Literary
devices
* Literary
Devices are the techniques, methods or tools used to adorn or beautify the language.
* They are
also known as Figures of Speech.
* When they
are used in poem, they are called Poetic Devices and when used in dialogues,
are called Rhetorical Devices.
Objectives :
To say
something more beautifully and more effectively
To deploy
the method of comparison, to contrast, exaggerate or mock at
To arouse
interest, excitement & emotions
1. SIMILE
* Direct comparison between two unlike
things
* Using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’
Examples :
1. The water,
like a witch’s oil (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
2. Like noises
in a swound (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
3. Windows shut
like catacombs (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
4. Like bottle
bits on stones (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
5. Like
rootless weeds (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
6. As idle as a
painted ship (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
7. Slums as big
as doom (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
8. Red as a
rose is she (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner )
9. He lifted
his head from his drinking, as the cattle do (Snake)
10. Like a
forked night on air (Snake)
11. Pale as a
late winter’s moon (My Mother at Sixty Six)
12. Her face
ashen like that of a corpse (My Mother at Sixty Six)
13. Nor dim nor red, like God's own head (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
14. I wandered lonely as a cloud (Daffodils)
2. METAPHOR
* Indirect comparison between two
unlike things
* Without using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’
Examples :
1. All the world’s
a stage (As You Like It)
2. Paper
seeming boy (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
3. He struck
with his overtaking wings (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
4. The earth
lipped fissure (Snake)
5. Bright topaz
denizens of a world of green (Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)
6. All
their future’s painted with a fog (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
7. Lead sky (An
Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
8. Language is
the sun (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
9. Merry
children spilling out of their homes (My Mother at Sixty six)
10. Wreathing a
flowery band (A Thing of Beauty)
11. Endless
fountain of immortal drink (A Thing of Beauty)
12. The field and
the clouds are lovers. (Song of the Rain)
13. By war’s
long winter starv’d (No Men Are Foreign)
14. Still ringed
with ordeals (Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)
15. From the
veils of morning (The Lake Isle of Innisfree)
3. REPETITION
* Repetition of a word/phrase in a line
* To highlight or stress upon some
fact/theme/expression
1. The ice was
here, the ice was there, The ice was all around (The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner)
2. I chatter
chatter as I flow (The Brook)
3. Water, water,
everywhere (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
4. Far far from
gusty waves (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
5. Every night
from dusk to dawn He croaked awn and awn and awn (The Frog and the Nightingale)
6. I did was
smile and smile and smile (My Mother at Sixty Six)
7. Let’s not
speak a word let’s stop (Keeping Quiet)
8. Without
rush, without engines (Keeping Quiet)
9. Day after
day, day after day (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
10. Break o
break (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
4. ONOMATOPOEIA
* Formation of a word from the sound of
something, bird or animal it represents
* To create real effect through sound
words
Examples :
1. It cracked
and growled, and roared and howled (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
2. I like the
pit pit patter of the raindrops, I like the buzz buzz buzzing of bees - hymn
3. He croaked
awn and awn and awn (The Frog and the Nightingale)
4. Koo-oh-ah!
ko-ash! ko-ash! (The Frog and the Nightingale)
5. And threw it
at the water-trough with a clatter (Snake)
6. As I listen
to the patter of the rain upon the roof (Rain on the Roof)
7. Every tinkle
on the shingles (Rain on the Roof)
5. IMAGERY
* To create a word picture through vivid
description of something
* Appealing to the five senses
Examples :
1. As idle as a
painted ship upon a painted ocean (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
2. Peace comes
dropping slow from the veils of morning (The Lake Isle of Innisfree)
3. Than the
unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time (Not Marble Nor the Gilded
Monuments)
4. In the
moonlight cold and pale (The Frog and the Nightingale)
5. And trailed
his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down (Snake)
6. The merry
children spilling out of their homes (My Mother at Sixty Six)
7. A narrow
street sealed in with a lead sky (An Elementary School Classroom in a slum)
8. Tress old
and young sprouting a shady boon (A Thing of Beauty)
9. Endless
fountain of immortal drink (A Thing of Beauty)
10. And evening
full of linnets’ wings (The Lake Isle of Innisfree)
11. I touch
gently at the windows with my soft fingers (Song of the Rain)
12. Make their
world run azure on gold sands (An Elementary School Classroom in a slum)
6. IRONY
* Use of words where intended meaning
is contrary to actual meaning
* A situation/action that ends up
differently and is contrary to how it was anticipated/hoped/meant to be.
