Literary Devices

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 it has been identified with. Antithesis Placing opposite ideas or words side by side, so that one illuminates the other through contrast. Rhetorical question A question asked without expecting an answer, because the answer is already implicit, or because what matters is the doubt it exposes. 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. Satire Criticism of people, customs or institutions through ridicule, exaggeration or irony. Irony Saying one thing while meaning another, often the opposite. The true meaning is left to the reader or listener. Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself or common sense, but which, on reflection, reveals a truth. Foreshadowing A sign, a saying or an image that anticipates, sometimes only for the rereader, something that will happen later in the work. Intrusive narrator The narrator interrupts the story to comment, judge, give an opinion or speak directly to the reader. 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. Comparison Bringing two different things together with an explicit word, such as "like", "just as" or "seems". Unlike the metaphor, the comparison makes clear that there are two things. Repetition Returning to the same word, the same sentence or the same construction, at the start of verses or consecutive sentences (anaphora) or throughout the text, to give rhythm, emphasis or insistence. Hyperbole Deliberate exaggeration, which no one takes literally, to give emphasis to a feeling or a situation. Sensory imagery Description that appeals to the senses (what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched) and makes the reader perceive the scene, not just understand it. Parallelism Consecutive sentences or verses with the same construction, so that the reader compares what changes from one to the next. Personification Giving a thing, an animal or an abstract idea actions, feelings or speech proper to a person. Oxymoron Joining two words of opposite meaning in a single short phrase, such as "sweet bitterness". Metonymy Naming a thing by another that is linked to it: the part for the whole, the object for its owner, the place for its people, the cause for the effect. Story within a story A story told, staged, or written within the work itself, which mirrors or comments on the main story. Leitmotiv A word, phrase, or image that recurs several times throughout the work, tied to a character or an idea, and gains meaning with each return.