literary devices test

• Literary Terms

Literary Device Quiz

• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Literary Devices

1. All ____ are _____.

a. Rhetorical devices…literary devices

b. Literary devices…rhetorical devices

c. Both A and B

d. Neither A nor B

2. Literary devices are used in…

b. Nonfiction

d. All of the above

3. Literature means…

a. Great writing

b. Anything fictional

c. Anything written for artistic purposes

d. Any written material

4. Literary devices apply to…

a. Individual words and short phrases

b. Whole sentences and long phrases

c. The entire structure of a piece

d. Any of the above

List of Terms

• Alliteration
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• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
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A Masterpiece, This Quiz On Literary Devices Is.

• to compare two unlike things in a humorous way
• to persuade the reader to accept the author’s point of view
• to denounce or deride the folly or corruption of institutions, people, or social structures

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16 Essential Literary Devices to Know

Bonus Material: Literary Devices Summary Sheet + Identification Quiz

Do you know the difference between a simile and a metaphor? Can you spot personification when it’s being used out in the wild?

If you’re a student in an English class , if you’re taking a test like the SAT or the ACT or the AP English Language or the AP English Literature exams, or if you’re writing college application essays , you’re going to need to know some literary devices!

Our students have used knowledge of these literary devices to write amazing college essays that helped get them into their dream schools.

Knowing their literary devices has also helped our students achieve great scores on the SAT, ACT, and AP tests.

However, there are a lot of literary devices out there. Literally hundreds. How do you tell which ones you actually need to know?

We’ve used our many years of experience teaching high school and college students to narrow down the list to the 16 most essential literary devices. 

These are the ones that you’ll actually be expected to know on important exams or in your English classes. They’re also the most useful literary devices to make your college application essays really ✨ sparkle ✨ . 

Think you know your literary devices? Try our quiz and see how many you can correctly identify in context!

Then keep reading for explanations and examples of all 16 essential literary devices. No offense to Shakespeare and Dickens, but we took all of our examples from the best books out there today for young adults, the ones you’re actually reading 😉.

Download a definition of each term with our one-page summary sheet to use as a study guide!

This post will cover:

What is a literary device?

Why you need to know these literary devices, personification, foreshadowing, rhetorical question, satire (and sarcasm), alliteration, onomatopoeia, parallel structure.

• FYI: The books we used

Download now: literary devices summary sheet + identification quiz

A literary device is any technique that an author uses to achieve their purpose.

These techniques help authors describe things in more detail, cause a more emotional reaction for readers, convey their ideas with more precision, add additional layers of meaning, and so on.

Over the centuries, we’ve developed a set of terms that help define these different techniques.

You may also hear people refer to rhetorical devices . These are largely the same thing! 

People often use “literary device” to refer to terms that are more decorative and artistic, whereas “rhetorical device” is used to describe techniques that make writing more persuasive. The term “poetic device” is used to describe these techniques when talking about poetry.

In practice, though, these three terms are more or less the same!

Download literary devices summary sheet + quiz

These 16 literary devices are essential knowledge for the SAT or ACT . 

They’re even more important for the AP English Literature and AP English Language tests. 

And your instructors in high school and college English classes will expect you to know them and be able to use them to analyze different pieces of literature. 

What’s more, knowledge of these literary devices will help you immensely as you write your college application essays , along with any other type of creative or personal writing. 

Using devices like metaphors, alliteration, and parallel structure helps you to set your writing apart and raise it to the next level. This is especially important if you’re applying to a competitive school!

The 16 essential literary devices:

Probably the most famous and commonly-used literary device is the simile . A simile uses the words “like” or “as” to compare two unrelated things. Don’t confuse similes with metaphors !

(The word “simile” comes from the same root as the word “similar”—so essentially we’re saying two things are similar.)

Similes are powerful tools that allow authors to show us a new way of looking at the world. 

“He gets up slowly like he is a very old toy running out of batteries .” — Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird

“There are moments that I feel like I might suffocate, as if all my insides are tied into a tight little ball. ” — Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

“Now I was alone, leaving the smaller cities that had winked out long ago like Christmas lights on a faulty wire .” — Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves

“Her words fell in between the sheets of rain like downed planes: defeated, useless .” — Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves

“There are lemons, grapes, strawberries, and the brightest mangoes I’ve ever seen. They look like miniature suns .” — Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After

“Call me tonight, okay? If you go into the prom court kickoff meeting tomorrow without me prepping you on what to expect, it’ll be like seasoning yourself and stepping directly into a lion’s mouth .” — Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown

Think you can identify a simile? Try our 55-question literary devices quiz!

Often confused with similes , metaphors are direct comparisons. Whereas similes say that two things are similar to each other, metaphors just go for it and flat out claim that a person, place, or thing is something else. Metaphors do not use the words “like” or “as.”

Check out the difference:

Simile: The bad news was like a slap to the face.

Metaphor: The bad news was a slap to the face.

These two sentences are almost identical. But where the simile version compares the news to a slap indirectly, the metaphor version says that the news actually was a slap. The reader has to suspend their disbelief here, because of course the news didn’t actually involve any physical slapping.

“Night is a starlit blanket outside , and the cold air reaches my bones .” — Ibi Zoboi, American Street

“These, the regular injections of poison I was gifted from strangers , were definitely the worst things about wearing a headscarf. But the best thing about it was that my teachers couldn’t see me listening to music.” — Tahereh Mafi, A Very Large Expanse of Sea

“Mas has had to grow up fast these past two years. He tries to be like Dad and keep me and Shig out of trouble, especially now, except Dad was made of warm, soft pine instead of stone .” — Traci Chee, We Are Not Free

Extended metaphors take the same idea and develop it over more sentences. Sometimes an extended metaphor can last for an entire essay or entire chapter! This can be a beautiful and impactful technique when executed well. 

“To call Linda and Mark Mom and Dad on purpose would mean that Joaquin’s heart would form into something much more fragile, something impossible to put back together if it broke , and he could not—would not—do that to himself again. He still hadn’t managed to pick up all the pieces after last time , and one or two holes remained in his heart, letting the cold air in .” — Robin Benway, The Far From the Tree

Practice distinguishing between similes and metaphors with our 55-question quiz on identifying literary devices .

Personification is what it sounds like—it means giving human attributes to an animal, place, or thing.

Another related term is anthropomorphism , which is when an animal or thing behaves in a human-like way.

A slight variation on this term is zoomorphism , which is when you assign traits from an animal to a person or thing.

“Manman will not go quietly. She will fight with her claws to get to me.” — Ibi Zoboi, American Street

Personification is often accomplished either with a simile or a metaphor , because you’re describing a thing as something else. It’s an effective way of creating a sense of empathy in the reader. 

“The summer is made for stoop-sitting And since it’s the last week before school starts, Harlem is opening its eyes to September .” — Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“There are no mansions or big buildings here. The small houses are so close together, they might as well be holding hands .” — Ibi Zoboi, American Street

“When the animals and the wildflowers were gone from the brush field, the men of the town took their axes and hammers and mallets to the base of the water tower, until it fell like a tree. It arced toward the ground, its fall slow, as though it were leaning forward to touch its own shadow .” — Anna-Marie McLemore, When the Moon Was Ours

Imagery is a great catch-all term. Imagery means using descriptive and figurative language to paint a mental picture of something.

Similes , metaphors , and personification are all types of imagery. At times authors might combine all of these techniques at once!

“The stars began to rip through the hard skin of dark [metaphor] like the sharp points of silver needles through velvet [simile].” — Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves

Imagery can also include a particularly detailed description. Strong imagery might include multiple sensory elements: sight, sound, smell, taste, feel. Combining all of these elements creates vivid, immersive writing. 

Life-hack for English class and literary analysis: if you’re not sure what to call it, or if it seems to fit multiple categories…call it imagery! It might not be the most specific term to use, but it won’t be wrong. 😉

“The words sit in my belly, and I use my nerves like a pulley to lift them out of my mouth.” — Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“Joaquin always liked early mornings best. He liked the pink sky that slowly turned yellow and then blue on clear mornings. When it wasn’t clear, he liked the fog that folded into the city like a blanket, curling itself over the hills and freeways, so thick that sometimes Joaquin could touch it.” — Robin Benway, The Far From the Tree

“Deborah Howard steps closer to me. At first she smells of her freshly ironed uniform, but then I smell the faint scent of cigarettes and oily food lingering behind her starchy presence.” — Ibi Zoboi, American Street

“It was the end of August, all volatile heat and the occasional breeze. I was surrounded by starched backpacks and stiff denim and kids who smelled like fresh plastic. They seemed happy.” — Nina LaCour, We Are Okay

“And although our names do have similar letters, mine is full of silverware-sharp sounds: E-Mah-Nee . Hers is soft, rolls off the tongue like a half-dreamed murmur.” — Elizabeth Acevedo, With the Fire on High

“They had been in the same classes together for years, but it was as if they had been figurines in an automated diorama, moving on mechanical tracks that approached each other but never intersected until now. Today they had broken free from those prescribed grooves, and Lily was acutely aware of the unprecedented nature of their new friendliness.” — Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club

For a one-page summary of all 16 essential literary devices, download our guide and practice quiz .

An allusion is a brief and indirect reference to literature, history, or cultural figures with which the reader would be familiar. 

In the mid 2000s, the show Gilmore Girls was famous for packing every scene with countless allusions to literature, movies, history, and popular culture. 

In Western literature, allusions to the Bible, Homer ( The Iliad and The Odyssey ), and Virgil ( The Aeneid ) are especially common.

