Literary Gadgets List: Top 33 Literary Gadgets with Examples (2023)

If "literary gadgets" sounds like a memory of something you fell asleep in your English Lit 101 class, you're not alone. Perhaps breaking down the finer points of metaphor, perspective, and juxtaposition seems like a quick way to suck all the fun out of reality.enjoyingwriting. On the other hand, you might be surprised to learn that these literary devices are present in everything from epic poetry to Saturday morning cartoons to those guilty pleasure paperbacks you “accidentally” pick up at the airport. you leave behind on the way. airplane. .

If you're reading, watching or listening to a story and you're caught up in it even for a moment... that's a literary device in action. They are tools that the writer uses to interact with the reader on a visceral level, so that they look at the story and the world around them.viahistory - in a completely different way. Here, we'll show you literary devices with examples and how to use them to create powerful stories.

What is a literary device?

Literary devices are tools and techniques a writer uses to craft their story that make the writing go beyond the literal meaning of the words on the page. These techniques take the story beyond the basics of a beginning, middle, and end, to the more complex and satisfying levels of humor, flavor, narrative, and meaning.

There are many types of literary devices that writers can use to convey different effects to their writing. The skilled writer uses them to create a powerful and enduring work of art; and without them, a story would be much more basic, less enjoyable, and less memorable.

In other words, literary devices are the techniques that transform a literal, step-by-step narrative of events into a rich, engaging, and memorable work of literature.

What is the difference between literary devices and literary elements?

You'll sometimes hear these terms used interchangeably, but they're not exactly the same thing. we look athow literary elements are the structural skeleton of our story; you can think of them as the blank canvas, the first colors, the rough edges that help us understand the shapes we are seeing and what they have the potential to become.

literary resourcesthey are everything that gives life and shape to these contours. In a painting, the literary resources would be the play of light, shadow and perspective; the use of contrasting and complementary color theory; the cool things you do with your shiny gel pens right at the end that make the finished piece really pop. They are tools the writer uses, sometimes bold and masterful turns and sometimes nothing more than little nudges, to guide and engage the reader.

Or consider a house. The literary elements are the structure of the house: they are the foundation, the beams, the drywall, the roof. Without these elements there is no physical home. Literary devices are what you do with a building to transform it from one house to another: it's the wallpaper you select, the style of the furniture, the books on the shelf, the comfortable sofa, the good smells in the kitchen.

You will probably not use all of the literary devices that we will show you here in your own work. Most writers will return to these over and over again, mastering them as they continue to use them. This is what becomes your distinctive style of narration or voice. However, having a basic understanding of the ideas in this list of literary resources will help you see why other storytellers make the decisions they do so you can begin to develop your own narrative voice.

33 Literary Tricks (with Examples!) You Can Use to Strengthen Your Writing

Once you form the bones of your story, you can use these literary devices to add shape and style to your work. All of these literary devices are worth exploring in his own writing, though you'll likely find some of them to become his set of writer's tools, devices to which he keeps returning. As his skill increases, these literary devices will become part of his narrative voice.

1. Allegory

Allegoryit's like a cross betweenmetaphor(which we will talk about a little later) and topic. It is the practice of telling a real, true, and relevant story through the filter of fiction.

Often these stories represent something that the author is unable to say due to political or cultural barriers; other times it is simply a way of getting the reader or viewer to consider a subject in a different light.

This does not mean that the story is told to call attention to a central idea; it means that the story on the surface is made up of a complex web of metaphors that tell a second, deeper story below.

A famous example of an allegory isby DanteDivine Comedy, where Dante uses his fictional journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven as an allegory for a person's soul's journey to God.

2. allusion

Allusionis a literary device that indirectly references a real-life person, place, or event.

Invite the reader to meet you, the author, in the middle, rebuilding a cultural clue that you left them. Sometimes this is done because the idea is too delicate to expose openly. At other times, allusions may be used for light comic effect.

For example, in the work of Eoin Colferthe bucket listseveral repeated references to the "rock star with the hair" are made. For a moment, the author allows the reader to hypothesize who he is referring to, before going into detail where a character begins to hum "Blue Suede Shoes." we talked about thereplay valuea little further.

3. Anachronism

Anachronismit is a conflict of time within a single work; for example, describing a character as "zipping up her dress" if the story takes place before zippers were invented, orcausing national outrage by leaving a plastic water bottle on a 1920s movie set.

