Allegory - a symbolic representationi.e. The blindfolded figure with scales is an allegory of justice.

Alliteration - the repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least two repetitions in a row. i.e. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Allusion – A reference to a famous person or event in life or literature. i.e. She is as pretty as the Mona Lisa.

Analogy - the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. i.e. shoe is to foot as tire is to wheel

Assonance - the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence. Climax - the turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story. The climax

represents the point of greatest tension in the work. Foreshadowing - hints of what is to come in the action of a play or a story Hyperbole - a figure of speech involving exaggeration. Metaphor - A comparison in which one thing is said to be another. 

i.e. The cat's eyes were jewels, gleaming in the darkness. Onomatopoeia - the use of words to imitate the sounds they describe.

i.e. The burning wood crackled and hissed. Oxymoron - putting two contradictory words together. 

i.e. bittersweet, jumbo shrimp, and act naturally Personification - is giving human qualities to animals or objects.

i.e. The daffodils nodded their yellow heads. Pun - A word is used which has two meanings at the same time, which results in

humor. Simile - figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using

like, as, or as though. i.e. She floated in like a cloud.

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/resources/litdevices/index.html

Metaphor and simile.            Comparisons. A simile uses the words “as” or “like”; a metaphor does not.Personification.            Attributing human or other animate characteristics to an inanimate object. Symbolism.            Using one object to stand for something else or to mean something elseIrony.            Conveys the opposite of what is meant or what would be expected.            Examples: Saying “You’re so graceful!” to someone who has just tripped is verbal irony. A lifeguard drowning in a bathtub is irony of situation. A special kind of literary irony is when the reader (or viewer) knows something the character doesn’t. This is common in horror movies. An example of this is when the heroine runs to Jason for help, when we know he’s the slasher.            Sarcasm is verbal irony with attitude, with a mean edge. Hyperbole.            Literary exaggeration. Examples: Gilgamesh and Enkidu carried thirty score pounds of weaponry. I’ll give you the moon and stars.Rhythm and meter.            Rhythm is the up & down, high & low series of emphases in speech. All speech has rhythm, and each language has its own particular rhythm. Meter is regular rhythm, as in poetry or music. Rhyme.            Sounding alike at the end. Examples:  may—say, patter—matter. Assonance.            Sounding alike in the middle. Example: moody blues. Alliteration.            Sounding alike at the beginning. Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.Repetition.            Saying the same thing over again. Seems obvious, but notice that the author has intended to do this, for emphasis. Onomatopoeia.            Words or phrases that sound like what they mean. Examples: pop, click. “The pitter-patter of little feet” is full of the “T” sound, which emphasizes the meaning.

http://www.maxellute.net/Literary%20devices.htm

Name Type Notes

Alliteration PoeticRepeating the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

Anthropomorphism PersonificationForm of personification that applies human-like characteristics to animals or objects

Aphorism

Concise statement that contains a cleverly stated subjective truth or observation—aphorisms typically use alliteration, anaphora, and rhyme. The aphorism is considered a compressed poetic genre in itself.

Asyndeton Stylistic Scheme

When sentences do not use conjunctions (eg: and, or, nor) to separate clauses, but run clauses into one another, usually marking the separation of clauses with punctuation. An example is when John F. Kennedy said on January the 20th 1961 "...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Author surrogate Character

Character who speaks for the author—sometimes an intentionally or unintentionally idealized version of the author. A well known variation is the Mary Sue or Gary Stu (self-insertion).

Back-storyBackground exposure

Story that precedes events in the story being told—past events or background that add meaning to current circumstances

Bathos Mood that overstates its own pathos or drama.

Bildungsroman

A type of novel concerned with education, development, and maturation of a young protagonist. Essentially, a bildungsroman traces the formation of a protagonist's maturity (the passage from childhood to adulthood) by following the development of his/her mind and character.

Breaking the fourth wall

An author or character addresses the audience directly (also known as direct address). This may acknowledge to the reader or audience that what

is being presented is fiction, or may seek to extend the world of the story to provide the illusion that they are included in it.

Chekhov's gun PlotInsertion of an apparently irrelevant object early in a narrative for a purpose only revealed later. See foreshadowing and repetitive designation.

Cliffhanger PlotThe narrative ends unresolved, to draw the audience back to a future episode for the resolution.

Conceit

An extended metaphor associated with metaphysical poetry that pushes the imagination's limits to portray something indescribable.