“I didn’t know things could get any worse at home, but apparently they can. The apartment feels like the play The House of Bernarda Alba , but much less interesting. Just like the crazy and grieving mother , Amá keeps all the blinds and curtains drawn, which makes our cramped apartment even more stuffy and depressing.” — Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

“Suddenly I’m Eve in the Garden after she ate the fruit —it’s like I realize I’m naked. I’m by myself at a party I’m not even supposed to be at, where I barely know anybody.” — Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give

“I could scroll through Twitter until my vision blurs and then collapse on my bed like an Oscar Wilde character .” — Nina LaCour, We Are Okay

“We dressed pretty much the way we always are: even though it’s summer, Ezra wears a black T-shirt, sleeves rolled up to his shoulders to show off his Klimt tattoo of Judith I and the Head of Holofernes . He has on tight black jeans that’re cut off a few inches too high above his ankles, stained white Converses, and long socks with portraits of Andy Warhol .” — Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After

“Babygirl nods as if I just gave her the most serious Jada Pinkett Smith success speech . I hug her to my stomach, making sure not to nuzzle her too tight and fuzz up the braids I spent an hour doing.” — Elizabeth Acevedo, With the Fire on High

“With clearly practiced finesse, Rachel runs forward, leaps into his arms, and is lifted above the crowd in the cafeteria. She looks less like Baby and more like Simba looking over the Pride Lands if you ask me, but whatever.” — Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown

“ Smaug , the Irrepressibly Finicky, was our industrial-strength water boiler. I named it Smaug my first week on the job, when I got scalded three times in a single shift, but so far the name hadn’t stuck with anyone else at Tea Haven.” — Adib Khorram, Darius the Great is Not Okay

Foreshadowing refers to when the author hints at upcoming events in the narrative, either explicitly or through imagery or allusion. It can often create a sense of foreboding and suspense.

“It looks like a one-winged bird crouching in the corner of our living room. Hurt. Trying to fly every time the heat pump turns on with a click and a groan and blows cold air onto the sheet and lifts it up and it flutters for just a moment and then falls down again. Still. Dead.” — Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird

“I would give anything to go back to the day she died and do things differently. I think of all the ways I could have kept Olga from getting on that bus.” — Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

“You asked for a story, so here it is. I’ll begin with the night the sluggers told me the world was toast, and when I’m finished, we can wait for the end together.” — Shaun David Hutchinson, We Are the Ants

Loosing track of the differences between these essential literary devices? Download our one-page summary sheet .

A rhetorical question is a question for which the speaker doesn’t actually expect an answer, usually where the answer is supposed to be obvious.

A very specific type of rhetorical question is hypophora , which refers to when someone asks a question and then immediately answers it themself.

“Would it kill you to be home before eight o’clock at night? Really? Would it? Oh, well, remind me again who wanted to redo the kitchen? Do you think that just pays for itself?” — Robin Benway, Far from the Tree

Verbal irony is when the words are the opposite of what they mean. It’s similar to sarcasm , but sarcasm is intended to be critical and negative, whereas verbal irony is much broader and can be more neutral. 

One example of verbal irony would be the character Little John in the DIsney Robin Hood film—Little John isn’t “little” at all, as he’s actually larger than all the other characters! 

“Ms. Fuentes looks up from the classroom window shades to see me staring at her inspirational sign. ‘Ms. Santiago, how was your summer?’ she says as she adjusts the shades so they let in more light. I shrug. ‘Good. Got a job. Yours?’ Ms. Fuentes stops mid-shade-fussing to side-eye me. ‘ You’re always so loquacious. It’s refreshing to have a student who believes in something other than monosyllables .’ But she’s smiling. She’s never said it, but I know I’m one of her favorites.” — Elizabeth Acevedo, With the Fire on High

Situational irony is when readers expect a certain outcome, but the opposite occurs. An example of situational irony would be if the firehouse burns down.

Dramatic irony is when the readers know more about what’s going on in the story than the characters do—so the readers interpret events differently than do the characters. An example of dramatic irony is at the beginning of the film Titanic, when the audience knows the ship will sink but the characters do not.

“What is it like to even love someone at all? My name is Felix Love, but I’ve never actually been in love. I don’t know.” — Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After

Like hyperbole , sarcasm is a literary device that many of us use on a daily basis: using words that clearly mean the opposite of what they say, made in order to hurt someone’s feelings, express irritation, or to criticize something in a humorous way.

“I looked around his messy room. ‘ I can see that you really like to take care of things .’ He didn’t get mad. He laughed. He handed me a book. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘You can read this while I clean my room.’ ‘Maybe I should just, you know, leave you—’ I stopped. My eyes searched the messy room. ‘It’s a little scary in here.’” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Satire is kind of like sarcasm but on a larger scale. It’s usually used to describe a work as a whole that criticizes or makes fun of some element of human society.

The book The Marrow Thieves could be interpreted as a satire about racism and colonialism in our current world. It describes a dystopia set in a near-future North America, where indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, the only way that the rest of the population are able to regain something they’ve lost—the ability to dream.

Hyperbole is a literary device that many of us (at least those of us who are more dramatic!) use frequently in our everyday lives.

It’s an exaggeration or grandiose claim that’s not intended to be interpreted literally. It’s a great way to inject a little creativity or humor into your writing, especially if you avoid cliches like “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” 

“Always is their thing. They’ll always love each other and whatever. I would conservatively estimate they have texted each other the word always four million times in the last year.” — John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“The nice thing about having an overachieving ***hole for an older brother is that it takes the pressure off. Charlie has always been good enough for two sons. Now that he’s not so perfect after all, the pressure’s on me. Here’s a conversation I’ve had 1.3 billion (give or take) times since he’s been home: Mom: Your grades still okay? Me: Yup. Mom: Biology? Me: Yup…” — Nicola Yoon, The Sun is Also a Star

See if you can find more examples of hyperbole on our practice quiz !

Like imagery , diction is another great catch-all term. Diction refers to the author’s word choice , which can include the tone (formal, informal, humorous, sarcastic, etc.), words with specific meanings or etymologies, repetition, onomatopoeia, and so on.

Whereas imagery is a broad term for the ideas or content being conveyed, diction is a broad term for how the author is conveying them. 

Use the term diction when you want to describe the author’s striking word choice more generally—if you’re not sure what narrower literary devices are being used, or if you want to refer to a mix of literary devices.

“Two and a half more years until I could get free from this panopticon they called high school, these monsters they called people I was desperate to escape the institution of idiots. I wanted to go to college, make my own life. I just had to survive until then.” — Tahereh Mafi, A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Rhyme is a literary device familiar to all of us from nursery rhymes and children’s books: words with endings that have corresponding sounds. However, rhyme has also been used in complicated ways in lots of adult literature from Shakespeare to Hamilton.

There are many specific terms used to describe different types of rhyme schemes. When working with rhyme, you might encounter words like couplet, quatrains, sonnets, and internal rhyme.

Rhyme is most common in poetic and theatrical works, but a careful reader can sometimes spot it sneaking into prose works as well!

“Josh Bell is my name . but Filthy McNasty is my claim to fame . Folks call me that ‘cause my game’s acclaimed , so downright dirty, it’ll put you to shame . My hair is long, my height’s tall . See, I’m the next Kevin Durant, LeBron, and Chris Paul .” — Kwame Alexander, The Crossover

“I didn’t know it would be this many people. Girls wear their hair colored, curled, laid , and slayed . Got me feeling basic as hell with my ponytail.” — Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give

Related to rhyme is the term meter , which refers to the rhythm of the words. Some poetic traditions are metered rather than rhyming, and some types of poetry will combine both meter and rhyme. Some terms that are associated with meter are caesura, dactyl, spondee, elision, iamb, pentameter, and hexameter .

Alliteration refers to when a series of neighboring or linked words begins with the same letter or sound. Writers are especially fond of alliteration in titles and poetry, but you’ll find it used to create emphasis in prose as well.

Assonance is a close cousin of alliteration. It’s when the internal vowel sounds of a word repeat.

So alliteration is repetition of initial consonant sounds, assonance is repetition of internal vowel sounds, and rhyme is repetition of end sounds. 

“The summer is made for stoop-sitting And since it’s the last week before school starts , Harlem is opening its eyes to September .” — Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X

“He was funny and focused and fierce .” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Alliteration is often the secret sauce that makes something sound good without us realizing why! See if you can spot all of the examples of alliteration on our practice quiz .

This term has a long name, but it’s quite a simple concept: onomatopoeia refers to words that sound like the noise they describe.

This literary device is especially common in children’s books and poetry. It creates vivid, fun writing with lots of drama.

Not all words used as onomatopoeia will be in the dictionary! Feel free to make up your own words to convey the sound you’re describing.

“Our color printer clicks and whirrs .” — Nina LaCour, We Are Okay

“ BOOM-BOOM-boom-BOOM . The drums.” — Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes

When used deliberately, repetition can create powerful effects. Repetition can be of individual words, phrases, or even entire sentences. Sometimes the meaning might change with each repetition, or the repetition could be used for emphasis.

“In my white room, against my white walls, on my glistening white bookshelves, book spines provide the only color.” — Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything

“It’s so hard to say, Shawn’s dead. Shawns’s dead. Shawn’s dead. So strange to say. So sad. But I guess not surprising, which I guess is even stranger, and even sadder.” — Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down

“I open the fridge to find bottles of soda and ketchup and hot sauce and mayonnaise and bread and eggs and too many plastic containers. In the freezer are boxes of pizza and waffles and frozen meat wrapped in plastic…I grab a slice of orange cheese wrapped in plastic.” — Ibi Zoboi, American Street

One specific type of repetition is anaphora , which is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence. It’s especially common in speeches (think Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech).

For a one-page review of all 16 essential literary devices, download our summary sheet .

Parallel structure or parallelism is the repetition of a grammatical structure. It’s a great way to enhance clarity in your writing, but it can also be used for great dramatic effect.

We have more precise terms for specific types of parallelism. Isocolon refers to when phrases match exactly in structure, length, and rhythm. Antithesis refers to when the things placed in the parallel structure are complete opposites of each other.

Syndeton is when multiple conjunctions (words like “and” or “or”) are used in a row. Asyndeton is the opposite—when conjunctions aren’t used where you might expect them, and ideas are in separate sentences or joined by commas.

This poem is a great example of parallelism , specifically syndeton :

“I don’t know you, don’t know your last name, if you got brothers or sisters or mothers or fathers or cousins that be like brothers and sisters or aunties or uncles that be like mothers and fathers…” — Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down

“I find the blog of a woman named Josephine who explains the healing properties of gemstones and how to use them. I find images of pyrite (for protection), hematite (for grounding), jade (for serenity).” — Nina LaCour, We Are Okay

Now that you’re read these definitions of the 16 most essential literary devices, test your knowledge with our quiz .

