Literary Devices

Soliloquy In the theater, a speech by a character alone on stage, who thinks aloud and shows the audience what he does not say to the others. Metaphor Saying one thing by means of another, without a word of comparison: instead of saying that something is like another thing, one says that it is. The image transfers to the subject the qualities of the thing it is identified with. Antithesis Placing opposed ideas or words side by side, so that one illuminates the other through contrast. Allusion Brief reference, with no explanation, to a person, a text, a myth or a fact known outside the work, which brings with it the meaning of that other story. Rhetorical question A question asked without expecting an answer, because the answer is already implied, or because what matters is the doubt it exposes. Rhyming couplet In verse drama, two consecutive lines that rhyme with each other, usually at the end of a scene or of a speech, like a closing that is fixed in memory. Dramatic irony The reader or the audience knows something that the character ignores, so the character’s words and acts take on a meaning that he himself does not perceive. Situational irony What happens is the opposite of what was expected, or of what someone planned, in a way that reveals something about the characters or about the world of the work. Leitmotif A word, phrase or image that returns several times throughout the work, tied to a character or an idea, and gaining meaning with each return. Hyperbole Deliberate exaggeration, which no one takes literally, to give emphasis to a feeling or a situation. Irony To say one thing while meaning another, often the opposite. The true meaning is left to whoever reads or hears. Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense, but which, once thought through, reveals a truth. Foreshadowing A sign, statement or image that anticipates, sometimes only for those who reread, something that will happen later in the work. Repetition Returning to the same word, the same phrase or the same construction, at the beginning of consecutive verses or sentences (anaphora) or throughout the text, to give rhythm, emphasis or insistence. Sensory imagery Description that appeals to the senses (what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched) and makes the reader perceive the scene, not only understand it. Euphemism Saying in a soft, indirect or disguised way something harsh, ugly or forbidden to name. Story within a story A story told, staged or written within the work itself, which mirrors or comments on the main story.