Literary Devices

Allusion

An indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar.

Ambiguity

Language, an event, or situation that may be intentionally interpreted in more than one way.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things.

Bathos

Device when a climax is met with something unimportant and anticlimactic, often to create comedic or ironic effect.

Connotation

A feeling or idea that a word has in addition to its literal meaning.

Dialogue

Conversation between individuals, either written or spoken.

Euphemism

A polite, mild phrase which substitutes unpleasant ways of saying something sad, uncomfortable, or inappropriate.

Hyperbole

Conscious exaggeration to heighten effect, often to comedic effect.

Imagery

Language that vividly creates a sensory experience.

Irony

When there are two contradicting meanings of the same situation, event, image, etc.

Dramatic Irony

Occurs when the reader knows more about the events than the characters do.

Situational Irony

When the actual outcome of a situation is intentionally different than the expected outcome.

Verbal Irony

When the literal meaning of what someone says is different from what they actually mean.

Juxtaposition

Placing two opposite or seemingly different things or ideas in close proximity to each other to highlight their differences.

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things.