Literary device definitions

Allegory

Story with a double meaning. A primary, surface meaning and a secondary, under-the-surface meaning.

Allusion

A religious, cultural, literary or historical reference included to produce an effect.

Ambiguity

Quality of having multiple interpretations.

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginnings of successive clauses or sentences.

Anecdote

Short narrative in a longer work or speech to make a point.

Apposition

Placement of one or more nouns or noun phrases with another noun as an explanatory equivalent.

Antithesis

Balancing contrasting thoughts in arrangement in the parallel arrangement of words/phrases.

Archaism

Word fallen out of use suggesting an earlier style.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions for effect

Apostrophe

Figure of speech in which person, thing, or quality is addressed. Delineating and summarizing the audience you are talking to.

Authorial Voice

The discernible presence of the writer in a literary work; the author may address the reader directly.

Characterization

Developing characters through narrative summary without judgement, narrative description with implied or explicit judgement, surface details of dress and physical appearance, character's actions, character's speech, and/or character's consciousness.

Chiasmus

A reversed repetition in successive clauses, which are usually parallel in syntax.

Conceit

Elaborate, extended metaphor or simile.

Crux

The one line of a literary work that contains its theme.

Diction

Word choice to create an effect.

Ellipsis

The omission of a word or words necessary to create a complete construction but which are understood in context.

Epithet

Short, repeated descriptive expression.

Epiphany

A sudden burst of insight, typical of classical Greek plays. Most important epiphany is the climax.

Euphemism

Substitution of a mild word for a harsh one

Exemplum

An anecdote or short narrative used to illustrate a moral theme or to make a point in an argument.

Fable

Short story teaching a practical lesson of how to succeed in life.

Framework Story

Story within a larger story.

In Medias Res

Beginning in the middle of action.

Intertextuality

Dialogue between old and new texts.

Ironic Vision

Occurs when the opposite of one of society's norms appears in a literary work. Taking norms of society and flipped it. Normalizes wrongs of society.

Dramatic Irony

Contrast between what the reader knows and what the characters in a work of literature know.

Situational Irony

Contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.

Verbal Irony

Contrast between what is said and what is meant or understood.

Isocolon

Parallel structure not just in grammatical structure but also in length.

Juxtaposition

Side-by-side placement of two things, usually done to achieve a particular effect.

Kenning

Metaphorical phrase or compound word used in Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Litotes

Understatement; the opposite of hyperbole.

Metonymy

Figure of speech in which an idea is evoked by referring to an associated notion.

Mood

Atmosphere of the piece.

Motif

A recurrent and unifying image, idea, word, object, or action in a work of literature.

Narrative Pacing

The way a story moves; quickly, slowly, or between the two, and shifts in the piece.

Oxymoron

A compact paradox in which two successive words seemingly contradict each other.

Paradox

A statement which seems to contain contradictory elements, yet it can perhaps be true when viewed from another angle.

Parallelism

The repetition of syntactically similar constructions for rhetorical effect.

Satire

Writing that uses trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm to ridicule human weakness, folly, or vice in order to bring about social reform.

Stereotype

A fixed, conventional expression used to describe, usually judgmentally, a group of people.

Stream of Consciousness

A technique that presents the continuous flow of images, ideas, thoughts, and feelings of a character as they run through his/her mind.

Subplot

Pattern of events which ties into a work's main plot line and is smaller in scope.

Subtext

That which is implied.

Synaesthesia

The mixing of sensations, as in hearing a color or seeing a smell.

Synecdoche

Figure of speech in which a part is used to name a whole or vice versa.

Syntax

Arrangement of words to form meaning in a sentence; the grammar of the sentence, including punctuation.

Tale

Early form of story that narrates strange or fabulous happenings without detailed descriptions of character; is not intended to instruct.

Tone

Author's attitude toward the subject.

Verisimilitude

Likeness to truth or reality in literature.