Literary devices

Allusion

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Monologue

A long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program.

Anagnorisis

The point in a play or novel where a principal character recognizes another character's true identity or their own circumstances.

Mood

The emotional response that the writer wishes to evoke in the reader through a story.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

Antithesis

A figure of speech expressing opposition or contrast of ideas through parallelism of words.

Paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself but reveals a deeper meaning upon further reflection.

Apostrophe

A speech or address to a person who is not present or to a personified object.

Paralipsis

A rhetorical device where the writer pretends to hide the idea they want to express, emphasizing it while claiming not to care.

Asyndeton

A rhetorical device where conjunctions are omitted, marked by commas.

Parallelism

A literary device where parts of a sentence are grammatically the same or similar in construction.

Catastrophe

The final action that completes the unraveling of the plot in a play, especially in a tragedy.

Pathos

The appeal to emotion, persuading an audience by evoking certain feelings.

Catharsis

The process in which a story's tragic ending allows audiences to experience profound emotional release.

Personification

The attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Logos

The appeal to logic, making clear, logical connections between ideas and including facts and statistics.

Point of view

The writer's way of deciding who is telling the story to whom.

Understatement

A literary device that downplays a particular quality of a person, object, emotion, or situation.

Polysyndeton

The repeated use of coordinating conjunctions to connect different items in a sentence.

Ethos

The writer's attempt to persuade by appealing to the reader's moral values and presenting their expertise.

Repetition

A literary device that involves using the same word or phrase repeatedly in writing or speech.

Euphemism

The substitution of a less offensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.

Rhetorical question

A question asked to create a dramatic effect or make a point rather than to get an answer.

First-person retrospective

A narrative told from the point of view of a character looking back on past events.

Rule of three

A storytelling principle suggesting people better understand concepts in groups of three.

Foil

A character presented as a contrast to another character to highlight aspects of the second character.

Setting

The time, place, and environment in which a story occurs, establishing mood and enhancing conflict.

Foreshadowing

A literary device used to hint at what is to come later in the story.

Soliloquy

A speech that a character in a play speaks aloud, heard only by that character and the audience.

Hamartia

The tragic flaw of a main character that leads to their downfall.

Symbol

An object, person, situation, or action that has a literal meaning but suggests other meanings.

Hubris

Excessive pride and arrogance that often leads to a character's downfall.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and sentences that convey a thought.

Hyperbole

A rhetorical technique using exaggeration for emphasis and effect.

Theme

The main idea or underlying meaning explored in a literary work.

Irony

A situation where there is a contrast between expectation and reality.

Situational Irony

Occurs when the opposite of what is expected actually happens.

Verbal Irony

A statement where the speaker's words are incongruous with their intent.

Dramatic Irony

A device where the reader knows more than the characters.

Third-person limited

A narrative perspective where the narrator knows the thoughts of one character.

Juxtaposition

Placing two things side by side to highlight their differences.

Third-person omniscient

A point of view where the narrator knows all characters' thoughts and feelings.

Loaded language

Words or phrases that carry strong emotive meanings in addition to their primary meanings.

Tone

A literary device reflecting the writer's attitude toward the subject matter or audience.