literary devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her messages in a simple manner to the readers. When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work. Below is a list of literary devices with detailed definition and examples.
A
- Accumulation
 - Acrostic
 - Active Voice
 - Ad Hominem
 - Adage
 - Adventure
 - Adynaton
 - Allegory
 - Alliteration
 - Allusion
 - Ambiguity
 - Amplification
 - Anachronism
 - Anacoluthon
 - Anadiplosis
 - Anagnorisis
 - Anagram
 - Analogy
 - Analytical Essay
 - Anapest
 - Anaphora
 - Anecdote
 - Antagonist
 - Antanaclasis
 - Antecedent
 - Anthimeria
 - Anthology
 - Anthropomorphism
 - Anti-Climax
 - Anti-Hero
 - Antimetabole
 - Antiphrasis
 - Antistrophe
 - Antithesis
 - Antonomasia
 - Aphorism
 - Aphorismus
 - Apologia
 - Apologue
 - Aporia
 - Aposiopesis
 - Apostrophe
 - Appositive
 - Archaism
 - Archetype
 - Argument
 - Argumentative Essay
 - Aside
 - Assertion
 - Assonance
 - Asyndeton
 - Atmosphere
 - Attitude
 - Audience
 - Auditory Imagery
 - Autobiography
 
B
C
- Cacophony
 - Cadence
 - Caesura
 - Canon
 - Canto
 - Caricature
 - Catachresis
 - Catalog
 - Catastrophe
 - Catharsis
 - Cause and Effect Essay
 - Character
 - Characterization
 - Chiasmus
 - Chronology
 - Circumlocution
 - Claim
 - Cliché
 - Cliffhanger
 - Climax
 - Coherence
 - Colloquialism
 - Comedy
 - Comic Relief
 - Comparatives
 - Comparison
 - Comparison and Contrast Essay
 - Conceit
 - Concession
 - Conflict
 - Connotation
 - Consonance
 - Context
 - Contrast
 - Conundrum
 - Couplet
 - Critical Essay
 - Critique
 - Cumulative Sentence
 
D
E
- Elegy
 - Elision
 - Ellipsis
 - Encomium
 - End Rhyme
 - End-Stopped Line
 - Enjambment
 - Enthymeme
 - Enumeration
 - Epic
 - Epigram
 - Epigraph
 - Epilogue
 - Epiphany
 - Epiphora
 - Epistle
 - Epistolary
 - Epistrophe
 - Epitaph
 - Epithet
 - Epizeuxis
 - Eponym
 - Equivocation
 - Eristic
 - Essay
 - Ethos
 - Etymology
 - Eulogy
 - Euphemism
 - Euphony
 - Evidence
 - Exact Rhyme
 - Exaggeration
 - Exemplum
 - Existentialism
 - Expletive
 - Explication
 - Explicatory Essay
 - Exposition
 - Expository Essay
 - Extended Metaphor
 - External Conflict
 - Eye Rhyme
 
F
H
I
M
P
- Pacing
 - Palindrome
 - Parable
 - Paradox
 - Paralipsis
 - Parallel Structure
 - Parallelism
 - Paraphrase
 - Paraprosdokian
 - Parataxis
 - Parenthesis
 - Parody
 - Paronomasia
 - Parrhesia
 - Passive Voice
 - Pastiche
 - Pathetic Fallacy
 - Pathos
 - Pedantic
 - Pejorative
 - Pentameter
 - Peripeteia
 - Periphrasis
 - Persona
 - Personification
 - Perspective
 - Persuasion
 - Persuasive Essay
 - Platitude
 - Play
 - Pleonasm
 - Plot
 - Plot Twist
 - Poem
 - Poetic Justice
 - Point of View
 - Polemic
 - Polyptoton
 - Polysyndeton
 - Portmanteau
 - Premise
 - Procatalepsis
 - Process Essay
 - Prologue
 - Propaganda
 - Prose
 - Prosody
 - Prosthesis
 - Protagonist
 - Proverb
 - Pseudonym
 - Pun
 
R
S
- Sarcasm
 - Sardonic
 - Satire
 - Scansion
 - Science Fiction
 - Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
 - Semantic
 - Sensory Language
 - Sesquipedalian
 - Sestet
 - Sestina
 - Setting
 - Short Story
 - Sibilance
 - Simile
 - Simple Paragraph
 - Situational Irony
 - Slang
 - Snark
 - Solecism
 - Soliloquy
 - Sonnet
 - Sound Devices
 - Speaker
 - Spondee
 - Stanza
 - Static Character
 - Stereotype
 - Story
 - Straw Man
 - Stream of Consciousness
 - Style
 - Subjective
 - Subplot
 - Subtext
 - Superlative
 - Supporting Sentence
 - Surrealism
 - Suspense
 - Syllogism
 - Symbolism
 - Syncope
 - Synecdoche
 - Synesis
 - Synesthesia
 - Synonym
 - Synopsis
 - Syntax
 
T