Examples :
1. Water,
water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
2. She should
have known that your song must be your own (The Frog and the Nightingale)
3. My name is
Ozymandias, king of kings: Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair (Ozymandias)
4. A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing into that horrid black hole (Snake)
5. Victory with no survivors (Keeping Quiet)
6. The post office employees are a bunch of crooks. (Letter
to God)
7. ASSONANCE
* Repetition of a vowel/diphthong sound within the words in a line or sentence
Examples :
1. And that has
made all the difference (The Road Not Taken)
2. But you
shall shine more bright in these contents (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
3. Hopped
towards her from the bog (The Frog and the Nightingale)
4. The ship was
cheered, the harbour cleared (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
5. You still
owe me sixty shillings (The Frog and the Nightingale)
6. From an
antique land (Ozymandias)
6. Instead of
the cross, the Albatross (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
7. The rain in
Spain stays mainly in the plain (My Fair Lady)
8. It will
never pass into nothingness; but still will keep (A Thing of Beauty)
8. ALLITERATION
* Repetition of a consonant’s sound in
a sentence or line
* Preferably in the beginning of the
words
Examples :
1. The fair
breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free (The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner)
2. Not marble
nor the gilded monuments (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
3. You shall
shine more bright (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
4. When
wasteful wars shall statues overturn (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
5.The massive
weight of uncle’s wedding band (Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)
6. Flowery band
to bind us all (A Thing of Beauty)
7. A narrow
street sealed in with a lead sky (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
8. The tigers
in the panel that she made will go on prancing, proud and unafraid (Aunt
Jennifer’s Tigers)
9. Aunt
Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool (Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)
10. Toads and
teals and tiddlers (The Frog and the Nightingale)
11. Sneer of
cold command (Ozymandias)
12. The hand
that mocked them and the heart that fed (Ozymandias)
13. Lone and
level sands stretch far away (Ozymandias)
14. Next night
when the nightingale shook her head and twitched her tale (The Frog and the
Nightingale)
9. REFRAIN
* Repetition of a line/a set of lines
in a poem at regular intervals, in different stanzas, at the end of poem
* To highlight its theme/central idea
Examples :
1. Men may come
and men may go but I go on forever. (The
Brook)
2. I will arise
and go now …….. (The Lake Isle of Innisfree)
3. And miles to
go before I sleep (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening)
4. O Captain!
my Captain! Rise up and hear the bells (O Captain! My Captain!)
5. Now we will
count to twelve (Keeping Quiet)
6. Two roads
diverged in a yellow wood (The Road Not Taken)
7. Remember, no
men are strange, no countries foreign (No Men are Foreign)
10. PERSONIFICATION
* To give human characteristics to
something that is not human/living
* To present or describe inanimate
thing as animate
Examples :
1. Monuments of
princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
2. With
sluttish time (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
3. The Sun came
up upon the left, Out of the sea came he! (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
4. Your praise
shall still find room (Not Marble Nor the Gilded Monuments)
5. Fluttering
and dancing in the breeze (Daffodils)
6. Tossing
their heads in sprightly dance (Daffodils)
7. Young trees
sprinting backwards (My Mother at Sixty Six)
8. Melancholy
darkness gently weeps in rainy tears (Rain on the Roof)
9. When I see a
field in need, (Song of the Rain)
10. Map awarding
the world its world (An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
11. Perhaps the
Earth can teach us (Keeping Quiet)
12. When I cry, the hills laugh (Song of the Rain)
11. OXYMORON
* Two opposite words/phrases presenting
or explaining one idea
Examples :
1. With a joy
both sweet and bitter (The Frog and the Nightingale)
2. Did send a
dismal sheen (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
3. When I cry,
the hills laugh (Song of the Rain)
4. We have
imagined for the mighty dead (A Thing of Beauty)
5. Parting is
such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow (Romeo and
Juliet)
12. HYPERBOLE
* Exaggeration of an
expression/description
* To create a moment of awe, wonder and
excitement
Examples :
1. Ten thousand
saw I at a glance (Daffodils)
2. And a
thousand dreamy fancies (Rain on the Roof)
3. Nor breath
nor motion; as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean (The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner)
4. Danger knows
full well that Caesar is more dangerous than he: We’re two lions littered in
one day, and I the elder and more terrible. (Julius Caesar)
5. The things
that threaten’d me ne’er look’d but on my back; when they shall see the face of
Caesar, they are vanished. (Julius Caesar)
13. Paradox
A paradox is a juxtaposition of contrasting ideas
that, while seemingly impossible, actually reveals a deeper truth.
