Literary Devices

Apostrophe The speaker addresses someone absent or dead, a thing, a place or an idea, as if they could hear. Antithesis Setting opposing ideas or words side by side, so that one illuminates the other through contrast. 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 with which it has been identified. Simile Bringing two different things together with an explicit word, such as "like", "just as" or "seems". Unlike the metaphor, the simile makes it plain that they are two things. Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense, but which, once thought through, reveals a truth. Sensory Imagery A description that appeals to the senses (what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched) and makes the reader perceive the scene, not merely understand it. Allusion A 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. Repetition Returning to the same word, the same phrase or the same construction, at the beginning of verses or of successive sentences (anaphora) or throughout the text, to give rhythm, emphasis or insistence. Rhetorical Question A question asked without expecting an answer, either because the answer is already implied, or because what matters is the doubt it exposes. 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 the reader or listener. Euphemism Saying something hard, ugly or forbidden to name in a gentle, indirect or disguised way. Story Within a Story A story told, staged or written within the work itself, which mirrors or comments on the main story. 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. Oxymoron Joining in a single short expression two words of opposite meaning, such as "sweet bitterness". Satire Criticism of people, customs or institutions through ridicule, exaggeration or irony. Parallelism Consecutive sentences or verses with the same construction, so that the reader compares what changes from one to the next.