Literary Devices

Metaphor 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. Intrusive narrator The narrator interrupts the story to comment, judge, give an opinion, or speak directly to the reader. Irony Saying one thing while meaning another, often the opposite. The true meaning is left to whoever reads or hears. Situational irony What happens is the opposite of what was expected or planned, in a way that reveals something about the characters or about the world of the work. Comparison Bringing two different things together with an explicit word, such as "like," "just as," or "seems." Unlike the metaphor, the comparison makes it clear that they are two things. Dramatic irony The reader or the audience knows something the character ignores, and so the character's words and deeds take on a meaning that he himself does not perceive. Antithesis Placing opposite ideas or words side by side, so that one lights up the other through contrast. Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense, but which, once thought over, reveals a truth. Free indirect discourse The narrator tells the story in the third person, but with the words, tone, and way of thinking of a character, without quotation marks or "he thought": the voice of the narrator and that of the character blend together. Repetition Returning to the same word, the same sentence, or the same construction, at the start of verses or of successive sentences (anaphora) or throughout the text, to give rhythm, emphasis, or insistence. Leitmotiv A word, sentence, or image that returns several times throughout the work, linked to a character or an idea, and gains meaning with each return. 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. Foreshadowing A sign, saying, or image that anticipates something that will happen later in the work, sometimes only for those who reread. Satire Criticism of people, customs, or institutions through ridicule, exaggeration, or irony. Parallelism Sentences or verses in the same construction, one after another, so that the reader compares what changes from one to the next. Apostrophe The speaker addresses someone absent or dead, a thing, a place, or an idea, as if they could hear. Sensory imagery 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.