30 Literary Devices With Examples From Well-Known Texts

Literary devices are the techniques writers use to build meaning and effect. They fall into narrative devices, such as foreshadowing, flashback and irony, and figurative devices, such as metaphor, simile and personification. Below are 30 with short definitions and examples, plus the step examiners reward most: naming a device is not enough, you must analyse its effect.

The short answer

A literary device is a technique a writer chooses to create meaning, mood or emphasis. Foreshadowing hints at what will happen later. Irony sets expectation against reality. Metaphor describes one thing as another. Knowing the names helps you talk about texts precisely, but the real skill, and the one that earns marks, is explaining what the device does to the reader.

This guide defines 30 devices in three groups: narrative and structural devices, figurative devices and sound and style devices. Each has a definition and an example, most from texts that are widely taught. A section at the end gives sentence starters for analysis, and shows the difference between spotting a device and analysing it.

For a shorter list focused on non-literal language alone, see the figures of speech guide.

Literary devices, literary elements and figures of speech

These terms overlap, and teachers use them differently, so check your syllabus.

A writer cannot avoid elements, since every story has a setting. Devices are choices, and that is why examiners ask you to explain them.

Group 1: Narrative and structural devices

These shape how a story is told and arranged.

1. Foreshadowing. A hint of events to come. In Romeo and Juliet, the Prologue calls the lovers "star-cross'd" and tells us they die before the play begins. Effect: dread, and a sense that the ending cannot be escaped.
2. Flashback. A scene from an earlier time, inserted into the present story. Charles Dickens's Great Expectations is told in retrospect by Pip. Effect: it explains why a character acts as they do.
3. Flash-forward. A glimpse of the future. A narrator saying "years later, he would regret that day" is an example. Effect: it builds suspense or irony about what the character does not yet know.
4. In medias res. Starting in the middle of the action. Homer's Odyssey opens with Odysseus already stranded on Calypso's island. Effect: it hooks the reader and lets the backstory emerge gradually.
5. Cliffhanger. Ending a section at a moment of maximum tension. Serialised Victorian novels did this to bring readers back for the next instalment. Effect: it creates anticipation.
6. Red herring. A false clue that leads the reader to a wrong conclusion. Detective fiction relies on it. Effect: it hides the real answer and rewards rereading.
7. Foil. A character who contrasts with another to highlight their qualities. In Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy's pride and cruelty highlight Harry's loyalty. Effect: it sharpens our view of the main character.
8. Framing device (frame narrative). A story inside a story. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is framed by letters from Captain Walton. Effect: it adds distance and layers of reliability.
9. Unreliable narrator. A narrator whose account cannot be fully trusted. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick says he is "inclined to reserve all judgements", yet many readers see him judging throughout, which is why he is often discussed as a partly unreliable narrator. Effect: readers must question what they are told.
10. Point of view. The perspective from which a story is told: first person (I), second (you) or third (he, she, they). Effect: it controls what the reader knows and how close they feel.
11. Dramatic irony. The audience knows something that a character does not. In Macbeth, King Duncan admires the pleasant air around Macbeth's castle, while the audience knows he will be murdered there that night. Effect: tension and unease in ordinary conversation.
12. Situational irony. The outcome is the opposite of what is expected. In O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi", she sells her hair to buy a chain for his watch, while he sells his watch to buy combs for her hair. Effect: poignancy and a twist.
13. Verbal irony. Saying the opposite of what you mean. "What lovely weather," said in a storm. Effect: humour, criticism or bitterness. Sarcasm is a sharp form of it.
14. Allusion. A brief reference to another text, person or event the reader is expected to know. Calling a difficult task "a Herculean labour" alludes to Greek myth. Effect: it adds depth in few words.
15. Symbolism. An object, person or setting that stands for a bigger idea. The green light in The Great Gatsby is widely read as representing Gatsby's hopes. Effect: it gives a story a second layer of meaning.
16. Motif. A symbol, image or idea that recurs through a text. Blood recurs throughout Macbeth. Effect: it builds theme through repetition.
17. Pathetic fallacy. Weather or surroundings that reflect a character's mood. The storm on the heath in King Lear mirrors Lear's turmoil. Effect: it makes setting emotional.
18. Juxtaposition. Placing two contrasting things side by side. Dickens opens A Tale of Two Cities with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". Effect: the contrast stresses conflict.

Group 2: Figurative devices

These use words in a non-literal way. For a longer treatment, see figures of speech.

1. Metaphor. A direct comparison without "like" or "as". "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare, As You Like It). Effect: it reshapes how we see the subject.
2. Simile. A comparison using "like" or "as". Robert Burns wrote "O my Luve is like a red, red rose". Effect: a clear, vivid image.
3. Personification. Giving human qualities to non-human things. "The wind whispered through the trees." Effect: it makes nature feel alive.
4. Hyperbole. Deliberate exaggeration. "I've told you a million times." Effect: emphasis or humour.
5. Understatement (litotes). Making something sound less than it is. "Not bad" for "excellent". Effect: dry humour or restraint.
6. Oxymoron. Two contradictory words together. "Bittersweet", or Shakespeare's "parting is such sweet sorrow". Effect: it captures mixed feelings.
7. Paradox. A statement that seems contradictory but holds a truth. "Less is more." Effect: it makes the reader think again.
8. Imagery. Language that appeals to the senses. Keats's "Ode to Autumn" speaks of "mellow fruitfulness". Effect: it lets the reader see, hear, touch, smell or taste the scene.
9. Metonymy and synecdoche. Naming something by an associated thing ("the Crown" for the monarchy), or a part for a whole ("all hands on deck"). Effect: concision and association.