In general, anachronism is something negative that will make your readers and viewers happy to call you out on it. That's why it's so important when writing story games to thoroughly research every last detail of your story. However, anachronism as a literary device can sometimes be used quite effectively for comic effect or to create a sense of displacement.

4. Archetypes

In literature, onecharacter archetypeit's a more or less standardized pattern that we instantly recognize from generations and generations of stories.

contrary tostereotypes, which are oversimplifications of the more extreme personality traits of an archetype,archetypesthey work because they speak of a universal truth. All character archetypes exist, and on some level they do.In us.

Examples of archetypes are the warrior, the mentor, the maiden, the lost child, and of course the villain. These archetypes can take on many different faces, and sometimes a character can embody more than one archetype at the same time.

In Robert Munsch's groundbreaking feminist bookThe paper bag princess, the typical story of the maiden and the dragon is reversed, as none of the three central characters fit the roles they should. This is an example of using archetypes in unexpected ways, turning them on its head to delight the reader.

5. Hanging

ANDsuspendedis a literary device in which the author ends a segment of the story with a dramatic question. This segment can be shorter, like a chapter, or longer, like the first novel in an ongoing series. It forces the reader to wonder what will happen next and keeps them in the world of the story.

You might recognize the suspenseful moments from your favorite TV series: they're essential literary devices in TV storytelling because they're what get the show's pilot picked up by the network, and once the show is on the air, they are what keeps you going. viewers engaged and coming back again and again.

An example of suspense in literature is where the literary device got its name: in Thomas Hardy's booka pair of blue eyes, one chapter ends with the main character hanging off a cliff by his fingers, looking at a fossil in the rocks below him. The reader has to start the next chapter to find out the fate of the protagonist.

6. Dialect

DialectIt's a fantastic literary device to use when creating strong, distinctive, and believable characters. It's essentially the sound of someone's voice - not an easy task to pull off when all you need is paper and ink. It's the regional accent, but also the education, the level of education, the state of mind, the type of people they've been exposed to. When done right and in moderation, individual dialects can bring your characters to life and add a wonderful richness to your world.

DH Lawrencehe was famous for his use of dialect in his novels, which retain the unique vocabulary and pronunciation of Victorian-era coal miners in the north of England.

7. Diction

Diction is related to dialect because it is a reflection of the sound of the story's voice, which, again, you as a writer should achieve with no more than 26 letters. The difference between dialect and diction is that while the dialect is part of the characterization, the diction is the voice of the narrator.

The author makes decisions about how to convey their voice in a story based on the mood and the world they are trying to create. Overly formal language creates distance between the author and the story; More colloquial word choices and regional slang make the story more intimate and immediate.

8. Understatement

Euphemismis a literary device used to make a polite reference to something that would otherwise be impolite. “Passed away” is a common euphemism for dying; Being "fired" or "laid off" is a nicer way of saying you've been fired. "Cognitively disabled" refers to a stupid person, and "family fashion" is a sensible way of saying that a woman is pregnant.

While euphemisms were more commonly used in the eras of banned books, church censorship, and general shyness in society than they are today, they are still a great way to show characterization (as an important aspect of dialect, as we discussed above). and the time and place in which its story takes place.

9. Exhibition

Exhibitionis the act of inserting relevant information into the events of your story, either through dialogue, observation, narrative details, orsouvenirs.

Exposition can be a difficult literary device to master, but it's important in helping readers understand your world, your characters, and what drives them to make the choices they do. Too much of this can overwhelm the reader and take him away from the current action, but just enough will give him a fuller understanding of the world he is trying to create.

10. Retrospective

Souvenirsthey are interruptions in the narrative that take the reader to a point in time past to provide important information.

You may recognize flashbacks in TV shows, such as crime shows or sitcoms, accompanied by subtitles like "earlier that day," "three days ago," etc. This is a way of communicating to the viewer that they are being taken out of the present moment and redirected to another moment. Sometimes flashbacks are used as dramatic devices, such as when the opening shows something horrible or unexpected, and the flashback shows us what led our characters to that moment.

11. Omen

presagingit's a wonderful literary device that gives the reader clues to what's to come later in the story, either through subtle hints based on narrative events or simply using thematic elements like symbolism or humor. This can help build suspense and keep the reader interested by making them guess what's going to happen next.