We’ve also included a handy one-page definition sheet to use as a study guide! Make sure that you know what each of these terms means and that you can recognize it in context.

If you’re working on writing your college application essays, try and incorporate a few of these literary devices into your writing!

If you’re interested in customized one-on-one tutoring support for the SATs , ACTs , APs , or your high school and college classes , please feel free to reach out to us. Our expert tutors are Ivy-League grads and students who can help you understand these literary devices. 

If you’re looking for help drafting and polishing your college essays or other writing assignments , our top-tier tutors can also help guide you through the writing process.

The books we used

We drew on our team members’ professional experience as librarians and in the publishing industry to curate a list of the best YA books of the past decade.

All of these books have won prestigious awards like the National Book Award for Young Adult Literature and are listed among “ TIME’s Best YA Books of All Time .” They’re national bestsellers that have captured the hearts of this generation. Many have also been adapted for film or for television.

If you’re looking for new books to read, check these out!

• Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X (2018 National Book Award for YA winner)
• Elizabeth Acevedo, With the Fire On High
• Kwame Alexander, The Crossover
• Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows
• Robin Benway, Far From the Tree (2017 National Book Award for YA winner)
• Angeline Boulley, Firekeeper’s Daughter
• Kacen Callender, Felix Ever After
• Kacen Callender, King and the Dragonflies (2020 National Book Award for YA winner)
• Traci Chee, We Are Not Free
• Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves
• Akwaeke Emezi, Pet
• Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird (2010 National Book Award for YA winner)
• John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
• Shaun David Hutchinson, We Are the Ants
• Adiba Jaigirdar, The Henna Wars
• Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown
• Cynthia Kadohata, The Thing About Luck (2013 National Book Award for YA winner)
• Adib Khorram, Darius the Great is Not Okay
• Nina LaCour, We Are Okay
• Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021 National Book Award for YA winner)
• Tahereh Mafi, A Very Large Expanse of Sea
• Anna-Marie McLemore, When the Moon Was Ours
• Sandhya Menon, When Dimple Met Rishi
• Jandy Nelson, I’ll Give You the Sun
• Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down
• Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
• Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
• Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep (2015 National Book Award for YA winner)
• Adam Silvera, More Happy Than Not
• Sabaa Tahir, Ember in the Ashes
• Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
• David Yoon, Frankly in Love
• Nicola Yoon, The Sun is Also a Star
• Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything
• Ibi Zoboi, American Street

Emily graduated  summa cum laude  from Princeton University and holds an MA from the University of Notre Dame. She was a National Merit Scholar and has won numerous academic prizes and fellowships. A veteran of the publishing industry, she has helped professors at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton revise their books and articles. Over the last decade, Emily has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay. 

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60 Literary Devices and Techniques Every Writer Must Know

A literary device is a writing technique that writers use to express ideas, convey meaning, and highlight important themes in a piece of text. A metaphor, for instance, is a famous example of a literary device.

These devices serve a wide range of purposes in literature. Some might work on an intellectual level, while others have a more emotional effect. They may also work subtly to improve the flow and pacing of your writing. No matter what, if you're looking to inject something special into your prose, literary devices are a great place to start.

Sentence-level devices

1. alliteration.

Alliteration describes a series of words in quick succession that all start with the same letter or sound. It lends a pleasing cadence to prose and Hamlet and the dollar as currency in Macbeth .

Example: “ One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.” — “Death, Be Not Proud” by John Donne

Exercise: Pick a letter and write a sentence where every word starts with that letter or one that sounds similar. 

2. Anaphora

Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a series of clauses or sentences. It’s often seen in poetry and speeches, intended to provoke an emotional response in its audience.

Example: Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.

"… and I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

"… I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Exercise: Pick a famous phrase and write a paragraph elaborating on an idea, beginning each sentence with that phrase. 

Similar term: repetition

3. Anastrophe

Anastrophe is a figure of speech wherein the traditional sentence structure is reversed. So a typical verb-subject-adjective sentence such as “Are you ready?” becomes a Yoda-esque adjective-verb-subject question: “Ready, are you?” Or a standard adjective-noun pairing like “tall mountain” becomes “mountain tall.”

Example: “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing.” — “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

Exercise: Write a standard verb-subject-adjective sentence or adjective-noun pairing then flip the order to create an anastrophe. How does it change the meaning or feeling of the sentence?

4. Chiasmus

Chiasmus is when two or more parallel clauses are inverted. “Why would I do that?” you may be wondering. Well, a chiasmus might sound confusing and unnecessary in theory, but it's much more convincing in practice — and in fact, you've likely already come across it before.

Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy

5. Congeries

Congeries is a fancy literary term for creating a list. The items in your list can be words, ideas, or phrases, and by displaying them this way helps prove or emphasize a point — or even create a sense of irony. Occasionally, it’s also called piling as the words are “piling up.”

Example: "Apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order, what have the Romans done for us?" — Monty Python’s Life of Brian

6. Cumulative sentence

A cumulative sentence (or “loose sentence”) is one that starts with an independent clause, but then has additional or modifying clauses. They’re often used for contextual or clarifying details. This may sound complex, but even, “I ran to the store to buy milk, bread, and toilet paper” is a cumulative sentence, because the first clause, “I ran to the store,” is a complete sentence, while the rest tells us extra information about your run to the store.

Example: “It was a large bottle of gin Albert Cousins had brought to the party, yes, but it was in no way large enough to fill all the cups, and in certain cases to fill them many times over, for the more than one hundred guests, some of whom were dancing not four feet in front of him.” – Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

Example: Write three sentences that are related to each other. Can you combine the information into a cumulative sentence? 

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7. Epistrophe

Epistrophe is the opposite of anaphora, with this time a word or phrase being repeated at the end of a sentence. Though its placement in a sentence is different it serves the same purpose—creating emphasis—as an anaphora does. 

Example: “I’ll be ever’where – wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there . If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’ – I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry an’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build, why, I’ll be there .” — The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Similar terms: repetition, anaphora

Exercise: Write a paragraph where a phrase or a word is repeated at the end of every sentence, emphasizing the point you’re trying to make. 

8. Erotesis

Erotesis is a close cousin of the rhetorical question. Rather than a question asked without expectation of an answer, this is when the question (and the asker) confidently expects a response that is either negative or affirmative. 

Example: “ Do you then really think that you have committed your follies in order to spare your son them?” — Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Similar term: rhetorical question

9. Hyperbaton

Hyperbaton is the inversion of words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence that differs from how they would normally be arranged. It comes from the Greek hyperbatos, which means “transposed” or “inverted.” While it is similar to anastrophe, it doesn’t have the same specific structure and allows you to rearrange your sentences in whatever order you want. 

Example: “Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire.” — “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Similar terms: anastrophe, epistrophe

10. Isocolon

If you’re a neat freak who likes things just so , isocolon is the literary device for you. This is when two or more phrases or clauses have similar structure, rhythm, and even length — such that, when stacked up on top of each other, they would line up perfectly. Isocolon often crops up in brand slogans and famous sayings; the quick, balanced rhythm makes the phrase catchier and more memorable.

Example: Veni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”)

11. Litotes

Litotes (pronounced lie-toe-teez ) is the signature literary device of the double negative. Writers use litotes to express certain sentiments through their opposites, by saying that that opposite is not the case. Don’t worry, it makes more sense with the examples. 😉

Examples: “You won’t be sorry” (meaning you’ll be happy); “you’re not wrong” (meaning you’re right); “I didn’t not like it” (meaning I did)

12. Malapropism

If Shakespeare is the king of metaphors, Michael Scott is the king of malapropisms . A malapropism is when similar-sounding words replace their appropriate counterparts, typically to comic effect — one of the most commonly cited is “dance a flamingo,” rather than a “flamenco.” Malapropisms are often employed in dialogue when a character flubs up their speech.

Example: “I am not to be truffled with.”

Exercise: Choose a famous or common phrase and see if you can replace a word with a similar sounding one that changes the meaning. 

13. Onomatopoeia

Amusingly, onomatopoeia (itself a difficult-to-pronounce word) refers to words that sound like the thing they’re referring to. Well-known instances of onomatopoeia include whiz, buzz, snap, grunt, etc.

Example: The excellent children's book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type . “Farmer Brown has a problem. His cows like to type. All day long he hears: Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo. ”

Exercise: Take some time to listen to the sounds around you and write down what you hear. Now try to use those sounds in a short paragraph or story. 

14. Oxymoron 

An oxymoron comes from two contradictory words that describe one thing. While juxtaposition contrasts two story elements, oxymorons are about the actual words you are using.

Example: "Parting is such sweet sorrow.” — Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. (Find 100 more examples of oxymorons here .)

Similar terms: juxtaposition, paradox

Exercise: Choose two words with opposite meanings and see if you can use them in a sentence to create a coherent oxymoron. 

15. Parallelism

Parallelism is all about your sentence structure. It’s when similar ideas, sounds, phrases, or words are arranged in a way that is harmonious or creates a parallel, hence the name. It can add rhythm and meter to any piece of writing and can often be found in poetry. 

Example: “ That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong

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16. Polysyndeton

Instead of using a single conjunction in lengthy statements, polysyndeton uses several in succession for a dramatic effect. This one is definitely for authors looking to add a bit of artistic flair to their writing, or who are hoping to portray a particular (usually naïve) sort of voice.

Example: “Luster came away from the flower tree and we went along the fence and they stopped and we stopped and I looked through the fence while Luster was hunting in the grass.” — The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Exercise: Write three or four independent sentences. Try combining them using conjunctions. What kind of effect does this have on the overall meaning and tone of the piece?

17. Portmanteau

A portmanteau is when two words are combined to form a new word which refers to a single concept that retains the meanings of both the original words. Modern language is full of portmanteaus. In fact, the portmanteau is itself a portmanteau. It’s a combination of the French porter (to carry) and manteau (cloak). 

