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