You can herald a turn of events in your story by placing symbolic images and colors in your story. For example, in his fairy talethe bloody chamber, Angela Carter wears a ruby ​​choker to hint at a slit and hint at what may come next.

Don't confuse anticipation withChezhov's gun rule; the two are very different concepts!

12. Hyperbole

Hyperboleit is extreme exaggeration for emphatic effect. It's different from just exaggerating something (that's exaggeration), where the context teeters on the edge of being a lie. Hyperbole is not to be taken literally.

For example, a child who waits for his parents a long time after school might say, "I've waited fifty years!" Obviously, no one in this context really believes that they've been waiting for fifty years: the child hasn't even lived that long. It's a way for them to emphatically say, "I've been waiting a long time and I'm not happy about it."

13. Images

Imagesit is the art of bringing a moment to life for the reader. We see this literary device in both fiction and poetry. To create a vivid and engaging image, use a variety of senses to create your world, including sight, sound, smell, touch, and even taste. In addition to making the world more real to the reader, the details you focus on can influence the mood of the story. Well-placed images can also supportforeshadowing in history, as we saw previously.

14. Media in res

in medium resis a Latin term you may hear in literary analysis literally meaning "in the midst of things." This means putting the reader in the middle of an exciting event, without any background or background. In other words, this could mean showing the middle of the story first, and then showing the events leading up to that moment.

For example, Sara Gruen's novelWater for elephantsopens with an action-packed scene at the end of the novel; then it goes back to the beginning and shows the reader the events that happened to get there.

Other times, it simply means putting the reader in the middle of things going on, rather than starting with lots of flowery descriptions and expositions. Any information the reader needs can be slowly released throughout the scene and subsequent scenes.

This immerses your reader in the world of your story from the very beginning. This makes them ask questions about who the people in the scene are and what is causing the events to unfold, things they will learn as they read through to the end.

15. Irony

There are different types ofirony in literature, but basically they all come down to a reversal of belief. The three types of irony most often seen in stories are dramatic, where the audience learns essential information that the characters don't; situational, where the events of the story contradict what we would normally expect; and verbal irony, the contrast between speech and intention, such as sarcasm.

16. Juxtaposition

Juxtapositionit is a useful literary device dealing with contrast; in other words, placing two characters, images, or ideas next to each other to draw attention to their differences.

You see this often in central and supporting characters like Batman and Robin: Batman's dark, calm humor contrasts with Robin's bright, youthful energy. You can see this in their personalities as well as their costumes, with Batman all in black and Robin in positive primary colors. It's this juxtaposition between the two that makes them such an attractive team.

Juxtaposition can also be used in sensory imagery, such as placing a happy event under a dark, stormy sky or using a tactile sensation that feels out of place in its surroundings.

17. Language

If you are reading this article, you probably intend to write your stories in English. But using the language as a literary device, adding glimpses of other languages, can add depth to your characters and your world.

J. R. R. Tolkien, for example, creates richness in the world of his English work by inventing entirely new idioms and referencing them enough to make them seem real.

Cara Black, in her Parisian mystery series, writes in English, but sprinkles in French here and there to further immerse the reader in her French-speaking world.

Language can also be a useful literary device for characterization; for example, an elderly family member who has difficulty with English may converse almost entirely in another language, or a bilingual character may revert to her native language in times of overwhelming stress.

18. Metaphor

In terms of literary devices, ametaphoris very close tosimile. Both are devices used to make comparisons between two seemingly unrelated ideas. But unlike a simile, which makes a comparison between two things, a metaphor goes a step further and uses one image to literally stand in for another.

One of the most famous metaphors of all time isShakespeare "All the world's a stage"which uses a literal theatrical performance as a comparison to illustrate the tragedies and comedies of everyday life.

19. Disorientation

Also called "red herring",disorientationit is one of the most satisfying literary devices in storytelling of all kinds. It involves presenting clues as the story progresses and leading the reader to the wrong deductions instead of the correct ones.

The most important key to making this literary device work is making sure the reader doesn't feel cheated at the end; he should be able to look back on the path he has charted and see that the actual answer makes sense after all. . This could mean working backwards after your first draft and hinting at what's to come amid other world-building details.Understanding the principle of Chekhov's gun can help you avoid unwanted red herrings in your story.. The danger of creating an unsatisfactory red herring makes distraction one of the most difficult literary devices to use.