Cut-up technique

The cut-up technique is an aleatory literary technique in which a text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text. Most commonly, cut-ups are used to offer a non-linearalternative to traditional reading and writing.

DefamiliarizationForcing the reader to recognize common things in an unfamiliar or strange way, to enhance perception of the familiar

Deleted affairA romantic relationship not referred to in the current story.

Deus ex machina(a machination, or act of god)

Plot

Resolving the primary conflict by a means unrelated to the story (e.g., a god appears and solves everything). This device dates back to ancient Greek theater, but can be a clumsy method that frustrates the audience.

Dionysian imitatio

The literary method of copying and improving other writers. In Ancient Greece was first formulated by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and the subsequent Latin rhetoricians adopted this literary method instead of Aristotle's mere imitation of nature.

Dramatic visualization

Descriptive Representing an object or character with abundant descriptive detail, or mimetically rendering gestures and dialogue to make a scene more visual or imaginatively present to an

audience. This technique appears at least as far back as the Arabian Nights.[1]

EpiphanyA sudden revelation or insight—usually with a symbolic role in the narrative—in a literary work.

Epistolary novel Literary genre

Novel in the form of a series of documents (letters, e-mails, etc.) exchanged between characters. Classic examples include Pamela by Samuel Richardson (1740), The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett (1771), Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782) and Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897).

EucatastropheCoined by J. R. R. Tolkien, it refers to the sudden turn of events at the end of a story which result in the protagonist's well-being.

EuphuismNamed from Euphues (1579) the prose romance by John Lyly. A deliberately excessive use of balanced antitheses emphasised by alliteration.

False documents Literary genre

Fiction in the form of, or about, apparently real, but actually fake documents. Examples include Robert Graves's I, Claudius, a fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor, H.P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon, and the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. The short stories of Jorge Luis Borges are often written as summaries or criticisms of imaginary books.

First Person Narration

A text presented from the point of view of a character (esp. the protagonist) and written in the first person.

Flashback (or analeptic reference)

General term for altering time sequences, taking characters back to the beginning of the tale, for instance

Flashforward Also called prolepsis, an interjected scene that temporarily jumps the narrative forward in time. Flashforwards often represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future. They may also reveal significant parts of the

story that have not yet occurred, but soon will in greater detail. This has been highly popularized by the television seriesLost.

Foreshadowing PlotHinting at events to occur later. See also formal patterning, repetitive designation, and Chekhov's gun.

Formal patterning

Rigorously organizing events, actions, and gestures that constitute a narrative and shape a story. When done well, formal patterning helps the audience discern and anticipate the plot structure as it unfolds. This technique dates back at least to Arabian Nights,[1] and is also used in Romeo and Juliet. See also foreshadowing.

Frame story, or astory within a story

Framing

A main story that organizes a series of shorter stories. Early examples include Panchatantra, Arabian Nights and The Decameron. A more modern example is Brian Jacques The Legend of Luke .

Framing device FramingA single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at the beginning and end of a work.

HamartiaThe character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall.

HyperboleExaggeration used to evoke strong feelings or create an impression which is not meant to be taken literally.

ImageryForming mental images of a scene using descriptive words, especially making use of the human senses.

IncluingSetting::Background exposure

Gradually exposing the reader to background information about the story's world—to subtly clue the readers into the world the author is building—such in as Brave New World. It's the opposite of Infodumping.

Infodumping (also, plot dump)

Setting::Background exposure

The author puts a concentrated amount of background material, all at once, into the story, often in the form of a conversation between two characters, both of whom should already know

the material under discussion. (The so-called "As you know, Bob" conversation) This is the opposite of Incluing.

In medias res Narrative hook

Beginning the story in the middle of a sequence of events. The Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer are prime examples. The latter work begins with the return of Odysseus to his home of Ithaka and then in flashbacks tells of his ten years of wandering following the Trojan War.

Irony Contextual

This discrepancy between expectation and reality occurs in three forms: situational irony, where a situation features a discrepancy between what is expected and what is actualized; dramatic irony, where a character is unaware of pivotal information already revealed to the audience (the discrepancy here lies in the two levels of awareness between the character and the audience); and verbal irony, where one states one thing while meaning another. The difference between verbal irony and sarcasm is exquisitely subtle and often contested. The concept of irony is too often misunderstood in popular usage. Unfortunate circumstances and coincidences do not constitute irony (nor do they qualify as beingtragic). See the Usage controversy section under irony, and the term tragedy.

