A Playful Guide to Literary Devices
Welcome to the wondrous world of literary devices! Here, we will dive deep into the realm of language and explore the many weapons in a writer’s arsenal. From metaphor to alliteration, personification to hyperbole, we’ve got it all.
If you’re an aspiring writer, you’ll want to bookmark this page faster than you can say “onomatopoeia.” We promise to make learning about literary devices more fun than a barrel of monkeys (simile, anyone?).
So, put on your thinking caps and grab a cup of coffee (or tea, or hot cocoa, we don’t discriminate), because we’re about to embark on a journey of wit, wordplay, and all things literary. Let’s get punny!
A
-
Abandoned Farmhouse -
Absalom, Absalom! -
Accumulation -
Ace in the Hole (1951) -
Acrostic -
Action -
Active Voice -
Adage -
Adam Bede -
Adam Bede: Novels of George Eliot Part One -
Adulthood Is a Myth -
Adulthood Is a Myth -
Adventure -
Adynaton -
Ad Hominem -
Africa by Toto -
Afterglow by Taylor Swift -
After Apple-Picking -
After the Plague: Stories -
After the Plague: Stories -
After You -
Against Dying -
Again, Let Me Tell You What I Know About Trust -
Agnes Grey -
Aguirre: The Wrath of God -
Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers -
Air Traffic -
Akira (1988) -
Alex Cross’s Trial -
Alias Grace -
Alice in the Cities (1974) -
Alice in Wonderland -
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland -
Aliens (1986) -
Alien (1979) -
Alive at the End of the World -
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) -
Allegiant -
Allegorical Interpretation vs Symbolic Interpretation: Unraveling Meaning in Literature -
Allegory vs Fable: Understanding Literary Devices -
Allegory vs Symbol: A Comprehensive Comparison of Literary Devices -
Allegory You Say. What ‘s That? ⚧ -
Allusion vs Reference: Unpacking Literary Devices -
Allusion: Wow! That Really Takes Me Back -
All About Eve (1950) -
All About My Mother (1999) -
All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix -
All My Sons -
All of Me by John Legend -
All Quiet on the Western Front -
All Quiet on the Western Front -
All They Want Is My Money My Pussy My Blood -
All the King’s Men -
All the Light We Cannot See -
All the President’s Men (1976) -
All the Pretty Girls by Kaleo -
All the Pretty Horses -
All Too Well by Taylor Swift -
All You Need Is Love by The Beatles -
Alone by Bee Gees -
Along Came a Spider -
Alter Ego -
Always Like This by Bombay Bicycle Club -
Amadeus (1984) -
Amarcord (1973) -
Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation -
Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation -
Ambiguity -
Amélie (2001) -
American Beauty (1999) -
American Gods -
American History X (1998) -
American Pastoral -
American Pie by Don McLean -
American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin -
America Is in the Heart -
Amores Perros (2000) -
Amour (2012) -
Amplification -
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business -
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business -
Anachronism -
Anacoluthon -
Anadiplosis -
Anagnorisis -
Anagram: The Art of Rearrangement -
Analogy – The Informational Comparison -
Analytical Essay -
Anapest -
Anaphora vs Epistrophe: Enhancing Rhetoric Through Repetition -
Anaphora: Repetition’s First Cousin -
Anarchy in the U.K. by Sex Pistols -
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) -
Andrei Rublev (1966) -
And I Love Her by The Beatles -
And Then There Were None -
And the Mountains Echoed -
And the Mountains Echoed -
Anecdote: A Story within a Story 📜 -
Angela’s Ashes -
Angels & Demons -
Angle of Repose -
Animal Dreams -
Animal Eye -
Animal Farm -
Animal Farm and Related Readings -
Annabel Lee -
Anna and the French Kiss -
Anna and the French Kiss -
Anna Karenina -
Anna Sun by Walk The Moon -
Anne of Avonlea -
Anne of Green Gables -
Anne of Green Gables -
Anne of Green Gables -
Anne of the Island -
Annie Hall (1977) -
Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 by Pink Floyd -
Another One Bites the Dust by Queen -
Antagonist -
Antanaclasis -
Antecedent -
Anthem -
Anthills of the Savannah -
Anthimeria -
Anthology -
Anthropomorphism -
Antigone -
Antimetabole -
Antiphrasis -
Antistrophe -
Antithesis – Anti What? -
Anti-Climax -
Anti-Hero -
Antonomasia -
An Abundance of Katherines -
An Abundance of Katherines -
An American Poem -
An American Sunrise -
An American Tragedy -
An Autumn Afternoon (1962) -
An Enemy of the People -
An Essay on Criticism -
An Old Story -
Aparajito (1956) -
Aphorism -
