Literary Devices

Metaphor: comparison without like or as.

Simile: comparison with “like” or “as”.

Personification: gives human attributions to inanimate objects. (De-personification is opposite)

Goes hand and hand with imagery.

Hyperbole: over-exaggeration

Mixed Metaphor: two or more metaphors that are illogical when combined.

Metonymy: substituting a phrase with another phrase that is closely related.

Synecdoche: substituting a part of an object for the whole or vice versa.

Symbolism: uses an object to represent an abstract idea or concept beyond the object’s literal meaning.

Imagery: vivid description that appeals to the five senses.

Analogy: explains a situation, object, or idea by comparing it to a different situation that is familiar.

Connotation: suggested or implies meaning of a word or phrase.

Verbal irony: when the speaker says something but means the opposite. (Pride and prejudice when they boogie Darcy is like do you always have to yap and she’s like no but it is fun stepping out of my comfort zone.)

Dramatic Irony: the audience knows something that the characters don’t.

Situational Irony: when the actual outcome is the opposite of what is expected.

Juxtaposition: placing two items side-by-side to contrast them.

Paradox: a statement that seems self-contradictory, but actually reveals the truth.

Understatement: downplay the extent or importance of a situation.

Foreshadowing: a hint that gives the reader a sense of what will happen later on in the text.

Allusion: historical cultural, literary reference to a person place event.

Repetition: using the same word or phrase again and again in close proximity.

Idiom: an expression or sequence of words that has a specific non-literal meaning in put together.

Antithesis: placing opposing ideas next to each other in a sentence in parallel fashion to contrast them.

Tone: narrator’s, speaker’s, or author’s attitude towards the subject.

Mood: emotion that the audience feels in response to the text, emotion evoked in the audience.

Diction: author’s purposeful word choice

Alliteration: the sequence of words that each start with the same sound or letter.

Assonance: repeating a vowel sound

Consonance: repeating a constant sound

Onomatopoeia: words that replicate the sound of refers to

Meter – The structured rhythm of a poem, measured in feet (e.g., iambic pentameter). Recognizing meter helps interpret emphasis and tone.

Caesura – A strong pause or break within a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation (e.g., “To be, or not to be — that is the question”). It adds drama, tension, or a shift in thought.

Enjambment – The continuation of a sentence or phrase beyond the end of a line or stanza without pause. It affects flow and can add surprise or tension.

End-stopped line – The opposite of enjambment: a line of poetry that ends with a natural pause, usually via punctuation. It creates clarity or emphasis.

Rhyme scheme – The pattern of rhyming words at the end of lines (e.g., ABAB). Recognizing patterns helps you analyze form and thematic structure (like in sonnets or villanelles).