Literary Devices

Literary devices are specific techniques that allow a writer to convey a

deeper meaning that goes beyond what’s on the page. Literary devices
work alongside plot and characters to elevate a story and prompt reflection
on life, society, and what it means to be human.

What Is a Literary Device?

A literary device is a tool used by writers to hint at larger themes, ideas,
and meaning in a story or piece of writing. There are many styles of literary
devices, each serving a different purpose. Some operate at the sentence
level, while others serve the piece of writing as a whole. Writers often use
multiple literary devices in tandem.

22 Different Types of Literary Devices and How to Use Them

Writers use a wide variety of literary devices across different genres. Each
literary device serves a specific purpose. Understanding how to correctly
wield these devices can significantly improve your own writing.

1.  Allegory. Allegory is a literary device used to express large, complex

ideas in an approachable manner. Allegory allows writers to create
some distance between themselves and the issues they are discussing,
especially when those issues are strong critiques of political or societal
realities. 
2. Allusion. An allusion is a popular literary device used to develop
characters, frame storylines, and help create associations to well-
known works. Allusions can reference anything from Victorian fairy
tales and popular culture to the Bible and the Bard. Take the popular
expression “Bah humbug”—an allusion that references Charles
Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol. The phrase, which is often used to
express dissatisfaction, is associated with the tale’s curmudgeonly
character, Ebenezer Scrooge. 
3.  Anachronism. Imagine reading a story about a caveman who
microwaves his dinner, or watching a film adaptation of a Jane Austen
novel in which the characters text each other instead of writing letters.
These circumstances are examples of anachronisms, or an error in
chronology—the kind that makes audiences raise their eyebrows or do
a double-take. Sometimes anachronisms are true blunders; other
times, they’re used intentionally to add humor or to comment on a
specific time period in history. 
4.  Cliffhanger. It’s a familiar feeling: You’re on minute 59 of an hour-long
television episode, and the protagonist is about to face the villain—and
then episode cuts to black. Known as a cliffhanger, this plot
device marks the end of a section of a narrative with the express
purpose of keeping audiences engaged in the story. 
5.  Dramatic Irony. Remember the first time you read or watched Romeo
and Juliet? The tragic ending of this iconic story exemplifies dramatic
irony: The audience knows that the lovers are each alive, but neither of
the lovers knows that the other is still alive. Each drinks their poison
without knowing what the audience knows. Dramatic irony is used to
great effect in literature, film, and television. 
6.  Extended Metaphor. Extended metaphors build evocative images into
a piece of writing and make prose more emotionally resonant.
Examples of extended metaphor can be found across all forms of
poetry and prose. Learning to use extended metaphors in your own
work will help you engage your readers and improve your writing. 
7.  Foreshadowing. At its core, storytelling has one ambition: to capture
and sustain your reader’s attention and keep them reading your story.
Foreshadowing, or slyly indicating a future event, is one technique a
writer can use to create and build suspense. 
8.  Humor. Humor brings people together and has the power to transform
how we think about the world. Of course, not everyone is adept at
being funny—particularly in their writing. Making people laugh takes
some skill and finesse, and, because so much relies on instinct, is
harder to teach than other techniques. However, all writers can benefit
from learning more about how humor functions in writing. 
9.  Imagery. If you’ve practiced or studied creative writing, chances are
you’ve encountered the expression “paint a picture with words.” In
poetry and literature, this is known as imagery: the use of figurative
language to evoke a sensory experience in the reader. When a poet
uses descriptive language well, they play to the reader’s senses,
providing them with sights, tastes, smells, sounds, internal and external
feelings, and even deep emotion. The sensory details in imagery bring
works to life. 
10.  Irony. Irony is an oft-misunderstood literary device that hinges on
opposites: what things are on the surface, and what they end up
actually being. Many learn about dramatic irony through works of
theater like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or Sophocles’s Oedipus
Rex. When deployed with skill, irony is a powerful tool that adds depth
and substance to a piece of writing. 
11.  Metaphor, Simile, and Analogy. Metaphors, similes, and analogies