Aphorisms: Short, Memorable Quotes to Live By -
Aphorismus -
Apocalypse Now (1979) -
Apologia -
Apologue -
Aporia -
Aposiopesis -
Apostrophe -
Appalachia -
Appointment in Samarra -
Appositive -
Appropriate: A Provocation -
April Rain Song -
Archaism -
Archetype -
Ardency -
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret -
Argument -
Argumentative Essay -
Ariel -
Army of Shadows (1969) -
Around the World in Eighty Days -
Arrowsmith -
Artemis Fowl -
Ash Wednesday -
Aside -
Assertion -
Assonance vs Consonance: A Detailed Comparison of Sound Devices in Literature -
Asyndeton -
As I Lay Dying -
As You Like It -
As You Like It -
Atlas Shrugged -
Atmosphere -
Atmospheric Disturbances -
Atonement -
Attitude -
Aubade with Burning City -
Audience -
Auditory Imagery -
August by Taylor Swift -
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers -
Austenland -
Australia by The Shins -
Autobiography -
Autobiography of Red -
Autumn Sonata (1978) -
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) -
Au Revoir les Enfants -
Ava’s Man -
A Beautiful Mind (2001) -
A Bend in the River -
A Blessing -
A Brief History of Time -
A Brief History of Time -
A Brighter Summer Day (1960) -
A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke -
A Child Called “It” -
A Child’s Christmas in Wales -
A Christmas Carol -
A Clash of Kings -
A Clockwork Orange -
A Clockwork Orange (1971) -
A Confederacy of Dunces -
A Confederacy of Dunces -
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court -
A Court of Thorns and Roses -
A Court of Thorns and Roses -
A Dance to the Music of Time -
A Dance with Dragons -
A Day in the Life by The Beatles -
A Death in the Family -
A Discovery of Witches -
A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford -
A Doll’s House -
A Farewell to Arms -
A Feast of Crows -
A Fine Balance -
A Fine Balance -
A Fortune for Your Disaster -
A Free Life -
A Game of Thrones -
A Gathering of Old Men -
A Gesture Life -
A Handful of Dust -
A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles -
A High Wind in Jamaica -
A History of Bubbles -
A House for Mr Biswas -
A House for Mr Biswas -
A House for Mr. Biswas -
A Journey to the Center of the Earth -
A Kingdom of Dreams -
A Letter to My Mother That She Will Never Read -
A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages -
A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages -
A Little Devil in America -
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier -
A Lost Lady -
A Lost Lady -
A Man Called Ove -
A Man Escaped (1956) -
A Matter of Life and Death (1946) -
A Midsummer Night’s Dream -
A Midsummer Night’s Dream -
A Moon for the Misbegotten -
A Narrow Fellow in the Grass -
A Painted House -
A Parcel of Patterns -
A Parcel of Patterns -
A Passage to India -
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -
A Prayer for Owen Meany -
A Prayer for Owen Meany -
A Prayer to Owen Meany -
A Prophet (2009) -
A River Runs through It -
A River Runs through It -
A Room of One’s Own -
A Room of One’s Own -
A Room With a View -
A Rose for Emily -
A Rose for Emily -
A Season in Hell -
A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy -
A Separate Peace -
A Separation (2011) -
A Short Film About Killing -
A Short Film About Love (1988) -
A Short History of Nearly Everything -
A Simile for Me, Please 🙏🏽 -
A Soldier’s Play -
A Song -
A Special Day (1977) -
A Storm of Swords -
A Streetcar Named Desire -
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) -
A Study in Scarlet -
A Tale of Two Cities -
A Thousand Splendid Suns -
A Time to Kill -
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -
A Visit from the Goon Squad -
A Visit from the Goon Squad -
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail -
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail -
A Walk to Remember -
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum -
A Wild Sheep Chase -
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) -
A Woman Without a Country -
A Wrinkle in Time -
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water -
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
B
-
Babbitt -
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse -
Back to December by Taylor Swift -
Back to the Future (1985) -
Back to the Future (1985) -
Badlands (1973) -
Bad Blood by Taylor Swift -
Bad by Michael Jackson -
Bad Guy by Billie Eilish -
Balanced Sentence -
Ballad -
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress -
Bambi (1942) -
Bandwagon -
Ban All the Music by Nothing But Thieves -
Barbershop -