20. Reason

ANDreasonit is a literary device in which a recurring symbol or idea supports the overall theme of your story. This could be something small and specific, such as apples appearing here and there throughout the story to symbolize a theme of fighting temptation, or it could be something larger, such as showing characters eating larger or smaller meals, depending on the stage of its development. character arc. You can use motifs to connect with readers on a subconscious and cultural level and help them delve even deeper into the world of the story.

21. Mito

A myth is a story that explains why things are the way they are in the world, for example, the creation myth of the Bible or the story of how Raven stole the moon and stars in Aboriginal mythology. Myths and legends are a fantastic archive ofcharacter archetypesand great theme ideas.

Unlike myths, legends are stories of something that may or may not have happened at some point in history, like the legends of Robin Hood or King Arthur's knights. More importantly, both myths and legends are stories that stay with us for a long time because they represent values, needs, and desires that transcend generational divides.

Many, if not all, of the stories have their roots somewhere in this collective library of imagination. When composing your own work, try to use old myths and legends as literary devices to ground your story while retelling them from a new perspective. You can retell a familiar story or simply use myths and legends as inspiration for the kind of values, strengths, and weaknesses you want to explore in your own characters.

22. Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeiait is a way of communicating sounds in a way that relates to how they actually sound. “Buzz” for the sound of a bee, “ruff” for a dog barking, and “plop” for the sound of a drop of water are words that sound like real action. "Slam," "pop," and "pow" are other common words you see in superhero comics.

Onomatopoeia is a literary device most used in children's literature and comics, although we find it in almost everything, including our daily dialect. It's best approached sparingly in the literature, but the right choice of words can add a lot of depth to your sensory environment: describing a stream as "gurgle" or a wind as "chirp" (note the harsh vowel "ee" followed by the loud "k”) makes the scene brighter and more vibrant for the reader.

23. Oxymor

Oneoxymoronis a literary device closely related to aparadox, since both present two apparently contradictory ideas. Unlike a paradox, an oxymoron is a figure of speech involving two words one after the other: "deafening silence" is an oxymoron, because it combines two words that contradict each other. A "friendly argument," "acting cool," and "overtly deceitful" are some oxymorons. Although they may seem like impossible contradictions, many of us have experienced these ideas in our own lives and know that there is a real truth behind them.

Oxymoron can be used both in humor and to convey an aspect of a character's personality, sometimes at the same time.

24. Paradox

A paradox is quite similar to aoxymoron, but presents two contrastsIdeasinstead of two contrasting words.

Oscar Wilde's famous trademark quote, "I can resist anything but temptation," is an example of a paradox. By its very nature it cannot be true, and yet one feels that there is some resonant truth hidden somewhere within it.

Other examples are the sayings “the only constant is change” and “the more you yell, the less they listen”. Both examples are made up of ideas that seem to conflict with each other, but both can be true statements. The first tells us that the one thing that never really changes is the fact that things are always changing, and the second shows us that causing a scene isn't always the way to get your voice across.

Paradoxes are useful literary devices that help readers see ideas from a new perspective.

25. Personification

Personificationit is a literary device that grants recognizable human attributes to inanimate or non-human entities.

The most extreme example of this is anthropomorphism, which gives human traits to an animal character. This is a very popular literary device in children's literature, as it tends to make the ideas and lessons in these stories more accessible (roughly speaking, this is the same device used to bring a French chandelier to life inBeauty and the Beast).

However, personification can be done on a smaller scale to make the sensory images more vivid and easier for the reader to understand. A "weeping willow" is one example of attaching a human action to a non-human thing, and saying that the branches of the weeping willow were "lazily sweeping the dust from the road" is another.

26. Perspective

perspective isvision of where the story is told.

For example, if you were to set your story in an old manor house, you could tell a story by following the same events in many different ways. The matriarch of the house would be a prospect; a little privileged child, another. What would the maid see that no one else would? What about the cook or the gardener? What secrets, biases, or insights would they impart to the story? All of these people would not only contribute different worldviews, cultural backgrounds, and dialects, but might also genuinely believe in different series of events.

27. Repetition

In fiction writing and story structure,repetitionit is a literary device used to emphasize central themes and create a subtle type of rhythm.

The most famous example of repetition is in the "three wishes" often found in fairy tales, as well as three searches, three tries, three paths to choose from. This is because three is the number at which our brains start to recognize patterns. In your own writing, you can use this type of repetition to support your story's theme and character arcs.