Example: Brunch (breakfast and lunch); cosplay (costume and roleplay); listicle (list and article); romcom (romance and comedy)

Exercise: Pick two words that are often used together to describe a single concept. See if there’s a way to combine them and create a single word that encompasses the meaning of both.

18. Repetition

Repetition , repetition, repetition… where would we be without it? Though too much repetition is rarely a good thing, occasional repetition can be used quite effectively to drill home a point, or to create a certain atmosphere. For example, horror writers often use repetition to make the reader feel trapped and scared.

Example: In The Shining , Jack Torrance types over and over again on his pages,  “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” In this case, obsessive repetition demonstrates the character’s unraveling mind.

Similar term: anaphora

Exercise: Repetition can be used to call attention to an idea or phrase. Pick an idea you want to emphasize and write a few sentences about it. Are there any places where you can add repetition to make it more impactful? 

19. Tautology

A tautology is when a sentence or short paragraph repeats a word or phrase, expressing the same idea twice. Often, this is a sign that you should trim your work to remove the redundancy (such as “frozen ice”) but can also be used for poetic emphasis.

Example: "But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door" – “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

20. Tmesis 

Tmesis is when a word or phrase is broken up by an interjecting word, such as abso-freaking-lutely. It’s used to draw out and emphasize the idea, often with a humorous or sarcastic slant.

Example: "This is not Romeo, he's some-other-where." – Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Narrative devices

21. allegory.

An allegory is a type of narrative that uses characters and plot to depict abstract ideas and themes . In an allegorical story, things represent more than they appear to on the surface. Many children's fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare , are simple allegories about morality — but allegories can also be dark, complex, and controversial. 

Example: Animal Farm by George Orwell. This dystopian novella is one of modern literature’s best-known allegories. A commentary on the events leading up to Stalin's rise and the formation of the Soviet Union, the pigs at the heart of the novel represent figures such as Stalin, Trotsky, and Molotov.

Exercise: Pick a major trend or problem in the world and consider what defines it. Try and create a story where that trend plays out on a smaller scale. 

22. Anecdote

An anecdote is like a short story within a story. Sometimes, they are incredibly short—only a line or two—and their purpose is to add a character’s perspective, knowledge, or experience to a situation. They can be inspirational, humorous, or be used to inspire actions in others. Since anecdotes are so short, don’t expect them to be part of a main story. They’re usually told by a character and part of the dialogue. 

Example: Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way , part of his series of novels, In Search of Lost Time, deals with the themes of remembrance and memory. In one section of this book, to illustrate these ideas, the main character recalls an important memory of eating a madeleine cookie. “Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised in the theatre and the drama of my going to bed there, had any existence for me, when one day in winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no particular reason, changed my mind. She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called ‘petites madeleines,’ which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell.”

23. Deus Ex Machina

Literally meaning “god in the machine” in Greek, deus ex machina is a plot device where an impossible situation is solved by the appearance of an unexpected or unheard of character, action, object, or event. This brings about a quick and usually happy resolution for a story and can be used to surprise an audience, provide comic relief, or provide a fix for a complicated plot. However, deus ex machinas aren’t always looked upon favorably and can sometimes be seen as lazy writing, so they should be used sparingly and with great thought. 

Example: William Golding’s famous novel of a group of British boys marooned on a desert island is resolved with a deus ex machina. At the climax of The Lord of the Flies, just as Ralph is about to be killed by Jack, a naval officer arrives to rescue the boys and bring them back to civilization. It’s an altogether unexpected and bloodless ending for a story about the boys’ descent into savagery. 

Exercise: Consider the ending of your favorite book or movie and then write an alternate ending that uses a deus ex machina to resolve the main conflict. How does this affect the overall story in terms of theme and tone?

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24. Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony is when the readers know more about the situation going on than at least one of the characters involved. This creates a difference between the ways the audience and the characters perceive unfolding events. For instance, if we know that one character is having an affair, when that character speaks to their spouse, we will pick up on the lies and double-meanings of their words, while the spouse may take them at face value.

Example: In Titanic , the audience knows from the beginning of the movie that the boat will sink. This creates wry humor when characters remark on the safety of the ship.

25. Exposition

Exposition is when the narrative provides background information in order to help the reader understand what’s going on. When used in conjunction with description and dialogue, this literary device provides a richer understanding of the characters, setting, and events. Be careful, though — too much exposition will quickly become boring, thus undercutting the emotional impact of your work.

Example: “The Dursley’s had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Exercise: Pick your favorite story and write a short paragraph introducing it to someone who knows nothing about it. 

26. Flashback

Flashbacks to previous events split up present-day scenes in a story, usually to build suspense toward a big reveal. Flashbacks are also an interesting way to present exposition for your story, gradually revealing to the reader what happened in the past.

Example: Every other chapter in the first part of Gone Girl is a flashback, with Amy’s old diary entries describing her relationship with her husband before she disappeared.

Similar term: foreshadowing

27. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when the author hints at events yet to come in a story. Similar to flashbacks (and often used in conjunction with them), this technique is also used to create tension or suspense — giving readers just enough breadcrumbs to keep them hungry for more.

Example: One popular method of foreshadowing is through partial reveals — the narrator leaves out key facts to prompt readers’ curiosity. Jeffrey Eugenides does this in The Virgin Suicides : “On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide — it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese, the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope.”

Similar term: flashback

Exercise: Go back to your favorite book or movie. Can you identify any instances of foreshadowing in the early portions of the story for events that happen in the future? 

28. Frame story

A frame story is any part of the story that "frames" another part of it, such as one character telling another about their past, or someone uncovering a diary or a series of news articles that then tell the readers what happened. Since the frame story supports the rest of the plot, it is mainly used at the beginning and the end of the narrative, or in small interludes between chapters or short stories.

Example: In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Kvothe is telling Chronicler the story of his life over the span of three days. Most of the novel is the story he is telling, while the frame is any part that takes place in the inn.

29. In Medias Res

In medias res is a Latin term that means "in the midst of things" and is a way of starting a narrative without exposition or contextual information. It launches straight into a scene or action that is already unfolding. 

Example: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” — The opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Exercise: Pick a story you enjoy and rewrite the opening scene so that it starts in the middle of the story. 

30. Point of view

Point of view is, of course, the mode of narration in a story. There are many POVs an author can choose, and each one will have a different impact on the reading experience.

Example: Second person POV is uncommon because it directly addresses the reader — not an easy narrative style to pull off. One popular novel that manages to employ this perspective successfully is Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney: “You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy.”

Exercise: Write a short passage in either first, second, or third person. Then rewrite that passage in the other two points of view, only changing the pronouns. How does the change in POV affect the tone and feel of the story? 

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31. Soliloquy 

Soliloquy involves a character speaking their thoughts aloud, usually at length (and often in a Shakespeare play). The character in question may be alone or in the company of others, but they’re not speaking for the benefit of other people; the purpose of a soliloquy is for a character to reflect independently.

Example: Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech, in which he ruminates on the nature of life and death, is a classic dramatic soliloquy.

Exercise: Pick a character from your favorite book or movie and write a soliloquy from their point of view where they consider their thoughts and feelings on an important part of their story or character arc. 

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Tone refers to the overall mood and message of your book. It’s established through a variety of means, including voice, characterization, symbolism, and themes. Tone sets the feelings you want your readers to take away from the story.

Example: No matter how serious things get in The Good Place , there is always a chance for a character to redeem themselves by improving their behavior. The tone remains hopeful for the future of humanity in the face of overwhelming odds.

Exercise: Write a short paragraph in an upbeat tone. Now using the same situation you came up with, rewrite that passage in a darker or sadder tone. 

33. Tragicomedy

Tragicomedy is just what it sounds like: a blend of tragedy and comedy. Tragicomedy helps an audience process darker themes by allowing them to laugh at the situation even when circumstances are bleak.

Example: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events uses wordplay, absurd situations, and over-the-top characters to provide humor in an otherwise tragic story.

Conceptual devices

34. allusion.

An allusion is a reference to a person, place, thing, concept, or other literary work that a reader is likely to recognize. A lot of meaning can be packed into an allusion and it’s often used to add depth to a story. Many works of classic Western literature will use allusions to the Bible to expand on or criticize the morals of their time. 

Example: “The two knitting women increase his anxiety by gazing at him and all the other sailors with knowing unconcern. Their eerie looks suggest that they know what will happen (the men dying), yet don’t care.” The two women knitting in this passage from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are a reference to the Fates from Greek mythology, who decide the fate of humanity by spinning and cutting the threads of life.

Exercise: In a relatively simple piece of writing, see how many times you can use allusions. Go completely crazy. Once you’re finished, try to cut it down to a more reasonable amount and watch for how it creates deeper meaning in your piece. 

35. Analogy

An analogy connects two seemingly unrelated concepts to show their similarities and expand on a thought or idea. They are similar to metaphors and similes, but usually take the comparison much further than either of these literary devices as they are used to support a claim rather than provide imagery. 

Example: “ It has been well said that an author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a man who drops a rose petal down the Grand Canyon of Arizona and listens for the echo.” — P.G. Wodehouse

Exercise: Pick two seemingly unrelated nouns and try to connect them with a verb to create an analogy. 

36. Anthropomorphism

To anthropomorphize is to apply human traits or qualities to a non-human thing such as objects, animals, or the weather. But unlike personification, in which this is done through figurative description, anthropomorphism is literal: a sun with a smiling face, for example, or talking dogs in a cartoon.

Examples: In Disney’s Beauty and the Beast , Mrs. Potts the teapot, Cogsworth the clock, and Lumière the candlestick are all household objects that act and behave like humans (which, of course, they were when they weren’t under a spell).

Similar term: personification

Exercise: Pick a non-human object and describe it as if it was human, literally ascribing human thoughts, feelings, and senses to it. 

37. Aphorism

An aphorism is a universally accepted truth stated in a concise, to-the-point way. Aphorisms are typically witty and memorable, often becoming adages or proverbs as people repeat them over and over.

Example: “To err is human, to forgive divine.” — Alexander Pope

38. Archetype

An archetype is a “universal symbol” that brings familiarity and context to a story. It can be a character, a setting, a theme, or an action. Archetypes represent feelings and situations that are shared across cultures and time periods, and are therefore instantly recognizable to any audience — for instance, the innocent child character, or the theme of the inevitability of death.

