She felt like she had a golden ticket. ...

That guy is young, scrappy, and hungry. ...

I wish I could just click my heels.

Irony

a literary device is a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality. For example, the difference between what something appears to mean versus its literal meaning. Irony is associated with both tragedy and humor.

Examples

A fire station burns down. ...

A marriage counselor files for divorce. ...

The police station gets robbed. ...

A post on Facebook complains about how useless Facebook is. ...

A traffic cop gets his license suspended because of unpaid parking tickets. ...

A pilot has a fear of heights.

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Examples 1

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is one of literature’s most famous allegories. The surface story is about a group of farm animals who rise up, kick out the humans, and try to run the farm themselves. The hidden story, however, is about the Russian Revolution, and each of the characters represents some figure from that revolution. The pigs represent Communist leaders like Stalin, Lenin, and Trotsky, the dogs represent the KGB, the humans represent capitalists, the horses represent the working class, etc.

Examples 2

Seuss wrote The Sneetches as an allegory for racism and other forms of prejudice. The story is all about creatures who are treated as inferior because they don’t have stars on their bellies. Like all Dr. Seuss stories, it’s written in a child-friendly, playful style, but it still contains an important political message.

Paradox

Paradox a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.

Examples

Save money by spending it.

If I know one thing, it's that I know nothing.

This is the beginning of the end.

Deep down, you're really shallow.

I'm a compulsive liar.

Men work together whether they work together or apart.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Examples

He has passed away.

(Euphemism for He has died.)

She is between jobs.

(She is unemployed.)

She has resigned her commission.

(She has been sacked.)

He is a little thin on top.

(He is losing his hair.)

This pre-loved sofa is for sale.

(This second-hand sofa is for sale.)

Adam, did you recycle Jack's research?

(plagiarise)

She is economical with the truth.

(a liar)

Satire

The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

 Examples

If voting changed anything, they would make it illegal.

(This uses sarcasm to undermine democracy.)

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

(This uses exaggeration to highlight the vices of politicians.)

When I was a boy, I was told that anybody could become President. Now I'm beginning to believe it.

(This uses comedy to allude that the current President has no talent.)