1 Simile it compares two different objects or entities which have a common point.

For example, when you compare a flower with a little girl, since these two
different entities share the feature of beauty.
This little girl is as beautiful as a flower.
this little girl is like a flower
Note: the common feature is usually rooted in the individuals' collective
memory
In short, it compares two entities using like or as
Signs:
• a common point
• using comparative items such as like, as, etc.
2 Metaphor Again, a common feature between two entities attracts your attention. But it is
more direct, intense and effective to the extent that a word is used in place of
another to suggest a likeness ('you are a summer's day').
3 Antithesis To use the opposite of another thing, person or idea, to highlight the contrast
between two things, persons or idea, for what reason?
For making the point more persuasive.
heroes and villains, hot and cold, bitter and sweet
4 Characterization The artistic representation of human character. It includes both descriptions
of a character’s physical attributes as well as the character’s personality.
• Direct characterization:
to tell explicitly what a character is like
• Indirect characterization:
Highlighting the target character’s thought and acts or using other
figurative devices for describing the target character to tell implicitly
what the character is like.
While it takes more time to develop a character through indirect
characterization, it often leaves a deeper impression on the reader than
direct statements.
Here, it is worth talking about two related devices personification and
dehumanization.
5 Personification Nonhuman characters who effectively function with agency in prose fiction or
(Personification as poetry etc. can be ‘personified’ or ‘humanized. It gives human characteristics
a characterization) (emotions, behaviors, or actions) to nonhuman things or inanimate objects.
Abstract forces or ideas may also be personified, such as Lady Liberty, Lady
Justice.
Note: Personification as a characterization device is distinct from
personification as imagery (“The wind howled. Lightning danced across the
sky”), which adds life, energy, or personality to the overall setting.
Can we say we can create imagery through implied metaphor?
In the other words, these examples are implied metaphors, as readers
understand the wind seems to howl (auditory imagery) and the lightning appears
to dance (visual imagery).
6 Dehumanization As the opposite of personification (a figure of speech in which inanimate objects
are endowed with human qualities) dehumanization is the disendowment of
these same qualities or a reduction to abstraction.
7 Irony To make a contrast between expectation and reality.
• Dramatic irony that is used in literature, film, and television is
when the audience knows more than the character. It creates
tension and suspense.
 *When used in tragedies, dramatic irony is referred to as “tragic
irony.”

Example: The tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet is an example of

dramatic irony: The audience knows that the lovers are each alive, but
neither of the lovers knows that the other is still alive, so it leads to a
tragic ending. Each drink their poison without knowing what the
audience knows.

• Situational irony occurs when there is a difference between what

is usually expected to happen and what actually happens. For
example, a fire station burning down is a case of situational
irony or a police station being robbed is another example.
• Verbal irony is when a character says something that is different
from what he or she really means, or how he or she really feels.
This is the only type of irony where a character creates the irony.

* In simple words; when what is said is the opposite of the intended meaning.
you say something but you mean something else (that is opposite).

8 Hyperbole While Exaggeration simply means going over the top (An example is when you
are waiting for your friend, and you've been waiting 5 minutes, but you say to
him: 'I've been waiting for like half an hour!), Hyperbole means UNREALISTIC
exaggeration. That's the keyword.
It can be used purposefully for emphasis or humor.
For example:
• I love it to the moon and back.
• it’s a rainy fuggy day; you say what an exciting day
In contrast we have understatement that is a literary device by which a particular
quality of a person, object, emotion, or situation is downplayed or presented as
being less than what is true to the situation.
9 Allusion to refer/ allude to a well-known real or fictional person, thing, historical, social
or cultural event; for what reason? To call something to the readers’ mind
without mentioning it explicitly
*It is brief and indirect
* It is left to the audience to make a direct connection. Example;
• She met her waterloo on the final exam. it alludes to Napoleon’s historic
defeat.
* a good poet does not sprinkle his poems with allusions merely to display his
vast learning or to make his work seem impressive and confusing to the average
reader. He uses allusions to say much in a small piece
Important Types:
Historical Allusion
A religious allusion
Modern Day Allusion: A modern day allusion is a literary device that refers to
contemporary elements of culture, technology, or current events in written or
spoken communication. These allusions draw upon popular culture, recent
history, and social trends to enhance the meaning, depth, and relatability of a
text. Modern day allusions bridge the gap between the work and its audience
by incorporating elements from the present-day world into the narrative