Example: Superman is a heroic archetype: noble, self-sacrificing, and drawn to righting injustice whenever he sees it.

Exercise: Pick an archetype — either a character or a theme — and use it to write a short piece centered around that idea. 

A cliché is a saying or idea that is used so often it becomes seen as unoriginal. These phrases might become so universal that, despite their once intriguing nature, they're now looked down upon as uninteresting and overused. 

Examples: Some common cliches you might have encountered are phrases like “easy as pie” and “light as a feather.” Some lines from famous books and movies have become so popular that they are now in and of themselves cliches such as Darth Vader’s stunning revelation from The Empire Strikes Back, “Luke, I am your father.” Also, many classic lines of Shakespeare are now considered cliches like, “All that glitters is not gold” from The Merchant of Venice. 

Exercise: Write a short passage using as many cliches as possible. Now try to cut them out and replace them with more original phrasing. See how the two passages compare. 

40. Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of casual and informal language in writing, which can also include slang. Writers use colloquialisms to provide context to settings and characters, and to make their writing sound more authentic. Imagine reading a YA novel that takes place in modern America, and the characters speak to each other like this:

“Good morning, Sue. I hope that you slept well and are prepared for this morning’s science exam.”

It’s not realistic. Colloquialisms help create believable dialogue :

“Hey Sue, what’d you get up to last night? This science test is gonna suck.”

Example: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh takes place in Scotland, a fact made undeniably obvious by the dialect: “Thing is, as ye git aulder, this character-deficiency gig becomes mair sapping. Thir wis a time ah used tae say tae aw the teachers, bosses, dole punters, poll-tax guys, magistrates, when they telt me ah was deficient: ’Hi, cool it, gadge, ah’m jist me, jist intae a different sort ay gig fae youse but, ken?’”

Exercise: Write a dialogue between two characters as formally as possible. Now take that conversation and make it more colloquial. Imagine that you’re having this conversation with a friend. Mimic your own speech patterns as you write. 

41. Euphemism

A euphemism is an indirect, “polite” way of describing something too inappropriate or awkward to address directly. However, most people will still understand the truth about what's happening.

Example: When an elderly person is forced to retire, some might say they’re being “put out to pasture.”

Exercise: Write a paragraph where you say things very directly. Now rewrite that paragraph using only euphemisms. 

42. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that emphasizes the significance of the statement’s actual meaning. When a friend says, "Oh my god, I haven't seen you in a million years," that's hyperbole.

Example: “At that time Bogotá was a remote, lugubrious city where an insomniac rain had been falling since the beginning of the 16th century.” — Living to Tell the Tale by Gabriel García Márquez

Exercise: Tall tales often make use of hyperbole to tell an exaggerated story. Use hyperbole to relate a completely mundane event or experience to turn it into a tall tale. 

43. Hypophora

Hypophora is much like a rhetorical question, wherein someone asks a question that doesn't require an answer. However, in hypophora, the person raises a question and answers it immediately themselves (hence the prefix hypo, meaning 'under' or 'before'). It’s often used when characters are reasoning something aloud.

Example: “Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.” — Daisy in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

An idiom is a saying that uses figurative language whose meaning differs from what it literally says. These phrases originate from common cultural experiences, even if that experience has long ago been forgotten. Without cultural context, idioms don’t often make sense and can be the toughest part for non-native speakers to understand. 

Example: In everyday use, idioms are fairly common. We say things like, “It’s raining cats and dogs” to say that it’s downpouring. 

Exercise: Idioms are often used in dialogue. Write a conversation between two people where idioms are used to express their main points. 

45. Imagery

Imagery appeals to readers’ senses through highly descriptive language. It’s crucial for any writer hoping to follow the rule of "show, don’t tell," as strong imagery truly paints a picture of the scene at hand.

Example: “In the hard-packed dirt of the midway, after the glaring lights are out and the people have gone to bed, you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abandoned by tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream cones and wooden sticks of lollipops.” — Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Exercise: Choose an object, image, or idea and use the five senses to describe it. 

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Irony creates a contrast between how things seem and how they really are. There are three types of literary irony : dramatic (when readers know what will happen before characters do), situational (when readers expect a certain outcome, only to be surprised by a turn of events), and verbal (when the intended meaning of a statement is the opposite of what was said).

Example: This opening scene from Orson Welles’ A Touch of Evil is a great example of how dramatic irony can create tension.

47. Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition places two or more dissimilar characters, themes, concepts, etc. side by side, and the profound contrast highlights their differences. Why is juxtaposition such an effective literary device? Well, because sometimes the best way for us to understand something is by understanding what it’s not .

Example: In the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens uses juxtaposition to emphasize the societal disparity that led to the French Revolution: “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…”

Similar terms: oxymoron, paradox

Exercise: Pick two ideas, objects, places, or people that seem like complete opposites. Introduce them side by side in the beginning of your piece and highlight their similarities and differences throughout. 

48. Metaphor

A metaphor compares two similar things by saying that one of them is the other. As you'd likely expect, when it comes to literary devices, this one is a heavy hitter. And if a standard metaphor doesn't do the trick, a writer can always try an extended metaphor : a metaphor that expands on the initial comparison through more elaborate parallels.

Example: Metaphors are literature’s bread and butter (metaphor intended) — good luck finding a novel that is free of them. Here’s one from Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass : “Wishes are thorns, he told himself sharply. They do us no good, just stick into our skin and hurt us.”

Similar term: simile

Exercise: Write two lists: one with tangible objects and the other concepts. Mixing and matching, try to create metaphors where you describe the concepts using physical objects.

One metaphor example not enough? Check out this post , which has 97 of ‘em!

49. Metonymy

Metonymy is like symbolism, but even more so. A metonym doesn’t just symbolize something else, it comes to serve as a synonym for that thing or things — typically, a single object embodies an entire institution.

Examples: “The crown” representing the monarchy, “Washington” representing the U.S. government.

Similar term: synecdoche

Exercise: Create a list of ten common metonymies you might encounter in everyday life and speech.

Whatever form a motif takes, it recurs throughout the novel and helps develop the theme of the narrative. This might be a symbol, concept, or image.

Example: In Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, trains are an omnipresent motif that symbolize transition, derailment, and ultimately violent death and destruction.

Similar term: symbol

Exercise: Pick a famous book or movie and see if you can identify any common motifs within it. 

51. Non sequitur

Non sequiturs are statements that don't logically follow what precedes them. They’ll often be quite absurd and can lend humor to a story. But they’re just not good for making jokes. They can highlight missing information or a miscommunication between characters and even be used for dramatic effect. 

Example: “It was a spring day, the sort that gives people hope: all soft winds and delicate smells of warm earth. Suicide weather.” — Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen 

Exercise: Write a conversation that gets entirely derailed by seemingly unrelated non sequiturs. 

52. Paradox

Paradox derives from the Greek word paradoxon , which means “beyond belief.” It’s a statement that asks people to think outside the box by providing seemingly illogical — and yet actually true — premises.

Example: In George Orwell’s 1984 , the slogan of the totalitarian government is built on paradoxes: “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.” While we might read these statements as obviously contradictory, in the context of Orwell’s novel, these blatantly corrupt sentiments have become an accepted truth.

Similar terms: oxymoron, juxtaposition

Exercise: Try writing your own paradox. First, think of two opposing ideas that can be juxtaposed against each other. Then, create a situation where these contradictions coexist with each other. What can you gather from this unique perspective?

53. Personification

Personification uses human traits to describe non-human things. Again, while the aforementioned anthropomorphism actually applies these traits to non-human things, personification means the behavior of the thing does not actually change. It's personhood in figurative language only.

Example: “Just before it was dark, as they passed a great island of Sargasso weed that heaved and swung in the light sea as though the ocean were making love with something under a yellow blanket, his small line was taken by a dolphin.” — The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Similar term: anthropomorphism

Exercise: Pick a non-human object and describe it using human traits, this time using similes and metaphors rather than directly ascribing human traits to it. 

54. Rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is asked to create an effect rather than to solicit an answer from the listener or reader. Often it has an obvious answer and the point of asking is to create emphasis. It’s a great way to get an audience to consider the topic at hand and make a statement. 

Example: “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” — The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Writers use satire to make fun of some aspect of human nature or society — usually through exaggeration, ridicule, or irony. There are countless ways to satirize something; most of the time, you know it when you read it.

Example: The famous adventure novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic example of satire, poking fun at “travelers' tales,” the government, and indeed human nature itself.

A simile draws resemblance between two things by saying “Thing A is like Thing B,” or “Thing A is as [adjective] as Thing B.” Unlike a metaphor, a similar does not posit that these things are the same, only that they are alike. As a result, it is probably the most common literary device in writing — you can almost always recognize a simile through the use of “like” or “as.”

Example: There are two similes in this description from Circe by Madeline Miller: “The ships were golden and huge as leviathans, their rails carved from ivory and horn. They were towed by grinning dolphins or else crewed by fifty black-haired nereids, faces silver as moonlight.”

Similar term: metaphor

57. Symbolism

Authors turn to tangible symbols to represent abstract concepts and ideas in their stories  Symbols typically derive from objects or non-humans — for instance, a dove might represent peace, or a raven might represent death.

Example: In The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald uses the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg (actually a faded optometrist's billboard) to represent God and his judgment of the Jazz Age.

Similar term: motif

Exercise: Choose an object that you want to represent something — like an idea or concept. Now, write a poem or short story centered around that symbol. 

58. Synecdoche

Synecdoche is the usage of a part to represent the whole. That is, rather than an object or title that’s merely associated with the larger concept (as in metonymy), synecdoche must actually be attached in some way: either to the name, or to the larger whole itself.

Examples: “Stanford won the game” ( Stanford referring to the full title of the Stanford football team) or “Nice wheels you got there” ( wheels referring to the entire car)

Similar term: metonymy

Zeugma is when one word is used to ascribe two separate meanings to two other words. This literary device is great for adding humor and figurative flair as it tends to surprise the reader. And it’s just a fun type of wordplay. 

