Literary Devices: Irony, Satire, and Exaggeration Techniques

Hyperbolic exaggeration

the use of the exaggeration or extreme that is not meant to be taken literally

Hyperbolic diminutization

the portrayal of something perceived as important as something trivial/unimportant to show its unimportance

Verbal Irony

a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.

Situational Irony

an occasion in which the outcome is significantly different from what was expected or considered appropriate.

Dramatic Irony

reader knows something that the characters do not

Elevated diction

any similar ornate style of writing or speaking; high-flown, periphrastic language

Jargon

the language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group

Sarcasm

speaker states one thing while meaning another; person appears to be praising when in fact they are insulting

Antithesis

an opposition or contrast of words occurring in the same sentence

Euphemism

use of a more pleasant/inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more offensive or unpleasant one

Pun

a form of word play that suggests two or more meanings for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect

Double entendre

an ambiguity with more than one interpretation

Juxtaposition

act or placement of two things casually abstract near each other for comparison

Parody

a work (of literature) that mimics another work (of literature), usually as a way of criticizing it

Caricature

an exaggerated portrayal of the weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an individual group

Utopianism

comparison with a superior kind of society that highlights the weaknesses of one's own

Dystopianism

a criticism of certain aspects of society through comparison to an inferior society that adopts some of these aspects

Direct Satire

stating an explicit criticism in a humorous way

Indirect Satire

a fictional approach to criticism where characters who represent certain points of view are made to seem ridiculous by their thoughts and behavior

Satire

a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.