are three techniques used in speech and writing to make comparisons.
Each is used in a different way, and differentiating between the three
can get a little tricky: For example, a simile is actually a subcategory of
metaphor, which means all similes are metaphors, but not all
metaphors are similes. Knowing the similarities and differences
between metaphor, simile, and analogy can help you identify which is
best to use in any scenario and help make your writing stronger. Learn
more about the differences and similarities between metaphor, simile,
and analogy here.
12.  Motif. A motif is a repeated element that has symbolic significance to
a story. Sometimes a motif is a recurring image. Sometimes it’s a
repeated word or phrase or topic. A motif can be a recurrent situation or
action. It can be a sound or a smell or a temperature or a color. The
defining aspect is that a motif repeats, and through this repetition, a
motif helps to illuminate the central ideas, themes, and deeper meaning
of the story in which it appears. 
13.  Motif vs. Symbol. Both motifs and symbols are used across artistic
mediums: Painters, sculptors, playwrights, and musicians all use motifs
and symbols in their respective art forms. And while they are similar
literary terms, “motif” and “symbol” are not synonyms. 
14.  Oxymoron. An oxymoron is a figure of speech: a creative approach
to language that plays with meaning and the use of words in a non-
literal sense. This literary device combines words with contradictory
definitions to coin a new word or phrase (think of the idiom “act
naturally”—how can you be your natural self if you’re acting?). The
incongruity of the resulting statement allows writers to play with
language and meaning. 
15.  Paradox. “This sentence is a lie.” This self-referential statement is
an example of a paradox—a contradiction that questions logic. In
literature, paradoxes can elicit humor, illustrate themes, and provoke
readers to think critically. 
16.  Personification. In writing, figurative language—using words to
convey a different meaning outside the literal one—helps writers
express themselves in more creative ways. One popular type of
figurative language is personification: assigning human attributes to a
non-human entity or inanimate object in an effort to express a point or
idea in a more colorful, imaginative way. 
17.  Satire. Satire is so prevalent in pop culture that most of us are
already very familiar with it, even if we don’t always realize it. Satire is
 an often-humorous way of poking fun at the powers that be.
Sometimes, it is created with the goal to drive social change. Satire can
be part of any work of culture, art, or entertainment—it has a long
history, and it is as relevant today as it was in ancient Rome. 
18.  Situational Irony. Irony: it’s clear as mud. Theorists quibble about
the margins of what constitutes irony, but situational irony is all around
us—from humorous news headlines to the shock twists in a book or TV
show. This type of irony is all about the gap between our expectations
and reality, and it can make a memorable and powerful impression
when we encounter it. 
19.  Suspense. No matter what type of story you’re telling, suspense is a
valuable tool for keeping a reader’s attention and interest. Building
suspense involves withholding information and raising key questions
that pique readers’ curiosity. Character development plays a big role in
generating suspense; for example, if a character’s desire is not fulfilled
by the end of the book, the story will not feel complete for the reader. 
20.  Symbolism. An object, concept, or word does not have to be limited
to a single meaning. When you see red roses growing in a garden,
what comes to mind? Perhaps you think literally about the rose—about
its petals, stem, and thorns, or even about its stamen and pistil as a
botanist might. But perhaps your mind goes elsewhere and starts
thinking about topics like romance, courtship, and Valentine’s Day. Why
would you do this? The reason, of course, is that over the course of
many generations, a rose’s symbolic meaning has evolved to include
amorous concepts. 
21.  Verisimilitude. Verisimilitude (pronounced ve-ri-si-mi-li-tude) is a
theoretical concept that determines the semblance of truth in an
assertion or hypothesis. It is also an essential tenet of fiction writing.
Verisimilitude helps to encourage a reader’s willing suspension of
disbelief. When using verisimilitude in writing, the goal is to be credible
and convincing. 
22.  Vignette. A writer’s job is to engage readers through words.
Vignettes—poetic slices-of-life—are a literary device that brings us
deeper into a story. Vignettes step away from the action momentarily to
zoom in for a closer examination of a particular character, concept, or
place. Writers use vignettes to shed light on something that wouldn’t be
visible in the story’s main plot.