Juxtaposition ContextualUsing two themes, characters, phrases, words, or situations together for comparison, contrast, or rhetoric

Leitwortstil PoeticPurposefully repeating words that usually express a motif or theme important to the story. This dates back at least to the Arabian Nights.[1]

Magical realism Literary genre

Describing events realistically, but in a magical haze of strange local customs and beliefs—particularly popular with Latin American authors like Gabriel García Márquez. Elsewhere, Salman Rushdie's work provides good examples.

Metonymy Word or phrase in a figure of speech in which an

attribute of something stands for the thing itself. This is not to be confused with synecdoche, in which a part of the whole stands for the thing itself (Metonomy: The boxer threw in the towel. Synecdoche: She gave her hand in marriage.)

Mooreeffoc (also written Moor Eeffoc)

Coined by Charles Dickens and, as used by G. K. Chesterton, meaning "the queerness of things that have become trite, when they are seen suddenly from a new angle."

Narrative hook Narrative hookStory opening that "hooks" readers' attention so they will keep reading

OverstatementExaggerating something, often for emphasis (also known as hyperbole)

Onomatopoeia PoeticWord that sounds the same as, or similar to what the word means, e.g., "boom" or "squish"

Oxymoron ContextualA term made of two words that deliberately or coincidentally imply each other's opposite, e.g. "terrible beauty"

Paradox Contextual

A phrase that describes an idea composed of concepts that conflict, e.g., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." (A Tale of Two Cities)

Parody Genre, ContextualRidicule by overstated imitation, usually humorous, as in MAD Magazine

Pastiche Genre

Using forms and styles from another author, generally as an affectionate tribute, such as the many stories featuring Sherlock Holmes not written by Arthur Conan Doyle, or much of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Pathetic fallacy

Reflecting a character's (usually the protagonist) mood in the atmosphere or inanimate objects—for example, the storm in William Shakespeare's King Lear, which mirrors Lear's mental deterioration.

Pathos Emotional appeal, one of the three modes of persuasion in rhetoric that the author uses to inspire pity or sorrow towards a character—typically does not counterbalance the target

character's suffering with a positive outcome, as in Tragedy.

Personification PersonificationUsing comparative metaphors and similes to give living characteristics to non-living objects.

Plot device PlotObject or character whose sole purpose is to advance the plot

Plot twist PlotUnexpected change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the plot. See also twist ending.

Poetic justice PlotVirtue ultimately rewarded, or vice punished, by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own conduct

Predestination paradox

PlotTime travel paradox where a time traveler is caught in a loop of events that "predestines" them to travel back in time

Polysyndeton Stylistic Scheme

Polysyndeton is the use of several conjunctions in close succession, this provides a sense of exaggeration designed to wear down the audience. An example of this is in the first chapter of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: "A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin".

Quibble Plot device

Plot device based on an argument that an agreement's intended meaning holds no legal value, and that only the exact, literal words agreed on apply. For example, William Shakespeare used a quibble in The Merchant of Venice: Portia saves Antonio in a court of law by pointing out that the agreement called for a pound of flesh, but no blood, so Shylock can collect only if he sheds no blood.

Red herring Plot device A rhetorical tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance. For example, in mystery fiction, an innocent party may be purposefully cast as highly suspicious through

emphasis or descriptive techniques to divert attention from the true guilty party.

Repetitive designation

Plot device

Repeated references to a character or object that appears insignificant at first, but later suddenly intrudes in the narrative, a technique that dates back, at least, to Arabian Nights.[2] See also foreshadowing and Chekhov's gun.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Prediction that, by being made, makes itself come true. Early examples include the legend of Oedipus, and the story of Krishna in the Mahabharata. There is also an example of this in Harry Potter.

Sensory detail Descriptive Imagery, sight, sound, taste, touch, smell

Side story

Background narrative that explains the world of the main story. Examples include Mahabharata, Ramayana, Gundam, Doctor Who and The Matrix

Story within a story(Hypodiegesis)

FramingA story told within another story. See also frame story.

Stream of consciousness

Literary genre

Technique where the author writes down their thoughts as fast as they come, typically to create an interior monologue, characterized by leaps in syntax and punctuation that trace a character's fragmentary thoughts and sensory feelings.

SymbolismApplied use of symbols: iconic representations that carry particular conventional meanings.

Thematic patterning

Distributing recurrent thematic concepts and moralistic motifs among various incidents and frames of a story. In a skillfully crafted tale, thematic patterning may emphasize the unifying argument or salient idea disparate events and disparate frames have in common.

