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Literary Devices and Terms
Literary devices are specific language techniques which writers use to create text
that is clear, interesting, and memorable
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” He means problems with money, but his
young son thinks, “You’re right, dad! I don’t want to share my room and toys
with anybody!”
Analogy - comparing one thing to another very different thing in order to explain it
better
Examples: a school is like a garden, where children are lovingly raised and
cared for; the rabbit shot from its hole like a rocket; the confetti fell like snow in
a blizzard as the parade passed through the city streets (these three analogies are
all written as similes)
Aphorism - a brief statement expressing some truth as shown is a story; it can be a
moral, or proverb, or maxim
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Examples: Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
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Don’t make a big fuss if someone isn’t like us
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The thick forest air just sat
on you, hot and wet like a wool blanket, while mosquitoes droned in your ears
and stung you on the back where you could never quite reach to smack them
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Circular Story - a story which begins and ends at the same place, usually following
a character through different adventures or events; although the character arrives
back where he/she started, he or she should now have a different perspective or
feeling based upon experiences
Example: A poor farmer travels to the city where he observes many expensive
buildings and belongings, all owned by the same man
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Although the man
was extremely wealthy, he could enjoy none of that in death
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Climax - the most exciting moment of the story, where the main character faces
his/her ultimate challenge
Example: In Cinderella, the clock begins striking twelve, and Cinderella must
rush home before the handsome prince finds out her secret
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The following day, when the prince finds her again and fits the glass slipper on
her foot, is the outcome, or solution, of the story
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Conflict - the problem, or challenge, that the main character faces
Example: The main character may be challenged by another character (two kids
running in a race), by nature (a boy struggling to survive in the wilderness), or by
him/herself (a girl who must get over her fear of speaking in front of an audience)

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“To the library,” replied Jeremy
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Frankie, however, is scared to ask Mary to the dance
because she is so popular and “cool
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Event - an action in a story that moves the story forward; usually something
happens to the main character, or the main character takes action against
someone or something else
Example: In the book Ruby the Copycat, Ruby sees her friend wear a certain
dress, so Ruby comes to school in a similar dress
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Each time Ruby sees her friend
do something and copies it, that is an event in the story
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He stood up to
bullies before, like back in first grade when Roger Neary used to eat everybody’s
snack
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Flash-Forward - a sudden jump forward in time, usually used to eliminate
unnecessary events between the more interesting events of a story
Example: Quietly, Janice slid the book into her backpack
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“I’ve looked
everywhere,” she explained, “and I just can’t find it
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The plan had worked out
perfectly
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He began spending much more of his time out at
the old barn by the creek, and had even begun to ask for seconds and thirds at
suppertime
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Irony - contrast between the expected outcome and the actual way things turn out
(see Dramatic Irony)
Example: In the book Holes, no one in the courtroom believes that Stanley
Yelnats is innocent
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Metaphor - a suggested comparison between two unlike things in order to point out
a similarity; a metaphor DOES NOT use the word like, as
as, or than
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(the wolves’ eyes are compared to
orange coals because of their brightness and color)
Motive - a character’s reason for doing what he/she does
Example: “So why did you tear up Janie’s paper?” demanded the teacher
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The teacher would
never understand
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All because
you
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Outcome - the last event of the story which tells how the story ends; it explains
whether the main character met his/her challenge
Example: “And they all lived happily ever after,” is a common outcome in fairy
tales
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Good fences make good neighbors (fences do separate people, but they help
people get along by making boundaries clear)
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Parody - a humorous story that makes fun of another well-known story by imitating
it; characters, plot, theme, setting, may all be copied or changed for humorous
effect
Examples: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka has the
story of the Three Little Pigs explained from the wolf’s point of view, and in his
version it was all a big misunderstanding and he was innocent
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A week later,
however, she lost it
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Then one
day
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Poetic Justice - an outcome in a story where good is rewarded, and evil is punished
Example: the wolf is boiled in the pot at the end of the Three Little Pigs; good
Cinderella marries the handsome prince; the lazy grasshopper suffers a hungry
winter because he did not work hard like the ant to store up food
Point of View - the perspective from which a story is seen or told; there are three
main forms:
First Person: (I and me are used; the narrator is actually a part of the story)
I woke up first, alarmed that I had slept too late and missed my chance
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Third Person: (he and she are used; the narrator simply helps tell the story, and
lets all character speak for themselves)
Pete woke up first
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Omniscient: (he and she are used; BUT the narrator not only lets characters
speak, but can also “get inside their heads” to read their thoughts)
Pete woke up first, feeling somewhat alarmed that he might have overslept
and missed his chance
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Portmanteau Word - a portmanteau is suitcase which opens like a book, and when
the two sides are shut and fastened, it is ready for travel; a portmanteau word is
one in which two real words are combined, but some letters deleted, in order to
form a new word
Examples:

fog + smoke = smog
drip + sizzle = drizzle
horrid + tremendous = horrendous

The term portmanteau word was coined (invented) by Lewis Carroll, the author
of Alice in Wonderland
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Compound words are different, since they do NOT eliminate letters when
joining the two smaller words
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“But won’t I be really cold in my bare skin?” asked the boy
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Repetition - the author purposely repeats words or phrases; the author is trying to
create rhythm or suspense, or is trying to really emphasize a certain idea
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Burned to ashes
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It was all gone
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Simile - a comparison between two unlike things, using like, as
the comparison

as, or than in

Example: the leaf spun to the ground like a descending helicopter;
more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs;
he was as mad as a hornet
Solution - see Outcome
Stereotype/ Reverse Stereotype - a stereotype is when a person is portrayed is a
fixed way
Example: the old woman had gray hair, a cane, and sat in a rocking chair
A Reverse Stereotype is when a person is portrayed exactly opposite to a fixed
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She danced on
her toes as she approached the bully, and smiled as she said, “Okay, you big
oaf
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” And with one swing, she knocked
the bully to the ground
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As he gazes at
it, the basketball reminds him of all the fun times he had over the summer
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Theme - the meaning of a story, what it reveals about human nature; plot is what
happens in the story, while theme is what it means
Example: Plot: young soldier fights his first battle
Theme: war is useless; fighting solves nothing
Tone - the author’s attitude toward a subject, revealed by choice of words and
details
Example: The girl cast a lonely thin shadow on the gray brick wall, as her
classmates tumbled merrily in the brightly flowered fields beyond the school
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Ramona is
sometimes stubborn and doesn’t do what she is told, but Beatrice never yells or
complains
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(the word
patient is the trait; the second and third sentences provide the
evidence, or proof, from the story)
Understatement - when the author presents something as less significant
(important) than it really is

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Brumble looked at both test papers, back and forth, back and
forth, noting that all the answers were exactly the same
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”
Other Literary Devices:

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