Example: “ Yet time and her aunt moved slowly — and her patience and her ideas were nearly worn out before the tete-a-tete was over.” — Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

60. Zoomorphism 

Zoomorphism is when you take animal traits and assign them to anything that’s not an animal. It’s the opposite of anthropomorphism and personification, and can be either a physical manifestation, such as a god appearing as an animal, or a comparison, like calling someone a busy bee .

Example: When vampires turn into bats, their bat form is an instance of zoomorphism.

Exercise: Describe a human or object by using traits that are usually associated with animals. 

Similar terms: anthropomorphism, personification

Readers and writers alike can get a lot out of understanding literary devices and how they're used. Readers can use them to gain insight into the author’s intended meaning behind their work, while writers can use literary devices to better connect with readers. But whatever your motivation for learning them, you certainly won't be sorry you did! (Not least because you'll recognize the device I just used in that sentence. 😏)

6 responses

Ron B. Saunders says:

16/01/2019 – 19:26

Paraprosdokians are also delightful literary devices for creating surprise or intrigue. They cause a reader to rethink a concept or traditional expectation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian)

ManhattanMinx says:

17/01/2019 – 02:07

That's pore, not pour. Shame.....

↪️ Coline Harmon replied:

14/06/2019 – 19:06

It was a Malapropism

↪️ JC JC replied:

23/10/2019 – 00:02

Yeah ManhattanMinx. It's a Malepropism!

↪️ jesus replied:

07/11/2019 – 13:24

Susan McGrath says:

10/03/2020 – 10:56

"But whatever your motivation for learning them, you certainly won't be sorry you did! (Not least because you'll recognize the device I just used in that sentence. 😏)" Litote

Comments are currently closed.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 31 literary devices you must know.

General Education

Need to analyze The Scarlet Letter or To Kill a Mockingbird for English class, but fumbling for the right vocabulary and concepts for literary devices? You've come to the right place. To successfully interpret and analyze literary texts, you'll first need to have a solid foundation in literary terms and their definitions.

In this article, we'll help you get familiar with most commonly used literary devices in prose and poetry. We'll give you a clear definition of each of the terms we discuss along with examples of literary elements and the context in which they most often appear (comedic writing, drama, or other).

Before we get to the list of literary devices, however, we have a quick refresher on what literary devices are and how understanding them will help you analyze works of literature.

What Are Literary Devices and Why Should You Know Them?

Literary devices are techniques that writers use to create a special and pointed effect in their writing, to convey information, or to help readers understand their writing on a deeper level.

Often, literary devices are used in writing for emphasis or clarity. Authors will also use literary devices to get readers to connect more strongly with either a story as a whole or specific characters or themes.

So why is it important to know different literary devices and terms? Aside from helping you get good grades on your literary analysis homework, there are several benefits to knowing the techniques authors commonly use.

Being able to identify when different literary techniques are being used helps you understand the motivation behind the author's choices. For example, being able to identify symbols in a story can help you figure out why the author might have chosen to insert these focal points and what these might suggest in regard to her attitude toward certain characters, plot points, and events.

In addition, being able to identify literary devices can make a written work's overall meaning or purpose clearer to you. For instance, let's say you're planning to read (or re-read) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. By knowing that this particular book is a religious allegory with references to Christ (represented by the character Aslan) and Judas (represented by Edmund), it will be clearer to you why Lewis uses certain language to describe certain characters and why certain events happen the way they do.

Finally, literary techniques are important to know because they make texts more interesting and more fun to read. If you were to read a novel without knowing any literary devices, chances are you wouldn't be able to detect many of the layers of meaning interwoven into the story via different techniques.

Now that we've gone over why you should spend some time learning literary devices, let's take a look at some of the most important literary elements to know.

List of Literary Devices: 31 Literary Terms You Should Know

Below is a list of literary devices, most of which you'll often come across in both prose and poetry. We explain what each literary term is and give you an example of how it's used. This literary elements list is arranged in alphabetical order.

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.

Example: George Orwell's dystopian book Animal Farm is an allegory for the events preceding the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist era in early 20th century Russia. In the story, animals on a farm practice animalism, which is essentially communism. Many characters correspond to actual historical figures: Old Major represents both the founder of communism Karl Marx and the Russian communist leader Vladimir Lenin; the farmer, Mr. Jones, is the Russian Czar; the boar Napoleon stands for Joseph Stalin; and the pig Snowball represents Leon Trotsky.

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. You'll often come across alliteration in poetry, titles of books and poems ( Jane Austen is a fan of this device, for example—just look at Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility ), and tongue twisters.

Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." In this tongue twister, the "p" sound is repeated at the beginning of all major words.

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.

Example: "Stop acting so smart—it's not like you're Einstein or something." This is an allusion to the famous real-life theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.

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. Anachronisms are often used for comedic effect.

Example: A Renaissance king who says, "That's dope, dude!" would be an anachronism, since this type of language is very modern and not actually from the Renaissance period.

Anaphora is when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences throughout a piece of writing. It's used to emphasize the repeated phrase and evoke strong feelings in the audience.

Example: A famous example of anaphora is Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech. Throughout this speech, he repeats the phrase "we shall fight" while listing numerous places where the British army will continue battling during WWII. He did this to rally both troops and the British people and to give them confidence that they would still win the war.

Anthropomorphism

An anthropomorphism occurs when something nonhuman, such as an animal, place, or inanimate object, behaves in a human-like way.

Example: Children's cartoons have many examples of anthropomorphism. For example, Mickey and Minnie Mouse can speak, wear clothes, sing, dance, drive cars, etc. Real mice can't do any of these things, but the two mouse characters behave much more like humans than mice.

Asyndeton is when the writer leaves out conjunctions (such as "and," "or," "but," and "for") in a group of words or phrases so that the meaning of the phrase or sentence is emphasized. It is often used for speeches since sentences containing asyndeton can have a powerful, memorable rhythm.

Example: Abraham Lincoln ends the Gettysburg Address with the phrase "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth." By leaving out certain conjunctions, he ends the speech on a more powerful, melodic note.

Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of informal language and slang. It's often used by authors to lend a sense of realism to their characters and dialogue. Forms of colloquialism include words, phrases, and contractions that aren't real words (such as "gonna" and "ain't").

Example: "Hey, what's up, man?" This piece of dialogue is an example of a colloquialism, since it uses common everyday words and phrases, namely "what's up" and "man."

An epigraph is when an author inserts a famous quotation, poem, song, or other short passage or text at the beginning of a larger text (e.g., a book, chapter, etc.). An epigraph is typically written by a different writer (with credit given) and used as a way to introduce overarching themes or messages in the work. Some pieces of literature, such as Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick , incorporate multiple epigraphs throughout.

Example: At the beginning of Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises is an epigraph that consists of a quotation from poet Gertrude Stein, which reads, "You are all a lost generation," and a passage from the Bible.

Epistrophe is similar to anaphora, but in this case, the repeated word or phrase appears at the end of successive statements. Like anaphora, it is used to evoke an emotional response from the audience.

Example: In Lyndon B. Johnson's speech, "The American Promise," he repeats the word "problem" in a use of epistrophe: "There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem."

A euphemism is when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant.

Example: "I'm so sorry, but he didn't make it." The phrase "didn't make it" is a more polite and less blunt way of saying that someone has died.

A flashback is an interruption in a narrative that depicts events that have already occurred, either before the present time or before the time at which the narration takes place. This device is often used to give the reader more background information and details about specific characters, events, plot points, and so on.

Example: Most of the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a flashback from the point of view of the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, as she engages in a conversation with a visitor named Lockwood. In this story, Nelly narrates Catherine Earnshaw's and Heathcliff's childhoods, the pair's budding romance, and their tragic demise.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when an author indirectly hints at—through things such as dialogue, description, or characters' actions—what's to come later on in the story. This device is often used to introduce tension to a narrative.

Example: Say you're reading a fictionalized account of Amelia Earhart. Before she embarks on her (what we know to be unfortunate) plane ride, a friend says to her, "Be safe. Wouldn't want you getting lost—or worse." This line would be an example of foreshadowing because it implies that something bad ("or worse") will happen to Earhart.

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that's not meant to be taken literally by the reader. It is often used for comedic effect and/or emphasis.

Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." The speaker will not literally eat an entire horse (and most likely couldn't ), but this hyperbole emphasizes how starved the speaker feels.

Imagery is when an author describes a scene, thing, or idea so that it appeals to our senses (taste, smell, sight, touch, or hearing). This device is often used to help the reader clearly visualize parts of the story by creating a strong mental picture.

Example: Here's an example of imagery taken from William Wordsworth's famous poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud":

When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden Daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Irony is when a statement is used to express an opposite meaning than the one literally expressed by it. There are three types of irony in literature:

• Verbal irony: When someone says something but means the opposite (similar to sarcasm).
• Situational irony: When something happens that's the opposite of what was expected or intended to happen.
• Dramatic irony: When the audience is aware of the true intentions or outcomes, while the characters are not . As a result, certain actions and/or events take on different meanings for the audience than they do for the characters involved.
• Verbal irony: One example of this type of irony can be found in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." In this short story, a man named Montresor plans to get revenge on another man named Fortunato. As they toast, Montresor says, "And I, Fortunato—I drink to your long life." This statement is ironic because we the readers already know by this point that Montresor plans to kill Fortunato.
• Situational irony: A girl wakes up late for school and quickly rushes to get there. As soon as she arrives, though, she realizes that it's Saturday and there is no school.
• Dramatic irony: In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , Romeo commits suicide in order to be with Juliet; however, the audience (unlike poor Romeo) knows that Juliet is not actually dead—just asleep.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is the comparing and contrasting of two or more different (usually opposite) ideas, characters, objects, etc. This literary device is often used to help create a clearer picture of the characteristics of one object or idea by comparing it with those of another.

Example: One of the most famous literary examples of juxtaposition is the opening passage from Charles Dickens' novel 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, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …"

Malapropism

Malapropism happens when an incorrect word is used in place of a word that has a similar sound. This misuse of the word typically results in a statement that is both nonsensical and humorous; as a result, this device is commonly used in comedic writing.