Group 3: Sound and style devices

1. Alliteration. Repeated initial consonant sounds. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." Effect: rhythm, memorability or a mood, such as a hissing menace.
2. Onomatopoeia. Words that imitate sounds, such as buzz, crash, sizzle. Effect: immediacy.
3. Anaphora and repetition. Repeating words at the start of successive clauses. Winston Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds" (4 June 1940). Effect: momentum and conviction in persuasive speech.

Naming a device vs analysing it

This is the step that separates a pass from a high mark. Examiners in the GCSE English Literature papers and in AP English Literature are looking for your analysis of how the writer's choices create meaning, not a list of terms. Mark schemes in both reward explanation and the use of well-chosen evidence, though the exact criteria differ by exam board and year, so read your own specification.

A reliable pattern is Device, Evidence, Effect, Purpose:

1. Device: name the technique.
2. Evidence: quote the exact words.
3. Effect: say what the reader feels or understands.
4. Purpose: link it to the writer's wider message or the text's theme.

Worked example

Take the green light in The Great Gatsby.

Naming only: Fitzgerald uses symbolism in the green light.

Analysing: Fitzgerald uses the green light across the water as a symbol of Gatsby's longing for Daisy. Because it is distant and cannot be reached, it suggests that the future he wants is always slightly out of grasp. This supports the novel's wider critique of the American Dream, which seems close yet unattainable.

The second version still uses one device, but it quotes the detail, explains the effect and links to the theme. That is the move to practise.

Sentence starters for literary analysis

Use these to move from naming to explaining.

Introducing a device

• The writer uses [device] to...
• Through the [device] of "..." the reader is shown...
• The [device] in the phrase "..." creates...

Explaining effect

• This suggests that...
• This makes the reader feel...
• The connotations of "..." imply...
• This creates a sense of...

Linking to purpose and theme

• This reinforces the theme of...
• By doing this, the writer encourages us to question...
• This contrasts with... which highlights...
• Ultimately, this reveals...

Comparing two devices or texts

• Similarly... whereas...
• Both writers use [device], but while X..., Y...

Common mistakes

• Listing devices without evidence. Always quote.
• Feature spotting. Saying "there is alliteration" without saying why it matters earns little credit.
• Confusing similar terms. Metaphor and simile differ in whether "like" or "as" is used. Irony and coincidence are not the same thing. Symbolism and motif differ: a symbol stands for an idea, and a motif is a repeated element.
• Overclaiming. Not every repeated letter is meaningful. Choose the devices that clearly shape meaning.
• Retelling the plot. Analysis explains how it is written, not just what happens.

Quick quiz: name the device

Identify the main device in each line. Answers follow.

1. "The fog crept in on little cat feet." (Carl Sandburg's poem "Fog" uses a similar image.)
2. A detective story includes a suspicious gardener who turns out to be innocent.
3. A character says "Brilliant plan!" after the roof collapses on it.
4. The audience knows the letter is forged, but the hero does not.
5. "I have a dream" is repeated at the start of successive sentences.
6. A novel opens with the narrator already standing on the battlefield, then moves back to explain how he got there.

Answers

1. Personification (and metaphor): fog is given the movement of a cat.
2. Red herring: a false clue.
3. Verbal irony (sarcasm): the words contradict the situation.
4. Dramatic irony: the audience knows more than the character.
5. Anaphora: Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 speech is the best-known example.
6. In medias res followed by a flashback.

How to study devices for an exam

Memorising 30 definitions is less useful than practising with real passages. Choose a short extract from a set text, find three devices in it, and write one analytical paragraph on each using Device, Evidence, Effect, Purpose. Then compare your paragraphs with your teacher's feedback or a mark scheme from your exam board. Keep a personal list of the devices that occur most in your set texts, with one quotation for each, so you can recall them under time pressure.

A quick revision table

Using AdeptWrite when you write about literature

Draft your analytical paragraph, then run it through the Grammar Checker to catch agreement errors, missing commas after introductory phrases and tense slips. In literary essays, write about the text in the present tense ("Fitzgerald presents..."), and the checker can help you notice drift into the past tense. The Paraphrasing Tool can suggest alternatives when you repeat "shows" in every sentence, and the Sentence Rewriter can untangle a long analytical sentence. If you quote critics or sources, the Plagiarism Checker compares your text against open encyclopedic and academic sources (and the wider web in the mode that adds it), which helps you see whether phrasing sits too close to something published. Free runs handle up to 6,000 characters.

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