13 Essential Literary Terms

Aristotle wrote that mastery over the art of metaphor is a sign of genius—and it turns out it he was right. Literary devices, including simile, allusion, and satire, not only give life to our words, but also make us … smarter?

For example, cognitive research has found that deciphering an ironic statement takes twice the effort as understanding a more straightforward comment. Makes sense, right? Someone says “What a lovely day” (when it’s lousy weather), and our brains do the work of first interpreting the words literally, and then gathering the additional information needed about the context to understand the joke.

So let’s take time to get to know these 13 essential literary devices. Where would we be without a well-placed yeah, right (it can be used ironically!) or an exaggeration like I’m so hungry I could eat a horse! (who hasn’t said this hyperbole at least once)?

metaphor

We know how Aristotle feels about a metaphor, but what does this term mean at its most basic form?

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a term is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in She is a rose. Excluding the possibility that the subject of this sentence is literally a flower, this example suggests that the subject possesses figurative qualities or attributes of a rose, such as exquisite beauty or perhaps a prickly disposition.

One famous metaphor is the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic clock that represents how close the planet is to global disaster.

simile

Metaphor is often confused with simile, a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared; this comparison often uses the word like or as.

To build on the example in the previous slide, she is like a rose and as thorny as a rose bush are examples of simile.

WATCH: Two Nerdy Steps To Learn "Lay" vs. "Lie"

analogy

Simile and metaphor are both forms of analogy, the illustration of one idea by a more familiar or accessible idea that is in some way parallel.

In his novel Cocktail Time, P.G. Wodehouse uses the analogy of a man expecting to hear a rose petal drop in the Grand Canyon to illustrate the futility of a novelist hoping for swift success. It is as unlikely to hear that rose petal drop as it is for a novelist to get great success on their first try.

And, here’s a real-world analogy that you may have seen pop up in the news … the nuclear football.

hyperbole

Hyperbole is an obvious and intentional exaggeration, such as I read a million books this summer.

Although teachers everywhere would likely rejoice if this were a true statement, this literary device is often used for dramatic or comedic effect.

Learn more about the really fantastic and exceptional literary term hyperbole in this very informative, best-of-the-best article. You won’t be sorry.

allusion

An allusion is an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or artistic work. Allusions assume a level of familiarity on the part of the reader with the referenced work, person, or event.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of the con artists who claims to be an heir to the French throne makes allusions to three of Shakespeare’s plays in his jumbled rendition of Hamlet’s soliloquy, which opens with the humorously botched line “To be or not to be: that is the bare bodkin.”

Have you ever confused allusion with illusion? Yup, we have too … that’s why we wrote another whole article on the difference between the two.

euphemism

Euphemism is the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for an expression that is thought to be harsh, blunt, or offensive. Break wind, the birds and the bees, and cold turkey are euphemisms for flatulence, sex and reproduction, and a quick, complete withdrawal from the use of an addictive substance, respectively.

The opposite of euphemism is dysphemism, defined as the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one.

To learn some more euphemisms, check out this list of political ones.

paradox

A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but may in reality express a truth or tension.

William Wordsworth offers an example of paradox in his poem My Heart Leaps Up with the line “the Child is father of the Man.” This expression defies common sense on a literal level, but expresses a deeper truth that our dominant character traits are formed when we are young, and they continue to shape our experiences as adults. Paradox comes from the Greek word parádoxos, which means “beyond belief.”

Ever heard of the bootstrap paradox? Read more about it … it involves time travel so what have you got to lose?

oxymoron

Similar to paradox, the rhetorical device oxymoron uses contradiction, but an oxymoron is more compressed than a paradox.

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, such as in the phrase humblebrag or cruel kindness, or more famously in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet when Romeo utters the lines “O loving hate” and “O heavy lightness” in the opening scene.

satire

Satire is a slippery concept that can sometimes be deeply embedded in a work’s themes or narrative, and sometimes closer to the surface in the actions or behavior of characters. Simply put, satire is the use of irony, sarcasm, or ridicule in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice or folly.

Jonathan Swift’s 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels is an example of satirical fiction. Written in the style of travel writing of its day, Gulliver’s Travels also provides an example of parody, defined as “a humorous imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing.”

onomatopoeia

Perhaps the most fun-to-say term on this list, onomatopoeia is defined as the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.

It comes from the Greek word onomatopoiía, which means “making of words.” Read some more onomatopoeic words here … you know you like ’em.

alliteration

Alliteration is the commencement of two or more nearby words with the same letter or sound, as in the schoolyard staple “She sells seashells by the seashore.”

Alliteration is often used in poetry and song writing, along with assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds in words with different consonants, and consonance, the repetition of consonants, often at the end of words.

allegory

An allegory is a story in which the characters or developments symbolize real people or events.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an example of an allegory; on the surface it’s about a group of animals that overthrow their human masters to establish a more egalitarian society only to watch it devolve into tyranny, but below the surface it’s about Russia’s Bolshevik revolution and the corrupting nature of power.