Example: "I just can't wait to dance the flamingo!" Here, a character has accidentally called the flamenco (a type of dance) the flamingo (an animal).

Metaphor/Simile

Metaphors are when ideas, actions, or objects are described in non-literal terms. In short, it's when an author compares one thing to another. The two things being described usually share something in common but are unalike in all other respects.

A simile is a type of metaphor in which an object, idea, character, action, etc., is compared to another thing using the words "as" or "like."

Both metaphors and similes are often used in writing for clarity or emphasis.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." In this line from Romeo and Juliet , Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. However, because Romeo doesn't use the words "as" or "like," it is not a simile—just a metaphor.

"She is as vicious as a lion." Since this statement uses the word "as" to make a comparison between "she" and "a lion," it is a simile.

A metonym is when a related word or phrase is substituted for the actual thing to which it's referring. This device is usually used for poetic or rhetorical effect .

Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword." This statement, which was coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, contains two examples of metonymy: "the pen" refers to "the written word," and "the sword" refers to "military force/violence."

Mood is the general feeling the writer wants the audience to have. The writer can achieve this through description, setting, dialogue, and word choice .

Example: Here's a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: "It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats -- the hobbit was fond of visitors." In this passage, Tolkien uses detailed description to set create a cozy, comforting mood. From the writing, you can see that the hobbit's home is well-cared for and designed to provide comfort.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a word (or group of words) that represents a sound and actually resembles or imitates the sound it stands for. It is often used for dramatic, realistic, or poetic effect.

Examples: Buzz, boom, chirp, creak, sizzle, zoom, etc.

An oxymoron is a combination of two words that, together, express a contradictory meaning. This device is often used for emphasis, for humor, to create tension, or to illustrate a paradox (see next entry for more information on paradoxes).

Examples: Deafening silence, organized chaos, cruelly kind, insanely logical, etc.

A paradox is a statement that appears illogical or self-contradictory but, upon investigation, might actually be true or plausible.

Note that a paradox is different from an oxymoron: a paradox is an entire phrase or sentence, whereas an oxymoron is a combination of just two words.

Example: Here's a famous paradoxical sentence: "This statement is false." If the statement is true, then it isn't actually false (as it suggests). But if it's false, then the statement is true! Thus, this statement is a paradox because it is both true and false at the same time.

Personification

Personification is when a nonhuman figure or other abstract concept or element is described as having human-like qualities or characteristics. (Unlike anthropomorphism where non-human figures become human-like characters, with personification, the object/figure is simply described as being human-like.) Personification is used to help the reader create a clearer mental picture of the scene or object being described.

Example: "The wind moaned, beckoning me to come outside." In this example, the wind—a nonhuman element—is being described as if it is human (it "moans" and "beckons").

Repetition is when a word or phrase is written multiple times, usually for the purpose of emphasis. It is often used in poetry (for purposes of rhythm as well).

Example: When Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the score for the hit musical Hamilton, gave his speech at the 2016 Tony's, he recited a poem he'd written that included the following line:

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.

Satire is genre of writing that criticizes something , such as a person, behavior, belief, government, or society. Satire often employs irony, humor, and hyperbole to make its point.

Example: The Onion is a satirical newspaper and digital media company. It uses satire to parody common news features such as opinion columns, editorial cartoons, and click bait headlines.

A type of monologue that's often used in dramas, a soliloquy is when a character speaks aloud to himself (and to the audience), thereby revealing his inner thoughts and feelings.

Example: In Romeo and Juliet , Juliet's speech on the balcony that begins with, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" is a soliloquy, as she is speaking aloud to herself (remember that she doesn't realize Romeo's there listening!).

Symbolism refers to the use of an object, figure, event, situation, or other idea in a written work to represent something else— typically a broader message or deeper meaning that differs from its literal meaning.

The things used for symbolism are called "symbols," and they'll often appear multiple times throughout a text, sometimes changing in meaning as the plot progresses.

Example: In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby , the green light that sits across from Gatsby's mansion symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams .

A synecdoche is a literary device in which part of something is used to represent the whole, or vice versa. It's similar to a metonym (see above); however, a metonym doesn't have to represent the whole—just something associated with the word used.

Example: "Help me out, I need some hands!" In this case, "hands" is being used to refer to people (the whole human, essentially).

While mood is what the audience is supposed to feel, tone is the writer or narrator's attitude towards a subject . A good writer will always want the audience to feel the mood they're trying to evoke, but the audience may not always agree with the narrator's tone, especially if the narrator is an unsympathetic character or has viewpoints that differ from those of the reader.

Example: In an essay disdaining Americans and some of the sites they visit as tourists, Rudyard Kipling begins with the line, "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead." If you enjoy Yellowstone and/or national parks, you may not agree with the author's tone in this piece.

How to Identify and Analyze Literary Devices: 4 Tips

In order to fully interpret pieces of literature, you have to understand a lot about literary devices in the texts you read. Here are our top tips for identifying and analyzing different literary techniques:

Tip 1: Read Closely and Carefully

First off, you'll need to make sure that you're reading very carefully. Resist the temptation to skim or skip any sections of the text. If you do this, you might miss some literary devices being used and, as a result, will be unable to accurately interpret the text.

If there are any passages in the work that make you feel especially emotional, curious, intrigued, or just plain interested, check that area again for any literary devices at play.

It's also a good idea to reread any parts you thought were confusing or that you didn't totally understand on a first read-through. Doing this ensures that you have a solid grasp of the passage (and text as a whole) and will be able to analyze it appropriately.

Tip 2: Memorize Common Literary Terms

You won't be able to identify literary elements in texts if you don't know what they are or how they're used, so spend some time memorizing the literary elements list above. Knowing these (and how they look in writing) will allow you to more easily pinpoint these techniques in various types of written works.

Tip 3: Know the Author's Intended Audience

Knowing what kind of audience an author intended her work to have can help you figure out what types of literary devices might be at play.

For example, if you were trying to analyze a children's book, you'd want to be on the lookout for child-appropriate devices, such as repetition and alliteration.

Tip 4: Take Notes and Bookmark Key Passages and Pages

This is one of the most important tips to know, especially if you're reading and analyzing works for English class. As you read, take notes on the work in a notebook or on a computer. Write down any passages, paragraphs, conversations, descriptions, etc., that jump out at you or that contain a literary device you were able to identify.

You can also take notes directly in the book, if possible (but don't do this if you're borrowing a book from the library!). I recommend circling keywords and important phrases, as well as starring interesting or particularly effective passages and paragraphs.

Lastly, use sticky notes or post-its to bookmark pages that are interesting to you or that have some kind of notable literary device. This will help you go back to them later should you need to revisit some of what you've found for a paper you plan to write.

What's Next?

Looking for more in-depth explorations and examples of literary devices? Join us as we delve into imagery , personification , rhetorical devices , tone words and mood , and different points of view in literature, as well as some more poetry-specific terms like assonance and iambic pentameter .

Reading The Great Gatsby for class or even just for fun? Then you'll definitely want to check out our expert guides on the biggest themes in this classic book, from love and relationships to money and materialism .

Got questions about Arthur Miller's The Crucible ? Read our in-depth articles to learn about the most important themes in this play and get a complete rundown of all the characters .

For more information on your favorite works of literature, take a look at our collection of high-quality book guides and our guide to the 9 literary elements that appear in every story !

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Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Literary Techniques Trivia Quiz

Many authors won't simply come out and say exactly what they mean in their works; they use a variety of techniques and devices to enrich their work and make it more interesting. see if you can identify some of the more common techniques..

• Humanities Trivia
• Language Use

Literary Devices and Terms

literary devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her messages in a simple manner to the readers.  When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work. Below is a list of literary devices with detailed definition and examples.

• Accumulation
• Active Voice
• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anacoluthon
• Anadiplosis
• Anagnorisis
• Analytical Essay
• Antanaclasis
• Anthropomorphism
• Anti-Climax
• Antimetabole
• Antiphrasis
• Antistrophe
• Antonomasia
• Aposiopesis
• Argumentative Essay
• Auditory Imagery
• Autobiography
• Balanced Sentence
• Bildungsroman
• Black Humor
• Blank Verse
• Catachresis
• Catastrophe
• Cause and Effect Essay
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Colloquialism
• Comic Relief
• Comparatives
• Comparison and Contrast Essay
• Connotation
• Critical Essay
• Cumulative Sentence
• Deductive Reasoning
• Deus Ex Machina
• Deuteragonist
• Didacticism
• Direct Characterization
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic Irony
• Dramatic Monologue
• Dynamic Character
• End-Stopped Line
• Enumeration
• Equivocation
• Exact Rhyme
• Exaggeration
• Existentialism
• Explication
• Explicatory Essay
• Expository Essay
• Extended Metaphor
• External Conflict
• Falling Action
• Feminine Rhyme
• Figurative Language
• Figure of Speech
• Flash-Forward
• Flat Character
• Foreshadowing
• Frame Story
• Gustatory Imagery
• Hypothetical Question
• Iambic Pentameter
• Imperative Sentence
• Implied Metaphor
• In Medias Res
• Inciting Incident
• Internal Rhyme
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Kinesthesia
• Kinesthetic Imagery
• Malapropism
• Metaphysical
• Narrative Poem
• Non Sequitur
• Olfactory Imagery
• Onomatopoeia
• Ordinal Number
• Overstatement
• Parallel Structure
• Parallelism
• Paraprosdokian
• Parenthesis
• Paronomasia
• Passive Voice
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Periphrasis
• Personification
• Perspective
• Persuasive Essay
• Poetic Justice
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Portmanteau
• Procatalepsis
• Process Essay
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Reductio ad Absurdum
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Rhyme Scheme
• Rising Action
• Romanticism
• Round Character
• Run-On Sentence
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Sensory Language
• Sesquipedalian
• Short Story
• Simple Paragraph
• Situational Irony
• Sound Devices
• Static Character
• Stream of Consciousness
• Superlative
• Supporting Sentence
• Synesthesia
• Tactile Imagery
• Tragic Flaw
• Tragic Hero
• Tragicomedy
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verbal Irony
• Verisimilitude
• Visual Imagery
• Zoomorphism

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Literary Devices

6th -  9th  , figurative language, 13.4k plays, 11th -  12th  , 6th -  8th  , 17.5k plays.

