LITERARY
DEVICES
Simile
It compares two unrelated objects with the help of
the joining words ‘as’ or ‘like’.
E.g., “Milkha Singh could run as fast as a train.”
Metaphor
It directly compares a thing with something
completely unrelated
It is called far-fetched comparison.
E.g. “All the world is a stage.”
Analogy
Like metaphor and simile, analogy also presents a
far-fetched comparison, but it goes one step further
and explains why those two things are similar.
E.g., “Explaining something to a fool is just like
teaching a monkey to sit at one place.”
Here, two things are being compared at the level of
their uselessness.
Irony
Irony represents the contrast between how things
happen but how they should be in ideal sense.
E.g., The Happy Prince title itself is ironical as the
prince was not at all happy according to his
name. Irony can further be classified as dramatic
irony and situational irony etc.
Paradox
A statement, that is seemingly contradictory or
opposed to common sense, but it still somehow
seems to be indirectly true.
E.g., “Deep down, he has a shallowness in his
character.”
“All I know is that I know nothing.”
Allusion
Reference to a historical person, place or
character either directly or through
implication.
E.g.
In Amanda, “I am Rapunzel…..” is an
example of Allusion.
Assonance and Consonance
Assonance is the repetition of
vowel sounds in the consecutive
words.
The
occurrence
of
repetitive vowel sounds mostly
occur in the middle or in
between syllables of the word.
E.g.
Her Chips & dip became a big hit at the
kitty party.
Here, repeated usage of sound ‘i’ is
assonance.
Consonance is the repetition of
consonant sounds anywhere in
the word. When it happens in the
beginning, we call it alliteration.
But when it happens in the
middle or end of the word, it is
termed as Consonance.
E.g.
If someone happens to be happy, he
listens peppy songs.
Here, happens, happy and peppy are the
examples of consonance with the usage of
‘pp’ sound.
Alliteration, Repetition, and Refrain
When a particular sound in the beginning of a word is repeated
in consecutive words, it is known as Alliteration.
E.g.
The big black bull ran towards the lake.
Here, Big, Black, Bull is example of Alliteration.
When a particular word/phrase is repeatedly used in a single
piece of poetry to enhance the meaning or impact, we call it
repetition.
E.g.
The words ‘should be’ is repeated in two stanzas in the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’
Repetition of a complete sentence at regular intervals in poem to
give it a song effect is called ‘refrain’
Anaphora
It is similar to repetition but not same. Anaphora involves
repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of a
sentence or phrase whereas repetition can occur
anywhere. In this manner Anaphora is more precise kind
of repetition.
E.g.
“Life is a gift for them,
life is a journey, and,
life is an experiment for those who say life is a blessing.”
Oxymoron
When two completely opposite words are used to
create the intense impact of something.
E.g.
“The sweet poison of fame and appreciation was
consuming her gradually.”
“It is an open secret that he cheated in the exams.”
Enjambment
Continuation of a sentence or a phrase from one line of
poetry to the next without any break and a smooth flow
of thoughts is called Enjambment. It is similar to RAP in
which one thought keeps on leading to other through
the lines mingling into each other. Free verse poetry
uses it quite often.
E.g.
The sun hovered
over the horizon
hanging between two mountains
changing the day into night.
Symbols and Symbolism
When the writer uses certain objects to represent some
idea beyond their literal meaning, we categorize it as
symbolism and the objects are called symbols.
E.g. water is generally used as a symbol of moving time.
Blooming flowers are symbol of happiness and autumn is
the symbol of decline.
When all these elements are used to show passage of time
and the change of situation, it is Symbolism.
Symbolism can be represented through one symbol or
multiple symbols.
Imagery and Allegory
Imagery : To use figurative language to represent objects,
actions and ideas in order to appeal to our physical senses
and we can experience the emotion through words. It can
also be called creating mind pictures.
E.g.
Trying to catch the glimpse of first ray of the sun, he climbed the mountain
when it was still dark.
Allegory: Usage of an image, story, or incident etc. to present
a moral value or a hidden meaning or deep truth.
E.g.
A Legend of the Northland is a poem that is Allegorical in nature. It uses the
story(legend) of the woodpecker, it uses imagery when we are told about baking
of cakes or the woman flying up the chimney and it also makes the reader
conscious about the values one should have.
Onomatopoeia and Palindromes
A word that represents a sounds with the same type of sounds
produced. We can call it sound-word also.
E.g.
quack, tinkling, patter, sizzle
Palindromes are the words/sentences that can be spelled/read
same forward and backwards. Such words/sentences are used
to create dramatic effects in poetry or prose.
E.g.
Madam, Radar, pop
OR
“Madam, I’m Adam.”
Humour and Satire
Humour is the usage of words, situation, actions or implications that induce
laughter. Comedies are quite rich in verbal or situational humour.
E.g.
Charlie Chaplin is trying to polish his shoes but ends up with black hands and black face.
Satire is often comic in nature but the purpose behind being funny is not
laughter but to hint upon something wrong or unacceptable prevailing
around. Satire often has an underlying moral lesson.
E.g.
Indian movies like ‘Khosla ka Ghosla’ and ‘Tere Bin Laden’ are satirical in nature. Jaspal Bhatti’s
entire work was based on satire.
In English literature, long poem ‘The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock’ and novel ‘Gulliver’s Travels’
are the best examples of satire.
Transferred Epithet
It refers to an adjective or a phrase that is transferred
from the closely placed noun(mostly object) to the
figuratively related things or the actions which are
actually not mentioned but understood.
E.g.
“Raju and his brother had a memorable day.”
Here, the day itself can not be memorable but the
company, the fun and the closeness enjoyed by these
two people make it memorable.
Synecdoche
A literary device, in which a part of something is
substituted for the whole.
E.g.
The manager needs to hire a hand to complete the job on time.
here, hand refers to a helper(who will help physically).
We should try to feed hungry mouths.
here, mouths refer to the people(to whom those mouths belong).
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to make a
point or show emphasis. The purpose is to intensify the image or
expression.
E.g.
I am so hungry that I can even eat a horse.
I love you to the moon and back.
Poetic License
The freedom taken by writers to change or ignore
conventional rules of language etc. while writing in order
to achieve a particular effect.
E.g.
Distortion of spellings and verb forms in ‘How to Tell Wild
Animals’
Personification
Assigning human attributes to a non-human
aspect to enhance the impact of poetry/prose is
called Personification.
E.g.
The door protested and creaked loudly when I tried to open it
without its permission.
The mouse ran back to his little house where he had stored all the
food for his hibernation period.
Monologue/Dramatic Monologue
and Soliloquy
The term most frequently refers to a poetic form where a character
speaks without interruption in the presence of an (invisible) listener .
The speaker in monologue can be a non-human character as well.
E.g.
Robert Browning’s ‘The Last Ride Together’ is the perfect example of
dramatic monologue.
Unlike the monologue, soliloquy refers to the words spoken by a
character while thinking aloud. It gives a clear picture of the thought
process of a character.
E.g.
Hamlet’s famous extract ‘To Be or Not To Be’ is the best example of soliloquy
where Hamlet is trying to figure out the meaning of his existence and all what
he is thinking is automatically coming out of his mouth.
This presentation has tried to cover up
almost all the commonly used literary
devices though there are many other
except the ones included in this
presentation. There are many poetic
devices which have further sub types
or hybrid forms as per the experiments
being done in literature.
HAPPY READING!