Ticking clock scenario

Threat of impending disaster—often used in thrillers where salvation and escape are essential elements

Tone Overall attitude an author appears to hold toward key elements of the work—the

novel Candide makes fun of its characters' suffering, while The Sorrows of Young Werthertakes its protagonist's suffering very seriously. Strictly speaking, tone is generally an effect of literary techniques, on the level of a work's overall meaning or effect. The tone of a whole work is not itself a literary technique. However, the tone of a work, especially in a discrete section, may help create the overall tone, effect, or meaning of the work.

Understatement ContextualA diminishing or softening of a theme or effect. Examples include The Informers and Norwegian Wood.

Unreliable narrator Plot device

The narrator of the story is not sincere, or introduces a bias in his narration and possibly misleads the reader, hiding or minimizing events, characters, or motivations.

Verfremdungseffekt

Literary techniqueAlienating or distancing the audience from a play's emotional content—popularized by 20th century playwright Bertolt Brecht.

Word play Sounds of words used as an aspect of the work.

Writer's voiceCombination of the various structural aspects of an author's writing style.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_technique

Allegory: It is a symbolic aspect of a story that conveys a lesson or a teaching which is not present in it. Generally, its a narrative that contains an abstract idea to be delivered or conveyed through a figurative use of one subject for the other. Classics such as Aesop's Fables or John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' and films like 'The Matrix' or 'Casablanca' are examples of allegory.

Alliteration: Words or sentences that begin with similar-sounding words are said to employ alliteration. 'Careless cutting cars', ' wonderfully whistling woods' or tongue twisters like, 'she sells sea shells by the sea shore' are examples of alliteration.

Allusion: This device is a reference to any event or happening in real life or a literary

work. For example, 'The battle between the countries was World War II revisited' or 'Oh, don't be such a Romeo!'. Here, World War II and Romeo are allusions.

Anastrophe: Also known as inversion, it is a sentence or a poetic expression which reverses or changes the order of words for greater emphasis. 'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown' or 'Ten thousand saw I at a glance' are anastrophic expressions. 

Aposiopesis: Its the sudden breaking applied in a prose or a poem to increase the emotional aspect or dramatic feel. The following extract from Shakespeare's play, 'King Lear' is a good example of aposiopesis. 'I will have a revenge on you both, That all the world shall.... I will do such things, What they are, and yet I know not'.

Apostrophe: It is a direct address to the dead or an inanimate object creating an emotional surge. 'Caesar, only if you were alive' or 'O stone, O might, O heart of man-made God, Thou art the emblem of our hope', are examples of apostrophe.

Climax: It is the arrangement of ideas in an increasing order of their importance. It emphasizes the meaning in a clear and effective way. Examples include, ' He came, he saw, he conquered, 'Her village, her state, her nation were her pride', 'Eat, drink and sleep' and so on.

Ellipsis: It is the omission of a word or words from a sentence which may sound grammatically incorrect but the meaning is easily conveyed. Examples: 'He won all the games, hands down', or 'I got Sam and Sam me'.

Hyperbole: It is an exaggeration, used often to ridicule, create humor or any drastic emotional appeal. 'The waves rose as high as the mountains,' 'I am so hungry that I can eat a whole cow' or 'She wept and wept until there was a sea of tears', are sentences which substantiate the use of hyperbole.

Irony: It is the expression of ideas which are exactly opposite to the implied meaning. There is a discord or disagreement between the presented words and their use. 'A student of psychology going insane', a quote such as, 'A bank lends you money provided you show that it's not needed' or the warning found on every cigarette pack, 'Smoking is injurious to health' is an irony!

Litotes: It is an understated expression when the actual idea to be expressed is quite significant. It is like downplaying an idea when it seems to be the best possible course of action or description. Statements such as, 'I am not a bit amused' or 'He has a modest earning in billions of dollars' are some examples of litotes. 

Metaphor: The direct comparison of two entities where one entity is expressed as the other. Examples are, 'He was a lion in the fight', 'The birth of laughter', 'stealing eyes', 'noisy looms' and so on.

Metonymy: It is an associative substitution technique like, 'A press conference by the Pentagon'. Here, Pentagon refers to the officials of the Pentagon who will be holding the press conference. The English grammar permits the use of a reference word in place of the actual subject as long as the meaning is clear. 