28. Rhythm

In prose writing,rhythmit's about the rhythm of your story.

Slow, languid writing can feel like being wrapped in a cozy blanket. However, in excess, it becomes stifling.

Short sentences are more like quick steps on the sidewalk. Readers like them because they make us feel like we're going somewhere, but too many of them are too long and it starts to get hard to follow.

It is your job as a writer to use sentences of different lengths to keep the reader interested. Longer sentences will slow down the pace, so it's best to use them in quiet, reflective moments. Short sentences pick up the pace, so invest in them for action scenes.

While all good writers use longer and shorter sentences to some degree, you'll find that some tend to rely more on one than the other. That's part of what makes yousignature voice. Trying phrases from all rhythms will help you find yours.

29. Satire

Satire has been around since its inception in ancient Greece and shows no signs of slowing down. It is a literary device that uses irony and humor as a means of calling attention to prevailing cultural and social failings.

Sometimes this can be done in a light-hearted way:Alice in Wonderlandit was considered a mild satire of the upper classes of that period. But sometimes the satires are darker and more biting, as in dystopian fiction like George Orwell's.1984.

30. Similarity

Like ametaphor, a simile is a literary device that compares two unrelated concepts to create vivid images based on the senses. While a metaphor is used to represent something else, a simile is only used in description: "he was brave as a lion," for example, is a simile, while "he had the heart of a lion" is a metaphor. . .

Similes are great in descriptive passages because you have a whole world to draw from. Is the new girl in school like a "cascading waterfall"? A "hydrant"? A “broken chair”? It could be reminiscent of any of those things, and you as a writer will tell us why. A well placed simile can give the reader a better idea of ​​a character or place than pages and pages telling us what she is like.

31. Suspended

One of the most wonderful literary devices to engage your readers issuspended- creating a kind of darkly indulgent tension between the reader and the story that keeps them turning page after page. The writer accomplishes this by raising one dramatic theme after another.cliffsthey are a great way to make that happen. Putting time constraints on your characters is another, as is changing perspectives to reveal more information to the reader.

32. Symbolism

Symbolismis the act of using a person, place, or object to convey a larger, more abstract idea (when used repeatedly in a story to emphasize that idea, it's called areason).

Noel ShakespearePueblo, Yorik's skull is a symbol of death and fate: it serves as a tangible physical representation of those things in the context of the story.

Symbolism can also be used in setting, for example a rising sun to symbolize a new beginning, or in character, as a child symbolizing a parent's lost innocence.

A writer may also use colors, animals, or icons that have infiltrated our cultural consciousness to support the mood and theme of the story. Symbols we see in our everyday lives include things like red roses for love, butterflies for transformation, or the caduceus for medicine.

33. Tomás

Tomás, also called mood or atmosphere, is the way the reader feels about the world of your story. In film, this would be a combination of lighting, cinematography, and soundtrack.

"It was a dark and stormy night" is an infamous opening sentence that immediately sets the tone of the story. In addition to giving us some context as to the setting of the scene, words like "dark," "thunderstorm," and "night" naturally resonate with us in a particular way. When trying to create an atmospheric tone for your story, you can try to think of words that you naturally associate with the feeling you want to evoke, and then incorporate those words into your story.

In longer plays, it's a good idea to use different tones for different scenes or chapters. This helps each one stand out from the rest and keeps them fresh and vibrant for the reader.

How to use literary devices to create your own story

Now that you understand the literary devices available to you as a writer, you're ready for the next part: putting them to use. The examples of literary devices shown above are a great starting point for thinking about how to apply them to your own writing.

Every writer is unique, and the literary devices you see other authors use to fantastic effect may not be the ones that bring out the best in their writing. The type of image, dialect, and characterization we bring to our own work as storytellers is directly related to the way we view the world around us. Finding your own unique style and voice is an exciting journey that can only be taken by trying things out, finding what feels right deep in your bones, and practicing it over and over again.

To get an idea of ​​which literary devices will work best for you, take a look at the stories you've written so far. Chances are, many of the things on this list of literary devices are already around in one form or another—you'll be naturally drawn to them because of the powerful stories you've absorbed throughout your life. Once you see where these literary devices begin to take shape, you can work to refine, enrich, and master them to create your own powerful stories.