Literary Devices

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Allegory

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A story or poem in which characters, setting, and events stand for other people or for abstarct ideas or qualities.

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Alliteration

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Repetition of the same or similar consonant in word that are close together.

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Allusion

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reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, sciences, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually literature, etc.)

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Ambiguity

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Deliberately suggestion two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meaning in a a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way this is on purpose by the author.

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Analogy

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Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike.

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Anaphora

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repetition of a word, phrase or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. this is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.

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Anastrophe

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Inversion of the usual, normal or logical order of the parts of a sentence. purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony it is a fancy word for inversion.

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Anecdote

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Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual

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Antagonist

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Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.

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Antimetabole

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Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order. Moliere: “One should eat to live, not live to eat.” In poetry, this is called chiasmus.

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Antithesis

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Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure.

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Antihero

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Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples.

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Anthropomorphism

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attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (Personification)

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Aphorism

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brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram

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Apostrophe

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calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for inspiration it is called an invocation. Josiah Holland ---“Loacöon! Thou great embodiment/ Of human life and human history!”

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Apposition

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lacing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first (often set off by a colon). Paine: “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it Now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

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Assonance

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the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together.

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Asydenton

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Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z... the writer uses X,Y,Z.... see polysyndeton.