COMMON LITERATURE DEVICES
1. Simile
A comparison between two unlike things using like or as.
Example:
● "My love is like a red, red rose."
● "Life is like a box of chocolates."
2. Metaphor
A direct comparison between two unlike things without using like or as.
Example:
● "All the world’s a stage."
● "Hope is the thing with feathers."
3. Personification
Giving human qualities to non-human things.
Example:
● "The wind whispered through the trees."
● "The sun smiled down on us."
4. Alliteration
Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.
Example:
● "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
● "She sells seashells by the seashore."
5. Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds within words.
Example:
● "Hear the mellow wedding bells."
● "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."
6. Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds (not necessarily at the beginning).
Example:
● "Pitter-patter" (repetition of *t* and *r* sounds)
● "Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile.”
7. Onomatopoeia
Words that imitate sounds.
Example:
● "Buzz," "hiss," "boom," "clang."
● "The murmuring of innumerable bees."
8. Hyperbole
Exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
Example:
● "I’ve told you a million times!"
● "I could sleep for a year."
9. Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality.
Example:
● "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink."
● A fire station burning down.
10. Symbolism
Using an object or action to represent something else.
Example:
● A dove symbolizes peace.
● A skull symbolizes death
11. Imagery
Vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses.
Example:
● "The golden daffodils danced in the breeze."
● "The scent of ripe peaches filled the air."
12. Enjambment
A line break that carries an idea to the next line without punctuation.
Example:
● "I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree."
● "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, / But I have promises to keep."
13. Oxymoron
A combination of contradictory or opposite words for effect.
Example:
● "Bittersweet"
● "Deafening silence"
● "Jumbo shrimp"
14. Allusion
A reference to a well-known person, event, or work (historical, biblical, literary, etc.).
Example:
● "She was his Achilles’ heel." (Reference to Greek mythology)
● "I was not born in a manger like Jesus."
15. Anaphora
Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses.
Example:
● "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!"
16. Epistrophe
Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive lines or clauses.
Example:
● "Where now? Who now? When now?"
● "Government of the people, by the people, for the people..."
17. Synecdoche
Using a part of something to represent the whole (or vice versa).
Example:
● "All hands on deck." ("Hands" = sailors)
● "The White House issued a statement." (The White House = the President’s
administration)
18. Metonymy
Replacing the name of something with a closely associated word.
Example:
● "The pen is mightier than the sword." (Pen = writing, sword = violence)
● "The Crown announced a new law." (The Crown = the monarchy)
19. Caesura
A deliberate pause or break in the middle of a line (marked by punctuation or natural
speech rhythm).
Example:
● "To be, or not to be—that is the question." – Shakespeare
● "I hear lake water lapping || with low sounds by the shore..." – W.B. Yeats
20. Euphony & Cacophony
● Euphony: Pleasant, harmonious sounds.
○ "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..." – Keats
● Cacophony: Harsh, jarring sounds.
○ "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that
catch!" – Lewis Carroll
21. Paradox
A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a deeper truth.
Example:
● "Less is more."
● "The child is the father of the man."
22. Euphemism
A mild or indirect word substituted for a harsh or blunt one.
Example:
● "Passed away" instead of "died."
● "Let go" instead of "fired."
