Literary devices are also called literary techniques, literary methods or literary motifs.

This pertains to identifiable rules of thumb, conventions or structures employed in

literature and storytelling. Some common literary devices are presented below.

Literary Devices
1. Aphorism - Concise statement that contains a cleverly stated subjective truth or
observation.
2. Chekhov’s gun - Insertion of an apparently irrelevant object early in a narrative
for a purpose only revealed later
3. Cliffhanger - The narrative ends unresolved, to draw the audience back to a
future episode for the resolution
4. Defamiliarization - Forcing the reader to recognize common things in an
unfamiliar or a strange way, to enhance the perception of the familiar
5. Dramatic - Representing an object or character with abundant descriptive
6. Visualization - Detail, or mimetically rendering gestures and dialogue to make a
scene more visual and imaginatively present to an audience
7. Epiphany - A sudden revelation or an insight-usually with a symbolic role in the
narrative
8. Flashback - General term for altering time sequences, taking characters back to
the beginning of the tale, for instance
9. Flashforward - Also called prolepsis, an interjected scene that temporarily jumps
the narrative forward in time
10. Foreshadowing - Hinting events to occur later
11. Juxtaposition - Using two themes, characters, phrases, words, or situations
together for comparison, contrast, or rhetoric
12. Paradox - A phrase that describes an idea composed of concepts that conflict
13. Parody - Ridicule by overstated imitation, usually humorous
14. Poetic License - Distortion of facts, alteration of the conventions of grammar or
language, or rewording of pre-existing text made by a writer to improve a piece of
art
15. Stream of consciousness - Technique where the author writes down their
thoughts as fast as they come, typically to create an interior monologue
characterized by leaps in syntax and punctuation that trace a character’s
fragmentary thoughts and sensory feelings
16. Symbolism - Applied use in symbols: iconic presentations that carry particular
conventional meaning
17. Ticking Clock - Threat of impending disaster-often used in thrillers scenario
where salvation and escape are essential elements