Any element that makes a piece of writing meaningful and engaging is called a literary device. Be it poetic devices or devices used in prose, these literary techniques transform a simple piece of writing into a piece evoking emotion.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is a literary device used by writers to attribute human characteristics to animals and other inanimate objects. Examples can be found in Greek mythology, children’s literature, fairy tales, etc. where nonhuman entities behave like humans and exhibit human qualities.
Example:
“’Cheshire Puss,’ she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. ‘Come, it’s pleased so far,’ thought Alice, and she went on. ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.”
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
In the above example, the Cheshire Cat talks and behaves like a human.
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is when two different ideas, concepts, or characters are presented side by side to help readers see the contrast or compare the similarities between them.
Example:
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
In the above example, the author compares and contrasts happy families with unhappy families.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary device used to liken one thing to another without using “as” or “like.” It indirectly compares two unrelated things using figurative language.
Example:
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Though thoughts aren’t literally stars, the author uses metaphor in the above example to compare thoughts to stars.
Paradox
A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. It is used when an author intends for readers to think critically about an idea, a theme, or a situation. A paradox can either be a logical one, which defies logic, or a literary one, which is used to portray a complex character, theme, or situation.
Example:
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The above excerpt from Animal Farm is a self-contradictory statement. The author uses paradox to introduce the concept of inequality to readers by stating “some animals are more equal than others.”
Symbolism
Symbolism is a technique in which one thing is used to represent another. It involves using animate or inanimate symbols to represent concepts, themes, characters, or situations that are abstract or complex.
Example:
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
In the above example, the ring is used as a symbol to represent power. Although the ring’s power is addictive, such power comes with dire consequences, endangering the lives of the ring-bearer and others around him.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tone
Tone refers to how an author chooses to convey emotions and feelings to readers. It can be fearful, nostalgic, cynical, witty, joyful, humorous, etc.
Example:
“I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further—for time is the longest distance between places.”
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
In the above example, the tone is nostalgic because the narrator is reflecting on his past.
Imagery
Imagery is a literary device that is used to appeal to the five senses—smell, taste, touch, sight, and sound. It helps readers envision the imaginary world created by the author.
Example:
“It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window…Now, I saw the damp lying on the bare hedges and spare grass…On every rail and gate, wet lay clammy, and the marsh-mist was so thick, that the wooden finger on the post directing people to our village—a direction which they never accepted, for they never came there—was invisible to me until I was quite close under it.”
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is an audial description of a visual thing. It is a literary device in which a word sounds like the thing it is describing. For example, “achoo!” is used to refer to sneezing, “boom!” is used to refer to explosions, “honk” is used to refer to horns, and so on.
Example:
Hark, hark!
Bow-wow.
The watch-dogs bark!
Bow-wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry cock-a-diddle-dow!
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
In the above example, “bow-wow” represents the barking of dogs and “cock-a-diddle-dow!” represents the crowing of a rooster (chanticleer).
Irony
Irony is another popular literary device used to indicate the polarity between what something appears to be and what it really is.
Example:
“Today was a very cold and bitter day, as cold and bitter as a cup of hot chocolate; if the cup of hot chocolate had vinegar added to it and were placed in a refrigerator for several hours.”
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Daniel Handler
Hot chocolate is usually hot and sweet. The above example, however, suggests the opposite of what hot chocolate is supposed to be, making it a verbal irony.
Analogy
Analogy is a literary device used to draw a comparison between two similar or dissimilar things. Analogy, like metaphor and simile, helps to liken two different things.
Example:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
In the above excerpt from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet compares Romeo to a sweet-smelling rose and says that irrespective of the clan Romeo belongs to, it doesn’t change who he is; she still loves him no matter what.
There are several other literary devices besides the ones listed above. Knowing how to use such literary devices effectively can help writers make their writing more appealing and relatable.
