Literary Devices: Definitions and Examples of Rhetorical Figures

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics and behavior to a god, animal, or object.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

Litotes

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite.

Metaphor

A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.

Onomatopoeia

A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox.

Personification

A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions.

Simile

A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part.

Understatement

The ironic minimalizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is.