Stylistic Devices in Literature: Definitions & Examples
Stylistic Devices in Literature
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of certain sounds, usually consonants, throughout a phrase, verse, or stanza:
…With the traitor wing of light, fan
Onomatopoeia
When alliteration imitates real sounds of nature, it is called onomatopoeia:
Uco, Uco, Uco, Uco, bee-eaters
Paranomasia
Paranomasia is the use of words that sound alike but have different meanings:
…As to ants, like so many, like everyone else.
Epithet
An epithet is an adjective accompanying a noun, expressing a quality we associate with it permanently:
white snow
Tautology
Tautology is the use of words that are unnecessary for understanding the text:
I saw with my own eyes
Ellipsis
Ellipsis is the suppression or omission of linguistic elements that are part of the sentence. Their meaning is understood by context, providing the sentence with greater energy and suggestive power:
For a look, a world;
For a smile, a sky
Circumlocution
Circumlocution is the expression of an idea through a syntactic detour.
Polysyndeton
Polysyndeton is the use of more conjunctions than necessary to give the phrase a slower and more solemn pace:
Someone sweeps
and sings and sweeps
Asyndeton
Asyndeton is the omission of conjunctions in a phrase to provide more movement and speed:
Go, feel not the hot bellowing.
Sleeping, resting flies. Also, the sea dies!
Anaphora
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of certain phrases or verses.
Parallelism
Parallelism is the almost complete repetition of two or more phrases or verses, varying only at the end.
Hyperbaton
Hyperbaton is the alteration of the logical or grammatical order of words in a sentence to emphasize certain elements over others:
On the slopes of Mount
By my hand, I have planted a garden
Anadiplosis
Anadiplosis occurs when the end of a syntactic group or verse is repeated in the following one.
Concatenation
Concatenation occurs when several verses begin with the same word with which the previous one ended, to establish continuity. It also occurs in prose.
Pun
A pun is the inclusion in the text of two or more words that are spelled the same but have different meanings.
Calembour
A calembour is a play on words that occurs when joining two or more syllables of different words creates a new word with a different meaning. It is widely used in riddles.
Simile or Comparison
A simile is a comparison between two things that have similar qualities.
Metaphor
A metaphor is the identification of two elements (a real term with one or more images) between which there is a likeness.
Metonymy or Synecdoche
Metonymy or synecdoche implies a change in meaning between words, produced by different means.
Antithesis or Contrast
Antithesis is the juxtaposition of two opposing ideas or thoughts.
Paradox
A paradox is a seemingly absurd expression, but one that is full of meaning.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole consists of weighing something by greatly exaggerated features.
Personification or Prosopopoeia
Personification is attributing human qualities to animate or inanimate beings.
Irony
In irony, the text implies, by the context or situation, the opposite of what it apparently says.
Symbol
Authors often create symbols through which they designate a spiritual reality and abstract character, such as the cross of Christianity.