Barbie Chang -
Barbie Chang Visits Her Counselor -
Barbie Chang’s Tears -
Barchester Towers and the Warden -
Bared to You -
Bared to You -
Barnaby Rudge -
Barry Lyndon (1975) -
Bastard Out of Carolina -
Bathos -
Battleship Potemkin (1925) -
Beat It by Michael Jackson -
Beautiful Creatures -
Beautiful Disaster -
Beauty and the Beast (1991) -
Because of Winn-Dixie -
Before I Fall -
Before I Fall -
Before I Go to Sleep -
Before I Go to Sleep -
Before Sunrise (1995) -
Before Sunset (2004) -
Begin Again by Taylor Swift -
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity -
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity -
Beijing Confidential: A Tale of Comrades Lost and Found -
Being There (1979) -
Beloved -
Bel Canto -
Benito Cereno -
Ben-Hur -
Ben-Hur (1959) -
Beowulf -
Beowulf -
Best Day of My Life by American Authors -
Betrayed -
Betty by Taylor Swift -
Be My Baby by The Ronettes -
Bias -
Bibliomancy -
Bicycle Thieves (1948) -
Big Little Lies -
Big Little Lies -
Bildungsroman -
Bildungsroman vs Coming of Age Story: Unveiling the Growth Journey in Literature -
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson -
Biography -
Birdman (2014) -
Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults -
Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults -
Blackbird by The Beatles (White Album) -
Black Beauty -
Black Boy -
Black Comedy vs Dark Comedy: Exploring Humor in the Shadows -
Black Humor -
Black Like Me -
Black Magic Woman by Santana -
Black Movie -
Black Swan -
Blade Runner (1982) -
Blank Space -
Blank Space by Taylor Swift -
Blank Verse -
Bleachers -
Bleak House -
Blinding Lights by The Weeknd -
Blink -
Block Party -
Blood Dazzler -
Blood Promise -
Bluebird -
Blue Highways -
Blue Laws -
Blue Moon -
Blue Velvet (1986) -
Boesman and Lena -
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen -
Bone -
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) -
Book of Mormon Student Manual -
Book of Mormon Student Manual -
Border Triptych -
Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen -
Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen -
Born This Way by Lady Gaga -
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen -
Bossypants -
Boy in a Whalebone Corset -
Braid -
Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers -
Braveheart (1995) -
Brave New World -
Brave New World Revisited -
Brazil -
Brazil (1985) -
Breakfast at Tiffany’s -
Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories -
Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories -
Breaking Dawn -
Breaking the Waves (1996) -
Breathless (1960) -
Breath, Eyes, Memory -
Breezeblocks by alt-J -
Brideshead Revisited -
Bridget Jones’s Diary -
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel -
Bridge to Terabithia -
Bridge to Terabithia -
Bridge to Terabithia -
Brief Encounter (1945) -
Brighton Rock -
Bright Dead Things -
Bringing Up Baby (1938) -
Brisingr -
Broken for You -
Broken for You -
Brown -
Brown Girl, Brownstones -
Brown Girl, Brownstones -
Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means -
Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means -
Buck Studies -
Budapest by George Ezra -
Buddenbrooks -
Bud, Not Buddy -
Build Yourself a Boat -
Bullet Points -
Burlesque -
Bury It -
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) -
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy -
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy -
Buzzword -
By the Shores of Silver Lake
C
-
Cabaret (1972) -
Cacophony: Adding Sound to Your Writing -
Caddie Woodlawn -
Cadence -
Caesura -
Caged Bird -
California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & the Papas -
California Love by 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre -
Calling a Wolf a Wolf -
Call It Courage -
Call It What You Want by Taylor Swift -
Call Me by Your Name (2017) -
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen -
Call Us What We Carry -
Camille Claudel (1988) -
Candida -
Candide -
Cannery Row -
Canon -
Canto -
Can You Keep a Secret? -
Can You Keep a Secret? -
Can’t Buy Me Love by The Beatles -
Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley -
Capernaum (2018) -
Captains Courageous -
Cardigan by Taylor Swift -
Caricature -
Carrie -
Casablanca (1942) -
Casino (1995) -
Cassius by Foals -
Castle in the Sky (1986) -
Catachresis -
Catalog -
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude -
Catastrophe -
Catching Fire -
Catch Me If You Can (2002) -
Catch-22 -
Catharsis -
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman -
