Literary devices are techniques that writers use to create an effect or use to better describe something. Here is a list of the most common ones.
It’s hard to remember all of the literary devices (or figures of speech). Similar to grammar rules, there are just so many of them!
Even as an English tutor, I tend to have to refer to resources (i.e. Google) to refresh my memory on the literary terms so that I can explain them to my students.
So, I understand what you go through when you have to identify them as you read a story for an assignment or have to define the terms on exams.
That’s why I decided to write this article and list out the 18 most frequently asked about literary devices; the ones that my students have asked me about the most.
And to be honest, it’s really meant to help both me and you.
Writing them out won’t just (hopefully) help me remember them, but can also be used as a resource to you too.
So, let’s get to them:
The 18 Most Asked About Literary Devices
Alliteration
Alliteration is used when a writer uses a series of words that start with the same letter or sound.
One of the most popular examples of this literary device is this legendary tongue twister:
“Peter Piper picked a pot of pickled peppers.”
(Now, for fun, try to say it three times fast.)
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is a literary device that gives non-human things, such as animals or inanimate objects, human characteristics.
Now, you may be thinking that this sounds a lot like personification (which I will talk about next).
But the key difference between the two is that with anthropomorphism, the traits are literally given to the objects or animals.
The best example of this would be some of the characters in Beauty and the Beast (Mrs. Potts the teapot, Cogsworth the clock, etc.)
Personification
Similar to the previous definition, personification is when a writer gives animals and objects human characteristics.
However, personification is only used to figuratively describe them.
For example:
- The handsome dog
- The solemn sky
- The sad garden
Colloquialism
Writers use colloquialism when they use informal or casual language. It is often used to provide context in fictional stories.
For instance, if a storyteller wanted to describe a certain small town and how its citizens behave and speak, he will use the slang terms that most of the townspeople use.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is one of the literary devices that is used by many people regularly.
Whenever anyone exaggerates to put emphasis on a statement, they’re using hyperbole.
For example, one of the most common ones that people use is:
“How have you been? I haven’t seen you in like, a million years!”
Or:
“That cake was soooo good! I ate like so much and I gained a thousand pounds.”
Soliloquy
Soliloquy occurs when a character speaks his/her thoughts out loud. The character can do this by themselves or in a crowd. But the purpose of it is for self-reflection.
You may have seen this in TV shows when a character, after doing something embarrassing, will criticize themselves.
They’ll say something like, “Oh, that was humiliating” to themselves to reflect on what they had just done and how it was received by their peers.
A famous example of a soliloquy is Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech.
Simile
A simile is used to compare things with the words “like” or “as.”
For example, “He was as hungry as a horse” is comparing a man’s hunger to a horse’s.
Another example would be: “She curses like a sailor who’s been at sea for the past month.”
Metaphor
Similar to a simile, a metaphor is also a comparison. However, metaphors do not use “like” or “as” to compare two similar things.
Here are a few popular examples that can be heard regularly:
- “[Name] is an early bird.”
- “Life is a highway.”
- “Her eyes were diamonds.”
Additionally, here’s an example from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!”
Imagery
Imagery is used when a writer creates vivid, visual descriptions in his/her writing.
A few examples of this are:
- His words felt like a dagger in my heart.
- My head is pounding like a drum.
- Yum! The house smells like a chocolate brownie.
Symbolism
Symbolism is a literary device that is often used by writers to represent concepts and ideas via objects.
For instance, a dove often signifies peace. Or a white cloth often means the act of forfeiting.
An example of symbolism from a story would be Harry’s scar in the Harry Potter series.
It is used by the author, J.K. Rowling, to symbolize his bravery.
Flashbacks
Flashbacks are a device that is used to take the reader to a moment in the past. It often happens sometime during a present-day scene.
A common method of applying flashback in TV shows is when a character thinks back to an event when they were a child or teen (or in college) after receiving some type of news.
Here’s an example of a flashback from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:
“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.”
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing occurs when a writer gives hints to something that is going to happen later on in a story.
The writer may give these hints through dialogue, symbols, character reactions, time and/or season, and settings, to name a few instances.
An example of foreshadowing can be read in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado:
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured on insult I vowed revenge”
Allegory
An allegory is a piece of literature that can be interpreted to have a hidden meaning.
Many times, the hidden message will be about morality or politics.
Examples of this literary device would be the fables The Tortoise and the Hare, The City Mouse and the Country Mouse, and The Fox and the Crow, where they are hidden lessons on morality (how someone should act to be a good person).
Juxtaposition
Authors tend to use the juxtaposition to compare and/or contrast two or more un-similar things by placing them side by side.
They can compare the shades of colours, ideas, images, and character’s personalities and behaviours, to name a few.
An example of juxtaposition would be an excerpt from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that create a sound of noise or action.
For example, words such as “buzz,” “hiss,” and “bang” are all words that imitate a sound.
Another example of this literary device can be found in multiple Rice Krispies commercials.
When the cartoon characters say, “Snap! Crackle! Pop!” at the end of each ad, they are using onomatopoeia.
Oxymoron
Oxymoron is a phrase that includes two words, written side-by-side, that oppose or contradict each other.
This is used regularly, but there are not many people who realize that what they are saying is this figure of speech.
Here are some examples (maybe you’ve used them before without knowing that they are oxymorons):
- Only choice
- Friendly fire
- Freezer burn
- Clearly confused
- Jumbo shrimp
Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that does not hold the same meaning as the words that are used in it.
That may be a little (or a lot) confusing, so here is the definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
“An expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as up in the air for “undecided”) or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way).”
Here’s another illustration of what an idiom looks like:
“Hit the hay”
When this expression is used, it doesn’t mean to literally go and hit the hay. Rather, it means “go to bed” or “go to sleep.”
Final Thoughts
As I said earlier, literary devices are hard to remember.
They can be confusing too, especially with the figures of speech that have similar purposes.
But hopefully, with these definitions and their examples, you have a better understanding of them and are able to remember them better too.
However, I did list a bunch of them. So, feel free to bookmark this post and use it as a resource.
Whenever you’re feeling iffy about a literary term, just return to the post and double-check the meaning and how it’s used.
It’ll save you time and frustration, which was one of the reasons why I made it in the first place -to help you.
So, use it.