Examples :
1. The more we get; the more we want.
2. To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep
up.” – Importance of Being Earnest
3. I give back life to my own origin. - The Voice of the Rain
4. Vaguely form’d,
altogether changed, yet the
same - The Voice of the rain
5. Less
is more.
6. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
7. The more you give, the more you receive.
8. The only constant is change.
9. Courage is the absence of fear but triumph over it. - A Long Walk to Freedom
10. Pen is mightier than the sword.
14. Anaphora
Anaphora is the repetition of words or phrases in two
or more consecutive lines.
Examples -
1. Far too nervous, far too tense.
Far too prone to influence. – The Frog
and the nightingale
2. And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling - The Brook
3. Run azure on gold
sands, and let their tongues
Run naked into books
the white and green leaves open – An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum
4. Let’s not speak in
any language,
Let’s stop
for one second, – Keeping Quiet
5. Of noble natures, of the gloomy
days
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways - A Thing of Beauty
15. Antithesis
It is the use of opposite phrases or statements in close
placement. It reveals an interesting fact using two contrasting terms, phrases or sentences.
Examples -
1. Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon - A Thing of Beauty
2. The voice of thunder declares my arrival;
The rainbow announces my departure.” – The Voice of the Rain
3. When I cry, the hills laugh – Song of Rain
4. Every day may not be good; there is something in every day.
5. Live in the present to make your future.
16. Enjambment
An enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or
line beyond a break, going to next line or stanza without an expected pause.
1. And for once could perhaps a huge
silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.” – Keeping
Quiet
2. A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, – A Thing of Beauty
3. Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d,
altogether
changed, and yet the same – The Voice of the rain
17. Sarcasm
Sarcasm is about saying opposite of what it is in
reality in order to mock or make fun of oneself or others. It is an ironic
remark tempered by humour. It is beautiful combination of wit, humour and
irony.
As a real-life example, if someone is having lots of
struggle doing something, he remark in frustration that he is having ‘great fun’
clearly implying that he is actually having difficult time.
Example –
1. The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious. If
it were so, it was a grievous fault. – Julius Caesar
2. I might lose my job as an interplanetary voyeur? I
guess I'd have to use my master's degree for something else. – The Martian
3. Yeah, of course, waiting in line is my hobby.
4. Oh, wonderful! The weather is perfect for a picnic…
in this rain.
5. You’re really fast… for a turtle.
18. Symbolism
Symbolism combines two or more ideas, a symbol is the
use of an object to represent a concept such as ‘Peace’ is represented by a
white dove or white cloth, ‘Love’ by a red rose and an ‘Idea’ by a lit bulb
1. The tigers in the panel that she made – Aunt
Jennifer’s Tigers
2. The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band – Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
3. In the afternoon yellow September sunlight
– A Laburnum Top
4. Those who prepare green wars – Keeping Quiet
5. Without rush, without engines – Keeping
Quiet
19. Transferred Epithet
When one thing’s attribute / characteristic is
transferred to some other thing, it is transferred Epithet. It is a type of
metaphor.
Examples –
1. The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead
– A Roadside Stand
2. The thousand selfish cars that pass - A Roadside
Stand
3. Of noble natures, of the
gloomy days – A Thing of beauty
4. The ship was cheered – The Rime of Ancient Mariner
5. I was happy to be alone high up above the sleeping
countryside. – Black Aeroplane
20. Allusion
Allusion is making a literary reference.
When a writer alludes to something, it can be either directly or indirectly
referring to a commonly known piece of literature / mythology / Scriptures / history. Such as Referring to a kind stranger as a Good Samaritan or describing an ideal place as the Garden of Eden
Examples -
1. I am Rapunzel; I have not a care - Amanda
2. A mermaid, drifting blissfully – Amanda
3. I am Lazarus, come from the dead, - Love Song of J. A.
Prufrock
4. She’ll not be hit With Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s
wit – Romeo and Juliet
5. They rudely called him Percival, - Tale of Custard the
Dragon
