Literary Devices

Repetition Returning to the same word, phrase or construction, at the start of successive verses or sentences (anaphora) or throughout the text, to give rhythm, emphasis or insistence. Metaphor Saying one thing through another, without a word of comparison: instead of saying that something is like another thing, one says it is. The image transfers to the subject the qualities of the thing it has been identified with. Antithesis Placing opposing ideas or words side by side, so that one illuminates the other through contrast. Rhetorical Question Question asked without expecting an answer, because the answer is already implied, or because what matters is the doubt it exposes. Leitmotif Word, phrase or image that returns several times throughout the work, tied to a character or an idea, and gains meaning with each return. Allusion Brief reference, without explanation, to a person, a text, a myth or a fact known outside the work, which carries with it the meaning of that other story. Sensory Imagery Description that appeals to the senses (what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched) and makes the reader perceive the scene, not just understand it. Simile Bringing two different things together with an explicit word, such as "like", "just as" or "seems". Unlike metaphor, comparison makes visible that they are two things. Personification Giving a thing, an animal or an abstract idea actions, feelings or speech proper to a person. Irony Saying one thing while meaning another, often the opposite. The true sense is left to whoever reads or hears. Paradox Statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense, but which, once thought through, reveals a truth. Intrusive Narrator The narrator interrupts the story to comment, judge, give an opinion or speak directly to the reader. Euphemism Saying in a soft, indirect or disguised way something harsh, ugly or forbidden to name. Parallelism Consecutive sentences or verses with the same construction, so that the reader compares what changes from one to the next.