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Example: One of the most famous literary examples of juxtaposition is the opening passage from Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities: "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, it was the spring of hope ...
- What Are Literary devices?
- Literary Devices List: 14 Common Literary Devices
- 16–27. Common Literary Devices in Poetry
- 28–37. Common Literary Devices in Prose
- 38–48. Repetition Literary Devices
- 49–57. Dialogue Literary Devices
- 58–67. Word Play Literary Devices
- 68–72. Parallelism Literary Devices
- 73–112. Rhetorical Devices
- Master These Common Literary Devices with Writers.Com!
Literary devices are ways of taking writing beyond its straightforward, literal meaning. In that sense, they are techniques for helping guide the reader in how to read the piece. Central to all literary devices is a quality of connection: by establishing or examining relationships between things, literary devices encourage the reader to perceive an...
There are a lot of literary devices to cover, each of which require their own examples and analysis. As such, we will start by focusing on common literary devices for this article: literary devices that can be found in both poetry and prose. With each device, we’ve included examples in literature and exercises you can use in your own creative writi...
The following 12 devices apply to both poetry and prose writers, but they appear most often in verse. Learn more about: 1. Anaphora 2. Conceit 3. Apostrophe 4. Metonymy/Synecdoche 5. Enjambment 6. Zeugma 7. Repetition 8. Rhyme 9. Alliteration 10. Consonance/Assonance 11. Euphony/Cacophony 12. Meter
The following 10 devices show up in verse, but are far more prevalent in prose. Learn more about: 1. Parallel Plot 2. Foil 3. Diction 4. Mood 5. Foreshadowing 6. In Media Res 7. Dramatic Irony 8. Vignette 9. Flashback 10. Soliloquy
Though they have uncommon names, these common literary devices are all forms of repetition. 1. Anadiplosis 2. Anaphora (prose) 3. Antanaclasis 4. Antimetabole 5. Antistrophe 6. Chiasmus 7. Epanalepsis 8. Epimone 9. Epizeuxis 10. Polyptoton 11. Symploce
While these literary elements pertain primarily to dialogue, writers use euphemisms, idioms, and neologisms all the time in their work. 1. Colloquialism 2. Vernacular 3. Dialect 4. Slang 5. Jargon 6. Idiom 7. Euphemism 8. Proverb 9. Neologism
The following literary devices push language to the limits. Have fun with these! 1. Anthimeria 2. Double Entendre 3. Kenning 4. Malapropism 5. Metalepsis 6. Oxymoron 7. Palindrome 8. Paraprosdokian 9. Portmanteau 10. Spoonerism
Parallelism is a stylistic device where a sentence is composed of equally weighted items. In essence, parallel structure allows form to echo content. Learn all about this essential stylistic literary device below. 1. Grammatical parallelism 2. Rhetorical parallelism 3. Synthetic parallelism 4. Antithetical parallelism 5. Synonymous parallelism
Rhetorical devices are literary devices intended to persuade the reader of something. You might have heard of ethos, pathos, and logos, but do you know your aposiopesis from your hyperbaton? Many literary devices can also be considered rhetorical devices. After all, a metaphor can convince you of something just as well as a syllogism. Nonetheless, ...
The instructors at Writers.com are masters of literary devices. Through masterful instruction and personal expertise, our instructors can help you add, refine, and improve your literary devices, helping you craft great works of literature. Check out our upcoming courses, and join our writing community on Facebook!
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What are some examples of literary devices?
- Allegory. Allegories are narratives that represent something else entirely, like a historical event or significant ideology, to illustrate a deeper meaning.
- Alliteration. Alliteration is the literary technique of using a sequence of words that begin with the same letter or sound for a poetic or whimsical effect.
- Allusion. An allusion is an indirect reference to another figure, event, place, or work of art that exists outside the story. Allusions are made to famous subjects so that they don’t need explanation—the reader should already understand the reference.
- Amplification. Amplification is the technique of embellishing a simple sentence with more details to increase its significance. Example: “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.
Example: Veni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) 11. Litotes. Litotes (pronounced lie-toe-teez) is the signature literary device of the double negative. Writers use litotes to express certain sentiments through their opposites, by saying that that opposite is not the case.
- What are literary devices?Literary devices are techniques that writers use to express their ideas and enhance their writing. Literary devices highlight important concepts in...
- 10 of the most common literary devices1. Simile 2. Metaphor 3. Imagery 4. Symbolism 5. Flashbacks 6. Foreshadowing 7. Motif 8. Allegory 9. Juxtaposition 10. Point of view
- What is an Allegory?An allegory is a type of narrative that uses characters and plot to depict abstract ideas and themes. In an allegorical story, things represent mor...
- What is Alliteration?Alliteration describes a series of words in quick succession that all start with the same letter or sound. It lends a pleasing cadence to prose and...
- What is Allusion?An allusion is a passing or indirect descriptive reference to something. You probably allude to things all the time in everyday speech, without eve...
- What is an Anachronism?Anachronism is when something happens or is attributed to a different era than when it actually existed. This is usually a mistake, such as an auth...
- What is Anaphora?Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a series of clauses or sentences. It’s often seen in poetry and speeches, intend...
- What is Anastrophe?Anastrophe is a figure of speech wherein the traditional sentence structure is reversed. So a typical verb-subject-adjective sentence such as “Are...
- What is Anthropomorphism?To anthropomorphize is to apply human traits or qualities to a non-human thing such as objects, animals, or the weather. But unlike personification...
- What is an Aphorism?An aphorism is a universally accepted truth stated in a concise, to-the-point way. Aphorisms are typically witty and memorable, often becoming adag...
- Language features. When analysing language you must show that you are aware of how it is written. This means identifying the language features used, and explaining their effect.
- Alliteration. This is where consecutive words begin with the same letter and, more importantly, the same sound. An example is The rifles rapid rattle. The repetition of the 'r' sound echoes the sound of machine guns being fired.
- Allusion. An allusion is an indirect reference to a person, place, historical event or another literary work. For example, if you call someone who helps others a Good Samiritan you are alluding to the Parable of the Good Samaritan from the Bible.
- Hyperbole. Hyperbole is the deliberate use of exaggeration to emphasise a point. For example I'm giving it two hundred per cent obviously isn't possible but the fact that it is impossible emphasises how much effort someone is willing to make.
30 Common Literary Devices. 1. Alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds within a group of words. For example, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”. Nonfiction Authors can use alliteration to create catchy chapter or subsection titles. For example, “4 Best Bets for Better Business.”.
Technique: Examples: Simile - compares one thing with another using 'as' or 'like'.: The trees stood as tall as towers.: Metaphor - uses an image or idea to represent something else.: The circus ...
