Literary Devices

Literary Devices are important components of writing, and include both Literary Techniques and Literary Elements. You'll find definitions, and helpful examples for many of the common elements of literary tools including figurative language like metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, personification and more. As students learn to recognize and use these creative language tools, their reading comprehension and ability to express themselves creatively through writing will dramatically improve.

Ad Hominem:
Ad Hominem What is an ad homimen? To learn more about…
Allegory:
What Is Allegory? (View all literary devices) An…
Alliteration:
Alliteration is when the same sound occurs at the…
Allusion:
What Is Allusion? (View all literary devices) An…
Anachronism:
What Is an Anachronism? The term anachronism comes from…
Anagram:
What Is Anagram? An anagram is jumbled up letters of…
Analogy:
What Is Analogy? (View all literary devices) An analogy…
Anapest:
What Is Anapest? An anapest is a unit of poetic…
Anecdote:
What Is an Anecdote? An anecdote is a brief story…
Antagonist:
What Is an Antagonist? Derived from the Greek word,…
Aphorism:
What Is Aphorism? (View all literary devices) An…
Apostrophe:
What Is Apostrophe? (View all literary devices)…
Appositive:
What Is an Appositive? An appositive is a noun…
Archetype:
What Is Archetype? (View all literary devices) An…
Aside:
What Is an Aside? An aside is a device that playwrights…
Ballad:
What Is a Ballad? Derived from the medieval French…
Bildungsroman:
What Is a Bildungsroman? The term…
Blank Verse:
What Is Blank Verse? Blank verse is verse that…
Cacophony:
What Is Cacophony? In everyday speech, cacophony is a…
Caricature:
What Is Caricature? Derived from the Italian word…
Catharsis:
What Is Catharsis? A Greek word that means cleansing,…
Characterization:
What Is Characterization? Characterization is the…
Cliche:
What Is a Cliche? A cliche is an expression or sequence…
Climax:
What is the Climax? In literature, the climax is the…
Colloquialism:
What is Colloquialism? A colloquialism is a slang or…
Conceit:
What Is Conceit? A conceit is a type of metaphor,…
Conflict:
What Is Conflict? In literature, conflict is an event,…
Connotation:
What Is Connotation? (View all literary devices) Much…
Couplet:
What Is a Couplet? Couplet comes from the French word…
Denouement:
What Is Denouement? The denouement is the point of…
Deus ex Machina:
What Is Deus ex Machina? Deus ex machina, which means…
Dialect:
What Is Dialect? Dialect is a variation of language…
Dialogue:
What Is Dialogue? Dialogue is a narrative technique in…
Diction:
What Is Diction? (View all literary devices) Diction…
Double Entendre:
What Is Double Entendre? A double entendre is a phrase…
Elegy:
What Is an Elegy? An elegy is a sad poem, usually…
Ellipsis:
What Is Ellipsis? Ellipsis derives from the Greek…
Enjambment:
What is Enjambment? Enjambment comes from a French term…
Epigraph:
What Is an Epigraph? An epigraph is a short exerpt that…
Epilogue:
What Is an Epilogue? An epilogue is the final chapter…
Euphemism:
What is a Euphemism? A euphemism is an indirect way of…
Exposition:
What Is Exposition? (View all literary devices)…
Fable:
What Is a Fable? A fable is a tale, mostly…
Farce:
What Is Farce? A farce is a comedy that revolves around…
Flashback and Flash Forward:
What Are Flashback and Flash Forward? A flashbacks…
Foil:
What Is a Foil? A foil is a character who demonstrates…
Foreshadowing:
What Is Foreshadowing? (View all literary devices)…
Free Verse:
What Is Free Verse? Free verse is poetry that has…
Haiku:
What Is a Haiku? A haiku is a form of short,…
Hyperbole:
What Is a Hyperbole? Hyperbole is the use of…
Iamb:
What Is an Iamb? An iamb is a metrical foot that…
Idiom:
What is an Idiom? An idiom is a phrase or an expression…
Imagery:
What Is Imagery? (View all literary devices) An image…
Irony:
What Is Irony? Irony occurs when there is a gap between…
Logos, Ethos, and Pathos:
What Are Logos, Ethos, and Pathos Logos, ethos,…
Metaphor:
What Is a Metaphor? What is a Metaphor? Below…
Metaphor Examples:
Metaphor is a form of figurative language that can be…
Meter:
What Is Meter? Meter is any pattern of stressed and…
Metonymy:
What is Metonymy? A metonymy is a literary device in…
Monologue:
What Is a Monologue? If you have a friend or relative…
Narrative Point of View:
What Is Narrative Point of View? (View all literary…
Non Sequitur:
What Is a Non Sequitur? The term non sequitur comes…
Onomatopoeia:
What Is Onomatopoeia? (View all literary devices)…
Oxymoron:
What Is Oxymoron? (View all literary devices) An…
Paradox:
What Is Paradox? (View all literary devices) Derived…
Parallelism:
What Is Parallelism? (View all literary devices)…
Parody:
What Is Parody? Parody is a deliberate exaggeration of…
Pastiche:
What Is Pastiche? Pastiche is any form of art that…
Pentameter:
What Is Pentameter? Pentameter is the most common form…
Persona:
What Is a Persona? A persona is an imagined…
Personification:
What is Personification? Do you need a comprehensive…
Personification Examples:
Personification is a form of figurative language that…
Plot:
What Is Plot? (View all literary devices) Plot is the…
Polysyndeton and Asydeton:
What Are Polysyndeton and Asydeton? Polysyndeton and…
Prologue:
What Is a Prologue? A prologue is an introductory…
Prose:
What is Prose? Prose is ordinary language that follows…
Protagonist:
What is a Protagonist? The protagonist is the main, or…
Pun:
What is a Pun? A pun is a play on words that takes…
Quatrain:
What Is a Quatrain? A quatrain is a stanza, or a…
Red Herring:
What Is a Red Herring? A red herring is a logical…
Refrain:
What Is Refrain? Refrain is the repetition of a key…
Rhetorical Question:
What Is a Rhetorical Question? A rhetorical question is…
Rhyme:
What Is Rhyme? If rhythm is the cadence, or beat,…
Rhythm:
What Is Rhythm? The word rhythm comes from the Greek…
Sarcasm:
What Is Sarcasm? Sarcasm is the act of saying one thing…
Satire:
What Is Satire? (View all literary devices) Satire is…
Simile:
Figurative language can be a great tool for unlocking…
Simile Examples:
Simile is a form of figurative language that can be…
Soliloquy:
What Is a Soliloquy? A soliloquy is a speech an actor…
Sonnet:
What Is a Sonnet? A sonnet is a short lyric poem…
Stanza:
What Is a Stanza? A stanza is to poetry what a…
Stream-of-Consciousness:
What Is Stream-of-Consciousness?…
Style:
What Is Style? Generally speaking, you know what style…
Syllogism:
What Is Syllogism? A syllogism is a rhetorical device…
Symbolism:
What Is Symbolism? (View all literary devices)…
Synecdoche:
What Is Synecdoche? (View all literary devices)…
Tautology:
What Is Tautology? A tautology is a way to express…
Theme:
What Is Theme? (View all literary devices) Also…
Tone:
What Is Tone? (View all literary devices) Tone is the…
Tragic Flaw:
What Is Tragic Flaw? Tragic flaw, also known as…
Transition:
What Is a Transition? A transition is the movement…
Understatement:
What Is Understatement? Understatement is…
Verisimilitude:
What Is Verisimilitude? When someone says that…
Villanelle:
What Is a Villanelle? A villanelle is a lyric poem…