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Concise definitions, usage tips, and lots of examples for 136 literary devices and terms.
- read full acrostic explanation with examples
Acrostic Examples. In the examples below, the letters that...
- read full allegory explanation with examples
Allegory Examples Allegory in Literature. Allegory is one of...
- read full alliteration explanation with examples
Alliteration Definition. What is alliteration? Here’s a...
- read full allusion explanation with examples
The use of allusion is widespread—in literature, in other...
- read full anachronism explanation with examples
Anachronism Examples. Because writers don't always have...
- read full anadiplosis explanation with examples
Anadiplosis Examples in the Bible. The Bible is brimming...
- read full analogy explanation with examples
Sources vary in how they define the relationship between...
- read full anapest explanation with examples
Here’s a quick and simple definition: An anapest is a...
- read full acrostic explanation with examples
- What Are Literary devices?
- Literary Devices List: 14 Common Literary Devices
- 16–27. Common Literary Devices in Poetry
- 28–37. Common Literary Devices in Prose
- 38–48. Repetition Literary Devices
- 49–57. Dialogue Literary Devices
- 58–67. Word Play Literary Devices
- 68–72. Parallelism Literary Devices
- 73–112. Rhetorical Devices
- Master These Common Literary Devices with Writers.Com!
Literary devices are ways of taking writing beyond its straightforward, literal meaning. In that sense, they are techniques for helping guide the reader in how to read the piece. Central to all literary devices is a quality of connection: by establishing or examining relationships between things, literary devices encourage the reader to perceive an...
There are a lot of literary devices to cover, each of which require their own examples and analysis. As such, we will start by focusing on common literary devices for this article: literary devices that can be found in both poetry and prose. With each device, we’ve included examples in literature and exercises you can use in your own creative writi...
The following 12 devices apply to both poetry and prose writers, but they appear most often in verse. Learn more about: 1. Anaphora 2. Conceit 3. Apostrophe 4. Metonymy/Synecdoche 5. Enjambment 6. Zeugma 7. Repetition 8. Rhyme 9. Alliteration 10. Consonance/Assonance 11. Euphony/Cacophony 12. Meter
The following 10 devices show up in verse, but are far more prevalent in prose. Learn more about: 1. Parallel Plot 2. Foil 3. Diction 4. Mood 5. Foreshadowing 6. In Media Res 7. Dramatic Irony 8. Vignette 9. Flashback 10. Soliloquy
Though they have uncommon names, these common literary devices are all forms of repetition. 1. Anadiplosis 2. Anaphora (prose) 3. Antanaclasis 4. Antimetabole 5. Antistrophe 6. Chiasmus 7. Epanalepsis 8. Epimone 9. Epizeuxis 10. Polyptoton 11. Symploce
While these literary elements pertain primarily to dialogue, writers use euphemisms, idioms, and neologisms all the time in their work. 1. Colloquialism 2. Vernacular 3. Dialect 4. Slang 5. Jargon 6. Idiom 7. Euphemism 8. Proverb 9. Neologism
The following literary devices push language to the limits. Have fun with these! 1. Anthimeria 2. Double Entendre 3. Kenning 4. Malapropism 5. Metalepsis 6. Oxymoron 7. Palindrome 8. Paraprosdokian 9. Portmanteau 10. Spoonerism
Parallelism is a stylistic device where a sentence is composed of equally weighted items. In essence, parallel structure allows form to echo content. Learn all about this essential stylistic literary device below. 1. Grammatical parallelism 2. Rhetorical parallelism 3. Synthetic parallelism 4. Antithetical parallelism 5. Synonymous parallelism
Rhetorical devices are literary devices intended to persuade the reader of something. You might have heard of ethos, pathos, and logos, but do you know your aposiopesis from your hyperbaton? Many literary devices can also be considered rhetorical devices. After all, a metaphor can convince you of something just as well as a syllogism. Nonetheless, ...
The instructors at Writers.com are masters of literary devices. Through masterful instruction and personal expertise, our instructors can help you add, refine, and improve your literary devices, helping you craft great works of literature. Check out our upcoming courses, and join our writing community on Facebook!
- Allegory. An allegory is a story that is used to represent a more general message about real-life (historical) issues and/or events. It is typically an entire book, novel, play, etc.
- Alliteration. Alliteration is a series of words or phrases that all (or almost all) start with the same sound. These sounds are typically consonants to give more stress to that syllable.
- Allusion. Allusion is when an author makes an indirect reference to a figure, place, event, or idea originating from outside the text. Many allusions make reference to previous works of literature or art.
- Anachronism. An anachronism occurs when there is an (intentional) error in the chronology or timeline of a text. This could be a character who appears in a different time period than when he actually lived, or a technology that appears before it was invented.
- Definition of Metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two non-similar things. As a literary device, metaphor creates implicit comparisons without the express use of “like” or “as.”
- Common Examples of Metaphor. There are many common examples of metaphors in everyday conversation and writing. Here are some well-known uses of this figure of speech
- Examples of Metaphor in Movie Lines. Some of the most well-known lines in movies feature metaphors. Here are some memorable movie lines that showcase metaphor as an effective device
- Famous Examples of Metaphor. Metaphor is also found in many famous examples of poetry, prose, drama, lyrics, and even clever quotations. Here are some famous examples of metaphor
Literary terms refer to the technique, style, and formatting used by writers and speakers to masterfully emphasize, embellish, or strengthen their compositions
Find definitions of literary terms like metaphor, simile, irony, satire, plot, allegory, motif and literary devices used in poetry in the SparkNotes glossary.
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