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman -
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) -
Cat’s Cradle -
Cat’s Cradle -
Cause and Effect Essay -
Central Station (1998) -
Ceremony -
Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift -
Chandelier by Sia -
Changing of the Seasons by Two Door Cinema Club -
Character -
Characterization -
Character Arc vs Character Development: A Guide for Writers -
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -
Charlotte’s Web -
Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture -
Chiasmus. It’s Like Looking in a Mirror -
Children of Heaven (1997) -
Children of Men (2006) -
Children of Paradise (1945) -
Chinatown (1974) -
Chocolate by The 1975 -
Choke -
Chop Suey Nation -
Chosen -
Christmas Tree Farm by Taylor Swift -
Chronicle -
Chronicle of a Death Foretold -
Chronology -
Chungking Express (1994) -
Cinder -
Cinderella -
Cinema Paradiso (1988) -
Circumlocution -
Citizen -
Citizen Kane (1941) -
Citizen: An American Lyric -
City Lights (1931) -
City of Fallen Angels -
City of Glass -
City of God (2002) -
City of God (2002) -
City of Heavenly Fire -
City of Lost Souls -
Civil Disobedience and Other Essays -
Claim -
Claire of the Sea Light -
Clap When You Land -
Clean by Taylor Swift -
Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) -
Cliché -
Cliffhanger -
Cliffs Notes on Shakespeare’s Hamlet -
Climax -
Clocks by Coldplay -
Closed Ending vs Open Ending: Navigating Narratives -
Closer by The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey -
Close-Up (1990) -
Clown Punk -
Club Dead -
Coco (2017) -
Coherence -
Cold Mountain -
Comedy -
Come and See (1985) -
Come a Little Closer by Cage the Elephant -
Come Back… Be Here by Taylor Swift -
Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners -
Come Together by The Beatles -
Come Together by The Beatles -
Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd -
Comic Relief -
Coming Through Slaughter -
Coming Through Slaughter -
Common Sense and Other Writings -
Common Sense and Other Writings -
Company -
Comparatives -
Comparison -
Comparison and Contrast Essay -
Competitor -
Conceit -
Concession -
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister -
Confessions of a Shopaholic -
Confessions of a Shopaholic -
Conflict -
Connotation -
Consonance. You Know, That Thing Then Consonants Keep Repeating? 🔁 -
Context -
Contrast -
Conundrum -
Cool Hand Luke (1967) -
Copenhagen -
Coraline -
Cordon Negro -
Cornelia Street by Taylor Swift -
Cosmic Irony vs Dramatic Irony: A Comprehensive Literary Comparison -
Cough Syrup by Young the Giant -
Couplet -
Cranford -
Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen -
Creep by Radiohead -
Crescendo -
Cress -
Cries and Whispers (1972) -
Crime and Punishment -
Critical Essay -
Critique -
Cross Country -
Cross Fire -
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy -
Crow -
Crown of Midnight -
Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift -
Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift -
Crush -
Crystalised by The xx -
Cry, The Beloved Country -
Cumulative Sentence -
Cutting for Stone -
Cyrano de Bergerac
D
-
Dactyl -
Daisy Miller -
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) -
Dancer in the Dark (2000) -
Dancing at Lughnasa -
Dancing Queen by ABBA -
Dancing with Our Hands Tied by Taylor Swift -
Dangal (2016) -
Dangerous by Big Data ft. Joywave -
Dangerous Liaisons -
Darkness at Noon -
Dark Lover -
Dark Matter -
Dark Places -
Dart -
Das Boot (1981) -
Daughter of Fortune -
Daughter of Smoke & Bone -
Daughter of Smoke & Bone -
Dave Barry Greatest Hits -
David Copperfield -
Daylight by Taylor Swift -
Daystar -
Days of Heaven (1978) -
Day for Night (1973) -
Day of Wrath (1943) -
Dead Poets Society -
Dead to the World -
Dead Until Dark -
Deaf Like Me -
Deaf Republic -
Dear John -
Dear Memory -
Dear Mr. Henshaw -
Death by a Thousand Cuts by Taylor Swift -
Death Comes for the Archbishop -
Death Fugue -
Death In Venice -
Death of a Salesman -
Deception Point -
Declaration -
Dedication -
Deductive Reasoning -
Default by Django Django -
Defending Jacob -
Defiance, Ohio Is the Name of a Band -
Déjà Dead -
Delicate by Taylor Swift -
Delirium -
Deliverance -
Delta Wedding -
Denotation -
Denotation vs Connotation: Unraveling Literary Devices -
Denouement -
Dersu Uzala (1975) -
Desire by Years & Years -
Desire Under the Elms -
Deus Ex Machina -
Deuteragonist -
Diabolique (1955) -
Diacope -
Dialect -
Dialogue -
Dial M for Murder (1954) -
Diary of a Wimpy Kid