Edit · Literary Devices and Rhetorical Strategies: Definitions and Examples

Pun

A play on the meaning of words

Metaphor

An implied comparison between two unlike things

Simile

An explicit comparison between two unlike things signaled by the use of "like" or "as"

Personification

Attributing human qualities to an inanimate object

Irony

A contrast between reality and expectations; the writer takes on another voice or role that states the opposite of what is meant

Sarcasm

Particularly biting irony that involves bitter, caustic language meant to hurt or ridicule; from the Greek meaning "to tear flesh"

Hyperbole

Exaggeration; deliberate exaggeration for emphasis

Litotes

A type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

Synecdoche

A part is substituted for the whole, or the species for the genus (e.g., "wheels" for a car)

Metonymy

Designation of one thing with something closely associated with it (e.g., "the crown" for the king)

Oxymoron

Contradiction; two contradictory terms or ideas used together

Paradox

A statement that appears to be contradictory but, in fact, has some truth

Onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sound reinforces their meaning

Rhetorical Question

A question that does not require an answer; used to ask the reader, ask the writer, criticize, or ask and answer

Apostrophe

"A turning away"; turning from your audience to address someone or something not present—God, the dead, an object, or an idea

Euphemism

Substituting less pungent words for harsh ones, often with ironic effect

Parallelism

Expressing similar or related ideas in similar grammatical structures

Chiasmus

The grammatical structure of the first clause or phrase is reversed in the second, sometimes repeating the same words

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas

Anastrophe

Word order is reversed or rearranged; from the Greek meaning "a turning back"

Apposition

The placing next to a noun of another noun or phrase that explains it

Parenthesis

The insertion of words, phrases, or a sentence not syntactically related to the rest of the sentence, set off by dashes or parentheses

Asyndeton

Conjunctions are omitted, producing fast-paced and rapid prose

Ellipsis

Omission of a word or short phrase easily understood in context; also the use of three spaced periods to produce the same effect

Epanalepsis

Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning

Anaphora

The regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses

Epistrophe

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses

Polysyndeton

The use of many conjunctions to slow the pace

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of successive words

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within words

Consonance

The repetition of consonants in words stressed in the same place but whose vowels differ; also the repetition of final consonants in nearby words

Euphony

Occurs when the use of a sound device produces a pleasant, mellifluous sound

Cacophony

Occurs when the use of a sound device produces a harsh, discordant sound

Allegory

A work that functions on a symbolic level

Allusion

A reference contained in a work to an event in history or to another piece of literature

Anecdote

A short, personal story or brief episode told by a writer or character to illustrate a point

Attitude/Tone

The relationship an author has toward his or her subject and/or audience

Connotation

The interpretive level of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning

Denotation

The literal or dictionary definition of a word

Epigraph

The use of a quotation or excerpt at the beginning of a work or chapter that hints at its theme

Motif

The repetition or variation of an image or idea in a work, used to develop theme or characters

Satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule

Symbol

Something in a literary work that stands for something else, usually something greater than the thing itself

Understatement

The opposite of exaggeration; a technique for developing irony and/or humor where the writer describes something as less than what it is