Literary Devices

Antithesis Placing opposing ideas or words side by side, so that one illuminates the other through contrast. Repetition Returning to the same word, the same sentence or the same construction, at the beginning of successive verses or sentences (anaphora) or throughout the text, to give rhythm, emphasis or insistence. Rhetorical Question A question asked without expecting an answer, because the answer is already implied, or because what matters is the doubt it exposes. Parallelism Consecutive phrases or verses with the same construction, so that the reader compares what changes from one to the next. Simile Bringing two different things together with an explicit word, such as "como", "tal qual" or "parece". Unlike metaphor, the comparison leaves in plain view that they are two things. Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense but that, on reflection, reveals a truth. 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 of what someone planned, in a way that reveals something about the characters or 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 gains meaning with each return. Personification Giving a thing, an animal or an abstract idea actions, feelings or speech proper to a person. 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. Foreshadowing Sign, saying or image that anticipates, sometimes only for the one who rereads, something that will happen later in the work. Satire Criticism of people, customs or institutions through ridicule, exaggeration or irony. Euphemism Saying something hard, ugly or forbidden to name in a soft, indirect or disguised way.