Literary Devices: 52+ Terms plus Examples for All Writers
Literary devices are tools in the writer’s toolbox that help you construct a strong story. These tools bring your readers deeper into the heart of your story, shape their perception, and communicates the whole of your vision to the reader.
A few literary devices are well known to any experienced writer and to many well-read bookworms. You’ll recognize poetic imagery along with basic foreshadowing and personification, and of course, you already know how to use metaphors and similes.
But literary devices are much more than just how to describe things or how to juxtapose one thing beside another in a metaphorical comparison. Literary devices can highlight concepts, emphasize your points and foreground story points that could be buried by otherwise turgid prose. These devices change the pace and flow of your writing. Some of these tools work on your emotions, while other devices connect intellectually. All of them draw your attention.
Here are the top 10 literary devices, followed by a further list of more than 52 of these important tools, with examples from literature to demonstrate how they can be used to great effect in your writing!