Literary Devices

Antithesis Placing opposite ideas or words side by side, so that one illuminates the other through contrast. Metaphor Saying one thing through 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 is 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. Foreshadowing A sign, statement, or image that anticipates something that will happen later in the work, sometimes visible only to those who reread. Irony Saying one thing while meaning another, often the opposite. The true meaning is left to the reader or listener. 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 the world of the work. Soliloquy In the theater, a speech by a character alone on stage, who thinks aloud and shows the audience what he does not tell the others. Personification Giving a thing, an animal, or an abstract idea the actions, feelings, or speech of a person. Hyperbole A deliberate exaggeration that no one takes literally, used to emphasize a feeling or a situation. Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense but, on reflection, reveals a truth. Allusion A brief reference, without explanation, to a person, text, myth, or fact known outside the work, which carries with it the meaning of that other story. Aside In the theater, a brief speech that a character addresses to the audience, or to himself, without the others on stage hearing it. Repetition Returning to the same word, phrase, or construction, at the beginning of verses or consecutive 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. Apostrophe The speaker addresses someone absent or dead, a thing, a place, or an idea, as if they could hear. Parallelism Consecutive sentences or verses built the same way, so that the reader compares what changes from one to the next. Leitmotif A word, phrase, or image that returns several times throughout the work, tied to a character or an idea, and gains meaning with each return.