Onomatopoeia: 'Crackling sound', 'hissing away', 'screeching noise', 'Boo-hoo' are examples of onomatopoeia. It is a sound expression where the word is similar to the sound made.

Oxymoron: This figure of speech includes words or ideas opposite in meaning placed one after the other. 'True lies', 'open secret', 'pretty ugly face', 'feeling alone in a crowd', are some forms of this literary device.

Parallel construction: In this literary device, the idea to be stated is repeated in some other form to emphasize the articulation. 'She cried, she wept but he was unmoved', or 'Show me your strength, your stamina, your energy only where it is needed' are some expressions of parallel construction.

Personification: It is a representation of abstract ideas or inanimate objects as having human attributes or qualities. 'Death laid its icy hands on kings', 'Love and friendship had crippled his sense of judgment' and 'Tormenting idea' exemplify the use of personification.

Pun: It is an idea or expression which has two meanings implied at the same time. Quite often it is used to pass a witty remark or bring about a sarcastic effect. Examples are, 'I knead the dough so that I can eat', 'learn the art of silence such that nothing is left unsaid', 'there are three types of people: The ones who can count and the ones who can't'. 

Satire: It is a mimicry, a mockery, a witty remark or a ridicule related to a person, place, animal or a thing, generally for leisure and is completely wrong or absurd. TV shows like 'Saturday Night Live' or movies like 'The Tailor of Panama' are examples of satire.

Simile: It is an indirect comparison made between two different entities showing some common aspect or relation. Examples include, 'as cool as a cucumber', 'as white as snow', 'Life is just like an ice-cream, enjoy it before it melts'.

Synecdoche: The representation of a whole aspect by a part or a part by the whole is called as synecdoche. Example: 'He has several mouths to feed'. Here mouths represent people. 'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world'. Here 'hand' refers to the mothers in general.

Zeugma: It expresses the control of one subject or a part of speech over the entire sentence composed of different objects or other parts of sentence. 'He succumbed to the public pressure and the wounds inflicted by his lady', 'She crossed the seas and all the obstacles holding her back', or 'Beauty glows with sunshine, laughter and a sense of deep satisfaction', are some examples of this literary device. 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/literary-devices.html

AllegoryWhere an entire story is representative/symbolic of something else, usually a larger abstract concept or important historical/geopolitical event (e.g. Animal Farm is an allegory of Soviet totalitarianism).AlliterationThe repetition of consonant sounds, usually used consecutively in the same sentence (e.g. Silly Sally saw sixty slithering snakes).Anthropomorphism

Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed as people. (e.g. in Animal Farm the animals can talk, walk, and interact like humans).Deus ex machinaLatin for "God out of the machine", this term describes the primary conflict being solved out of nowhere, as if God or a miracle could only solve the complex conflict.Dramatic ironyWhere the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the characters in the story are not aware. Situational irony is different in that the readers are not aware; the results are unexpected and mocking in relation to what was expected (the usual use of the term irony). Verbal irony is an expression that is opposite of what it is intended to mean (e.g. the Ministry of Love is actually a place of torture and brainwashing in the novel 1984).ExpositionWhen an author interrupts a story in order to explain something - usually to provide important background information. An exposition can also be essential information which is given at the beginning of a play or short story, about the plot and the events which are to follow.FoilA character who is meant to represent characteristics, values or ideas which are opposite to another character (usually the protagonist).ForeshadowingWhere future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before they happen. This suggestion can be made in various ways such as a flashback, an object, or a previous minor situation which reflects a more significant situation later on. This sort of warning sign can also be called a red herring.HyperboleA description which uses exaggeration or extremes to convey emphasize a characteristic; e.g. "I told you a thousand times!" does not mean the person has been one thousand times.

Metaphor vs. Simile

A metaphor is direct relationship where one thing IS another (e.g. "Juliet is the sun"). A simile, on the other hand, is indirect and usually only likened to be similar to something else. Similes usually use "like" or "as" (e.g. "Your eyes are like the ocean").ParallelismThe use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text.Pathetic fallacyWhen the mood of the character is reflected in the atmosphere (weather) or inanimate objects.PersonificationWhere inanimate objects or abstract concepts are given human thoughts, actions, perceptions and emotions. E.g. "The moon danced mournfully over the water" - you see that a moon cannot actually dance or with mourning, therefore it is being personified in order to create artistic meaning.RepetitionWhen a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, usually in close proximity, to emphasize a particular idea.

http://english.learnhub.com/lesson/4025-literary-devices