Literary devices

Literary devices or literary techniques

• similar to Rhetorical devices but about literature whereas rhetorical devices regard persuasion

Figurative language

• figures of speech

Literary approaches

• narration
• narrator
• person
• point of view

List of literary devices

• allegory
• alliteration
• allusion
• analogy
• anaphora
• anthropomorphism-
• antithesis
• archetype
• colloquialism
• ellision
• euphemism
• figurative
• flashback
• foreshadowing
• hyperbole
• imagery
• irony
• juxtaposition
• malapropism
• metaphor
• meter
• mood
• motif
• onomatopoeia
• oxymoron
• paradox
• parallelism
• personification
• point of view
• repetition
• rhetorical
• simile
• symbolism
• tone
• tragedy
• tragicomedy

• see
  • Literary Devices and Literary Terms - The Complete List
  • Basic Types of Literary Devices | YourDictionary

the difference between...

metaphor and simile

• both are figures of speech that evoke meaning of one thing through a comparison to another
  • simile is a subset (sub-category) or form of a metaphor

• metaphor adopts (becomes) the comparative meaning:
  • the heart of the issue
• simile compares the meaning directly
  • raining like cats and dogs
• to summarize:
  • metaphor makes a non-literal direct comparison or parallel connection
  • analogy makes a literal (actual) comparison via the words as, like

analogy and metaphor

• analogy
  • draws a direct comparison in order to make a point about both ends of the comparison
  • analogy explains or makes a point through the comparison
  • generally, the analogy is literal:
    • ex. The kid ate through his entire birthday cake faster than a dog devouring a juicy bone
      • i.e. the cake was as enjoyable to the kid as a juicy bone to a dog
  • however, an analogy may also imply a figurative meaning of both sides of the comparison
    • ex. Taking that test, I may as well have tried cleaning my room.
      • i.e., both activities are useless

• metaphor:
  • draws a comparison to illuminate one thing through a known other
    • i.e, the metaphor is that thing
      • in other words, the metaphor uses a known image or comparison to illuminate another
  • uses emphasis and imagery
  • is abstract
  • both can be emotional (feelings) or rational (conceptual)
  • ex. The test was a cake walk except for that last question which led me off a cliff

See:

• Analogy vs Metaphor - What Are the Differences and Why?