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A comparison between 2 unlike objects NOT using "like" or "as."

alliteration

onomatopoeia

The use of exaggeration for effect.

Words that START with the same sound and are used repeatedly in a sentence.

A comparison between 2 unlike objects USING "like" or "as."

all of the above

A technique a writer uses to produce a special effect in writing.

literary device

Words that SOUND like the actions they refer to.

He's as strong as an ox.

CRASH! went the cymbals during the song.

The elephant is a large grey mountain.

Some students sing silly songs on Saturday.

The star was a flashlight guiding me home.

All that buzz, buzz, buzz and pop, pop, pop!

Her eyes were as round as oranges.

She was a quiet mouse reading in the corner of the class.

He was as quiet as a mouse reading quietly in the corner of the classroom.

The technique of giving human qualities to an object or an idea.

personification

It was so hot outside my tennis shoes melted on the sidewalk.

The lazy cloud refused to move away from the sun.

When a writer uses very descriptive language to create PICTURES in the mind of the reader that appeals to all 5 senses.

A technique where words are used in an imaginative way to express ideas that are NOT LITERALLY true.

figurative language/idiom

preposition

You're barking up the wrong tree.

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A Practice Test On Literary Terms: Quiz

Practice test on literary terms. Writers are expected to captivate their audience by writing and using different types of literary devices. One of the best ways that people get to analyze most of the terms used by different people is through the study of some of the best writings. By taking this quiz, you will get to do just that. Give it a try and see how well you will do.

An example of _____________ is when Rainsford constructs three traps to hinder Zaroff's pursuit.

Foreshadowing

Rising action

Rate this question:

An example of ______________ is in the following quotation: "I say automatically because I never went anywhere without a fishing rod. When I wasn't swimming laps to impress Sheila, I was back in our driveway practicing casts, and when I wasn't practicing casts, I was tying the line to Tosca, our Springer Spaniel, to test the reel's drag, and when I wasn't doing any of those things, I was fishing in the river for bass."

Third person omniscient point of view

First person point of view

Indirect characterization

Both C and D apply

At the end of The Most Dangerous Game, perhaps Rainsford reassesses the way he feels about hunting. He may now realize what it is like to be hunted. He may now know how the jaguar feels. This change in his outlook is an example of _______________.

Flat character

Static character

Round character

Dynamic character

None of the above

An example of ___________________ is this quotation from The Open Window by Saki: "Romance at short notice was her specialty."

Falling action

Implied theme

An example of _______________ is the following: " Rainsford's first impression was the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general's face."

Indirect characterization because Rainsford thinks it.

Direct characterization because it is the narrator's direct description

Foreshadowing because it hints at bizarre happenings later on

Both B and C can apply

Both A and C can apply

A possible theme of T he Most Dangerous Game might be "quick thinking and resourcefulness could mean the difference between life or death". Another might be that "a greater appreciation of someone's condition can be gained by actually experiencing what they experience." The theme is revealed through the story's telling as Rainsford is hunted by Zaroff. This kind of theme is called:

Stated theme

Nebulous theme

Generalized theme

When Vera tells her aunt and uncle that Frampton was probably frightened by the spaniel because "he was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling..." she presents the ____________________.

A character traps men on a secluded island and engages in a three-day "game" where he tries to hunt them down. this would be an example of ___________..

Characterization

An example of ___________ is when Della laments that she has only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present...what could she do with $1.87?

Climax is  illustrated in the bass, the river, and sheila mant when the narrator:.

Polishes the canoe

Hooks the bass on the way to the fair

Gets in a big fight with Eric Caswell

Discusses modeling with Sheila

Cuts the fishing line and loses the bass

"The old charts call it 'Ship Trap'," Whitney replied. "A suggestive name, isn't it? Sailors have a curious dread of the place." This quote is an example of ______________.

"it seemed i would split in half with longings, split in half. twenty yards ahead of us was the road, and once i pulled the canoe up on shore, the bass would be gone, irretrievably gone." this quote from the bass, the river, and sheila mant is an example of ________________..

Direct characterization

Internal conflict

External conflict

"Della," he said, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em awhile. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs." This quote is an example of __________________.

"as he forged along he saw to his great astonishment that all the lights were in one enormous building - a lofty structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom." this quote from the most dangerous game is an example of _______________., when framton nuttel tries to explain his nervous condition to mrs. sappleton, he says, "the doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise...". this quote is an example of ______________________., the following from the most dangerous game are all examples of foreshadowing except:.

Rainsford and Whitney discuss hunting on board the yacht

Rainsford finds empty cartridges and matted vegetation near the shore of the island

Rainsford tries to put distance between himself and Zaroff by creating a complicated trail to follow

Whenever Rainsford looked up from his plate at dinner that first night, he noticed Zaroff studying him, appraising his narrowly.

Rainsford swims to the island after falling overboard

A stormy winter night on a narrow strip of forestland, wind howling, and wildlife fearfully stirring is an example of __________________.

"there would be other sheila mants in my life, other fish, and though i came close once or twice, it was these secret, hidden tuggings in the night that claimed me, and i never made the same mistake again." this quote from the bass, the river, and sheila mant is an example of _______________..

Both A and C could apply

We have read several stories that employ a twist in plot or a surprise ending. This twist in plot is called irony. All the stories EXCEPT _____________ employ irony.

The Gift of the Magi

The Open Window

Beware of the Dog

The Most Dangerous Game

"His hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come." This excerpt from T he Most Dangerous Game: 

Re-enforces and enhances Zaroffs contrasting nature of civility and barbarism

Shows Zaroff's insanity

Helps develop Zaroff's character

Is an example of characterization

All of the above

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Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.

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• Mar 22, 2023 Quiz Edited by ProProfs Editorial Team
• Mar 25, 2009 Quiz Created by Frank Conroy

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Use Your Allusion: See How Many Literary References You Recognize

By J. D. Biersdorfer March 28, 2024

• Share full article

Lines from poems and plays frequently serve as inspiration for later literary allusions. This 12-question quiz is crafted from a running list created by the Book Review’s staff to test your knowledge on a wide variety of referenced works. The source material spans thousands of years and includes ancient Greek history and modern pop songs.

The quiz is in the multiple-choice format, so just tap or click your answers. After you finish, you’ll get your score and a list of links to the original works. (And yes, the headline above does allude to a pair of 1991 albums from the rock band Guns N’ Roses. Give yourself extra credit if you spotted it.)

Video illustration by Erik Carter

Over the years, “I Sing the Body Electric” has been used repeatedly, including as the title for a Ray Bradbury short story (and his “Twilight Zone” script), as a musical anthem to creativity in the 1980 film “Fame” and in the lyrics of a 2012 Lana Del Rey song. But who said it first?

Benjamin Franklin

Mary Shelley

Walt Whitman

Paule Marshall

Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel “Things Fall Apart,” Joan Didion’s 1968 essay collection “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” and Robert B. Parker’s 1983 thriller “The Widening Gyre” all take their titles from the same poem. What is the original poem — and who is its author?

“The Second Coming,” by William Butler Yeats

“The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost

“‘Hope’ Is the Thing With Feathers,” by Emily Dickinson

“The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Alfred Tennyson

“Band of Brothers,” the 2001 World War II television drama, is based on a 1992 book by Stephen E. Ambrose. But which previous work used the phrase “band of brothers” quite notably?

“All Quiet on the Western Front,” by Erich Maria Remarque

“Henry V,” by William Shakespeare

“Richard III,” by William Shakespeare

“The Red Badge of Courage,” by Stephen Crane

Wait! “Band of Brothers” was decades ago and I just finished watching the new “Masters of the Air” series. Is that show’s title an allusion as well? If so, quiz me!

George Orwell

Winston S. Churchill

John Maynard Keynes

Moving on from land and air to water now: The title of “The Sea, the Sea,” Iris Murdoch’s 1978 novel, is also a famous line (“Θάλαττα! θάλαττα!” in the original language) shouted by Greek warriors when they reached the top of a mountain and could see a nearby body of water. What is the name of the Greek work?

“Odyssey,” by Homer

“Lysistrata,” by Aristophanes

“The Persians,” by Aeschylus

“Anabasis,” by Xenophon

Which 1951 poem by Langston Hughes gave the playwright Lorraine Hansberry the title for her 1959 stage play, “A Raisin in the Sun”?

“Let America Be America Again”

“The Weary Blues”

OK, back to Shakespeare, because that guy had a serious literary output that is still influential centuries later: Which one of the following books does NOT take its title from “Macbeth”?

“The Sound and the Fury,” by William Faulkner

“Let It Come Down,” by Paul Bowles

“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” by Ernest Hemingway

“Something Wicked This Way Comes,” by Ray Bradbury

“The Moon Is Down,” by John Steinbeck

The last line of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s 1899 poem “Sympathy” gave Maya Angelou the title for her first autobiography in 1969. What is that title?

“Little Brown Baby”

“Invitation to Love”

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”

Elif Batuman has named both a novel and a nonfiction book after works by a certain 19th-century Russian author who wrote, among other things, “The Brothers Karamazov.” Who is this writer?

Alexander Pushkin

Leo Tolstoy

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Nikolai Gogol

Which novelist is renowned for his allusions to popular music and literature in his work — and named his 1987 novel after a Beatles song on the band’s 1965 “Rubber Soul” album?

Bret Easton Ellis

Haruki Murakami

Paul Beatty

Hanif Kureishi

In the epigraph of his 2015 book, “Between the World and Me,” Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes a passage of a poem with the same title that influenced him. Who wrote that poem?

Gwendolyn Brooks

James Baldwin

Toni Morrison

Richard Wright

Which Scotsman’s work inspired the titles of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”?

Sir Walter Scott

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Burns

James Boswell

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Literary devices quiz

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