Literary Devices- These are narrative techniques used by the author to ignite a spark of excitement, open

a wondrous path of imagination, boost energy into writing, craft to convey information and add texture to
narration.

ALLUSION- is a reference to a person, place, event, or literary work that a writer expects the reader to
recognize and understand. It may come from history, geography, literature, art, music, or religion.
EXAMPLE: In a circle of friends, one is the Maria Clara.
I have found the Romeo I have been waiting all my life.

JUXTAPOSITION-Involves two themes, characters, phrases, words or situation together for comparison
and contrast
EXAMPLE: A Tales of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it
was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness...”
CHEKHOV’S GUN -Insertion of an apparently and seemingly irrelevant object early in the selection to
which the purpose is revealed later

EXAMPLE: The Prisoner of Azkaban, we discover the real reason that Scabbers, a rat
highlighted in the first scenes/events in the story isn't actually a rat but a wizard/criminal in
hiding.

FORESHADOWING -literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in
the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and helps the reader
develop expectations about the

events in a story.
EXAMPLE: “When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide”
“The corners of the ceiling have darkened, creaks heard on a windy day”
APHORISM- Statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner. The term is often
applied to philosophical, moral, and literary principles.
EXAMPLE: Pride goeth before a fall. [Proverb]
…even a proverb is no proverb until your life has illustrated it. [John Keats]
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view –
until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”[Harper Lee]
FLASHBACKING- A general term for altering sequences of events in the story, taking characters back
to the beginning of the tale.
EXAMPLE: “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at
the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were
assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.”
CLIFFHANGER- Creates an open ending in the story by leaving the conflict unresolved. Its purpose is
to draw the audience back to the future episode for solution or another form of plot
EXAMPLE: Pork Empanada Story: “ masarap kuya, masarap. Sa Katipunan, patuloy na
nagdaan ang mga sasakyan, mabilis at mabagal…”
“I could see that balloon and the moon shining through it but I couldn’t begin to imagine
what was going to happen to us.”
FLASH FORWARD-Also called as prolepsis, an interjected scene that temporarily jumps the narrative
forward in time.
EXAMPLE: “A Christmas Carol depicts the character Scrooge in a flash-forward scene.
The tightfisted and ill-tempered Scrooge is visited by the “Ghost of Christmas Yet to
Come,” who shows him his future”
FRAME STORY- A story within a story
EXAMPLE: Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a frame story. Different characters come
together to take a pilgrimage to Canterbury, and along the way, they all tell a different
story. So, the overall tale of the pilgrim's journey is a frame for the various narratives that
are told within the story.
RHETORICAL QUESTION - Posing a question without expecting something in reply to create
persuasive effect to its reader
EXAMPLE: “Who is the traitor and who is the patriot? What am I?”
(The Dilemma of the Last Filipino, Hilarion Henares)

“If you prick us, do we not bleed?

If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
If you poison us, do we not die?
And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”
Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
EPIPHANY- It is the part where the character realizes his or her actions or a sudden revelation after
which events are seen in a similar experience/context.
EXAMPLE: “Suddenly he felt terribly embarrassed as he looked at her. Somehow he
was ashamed to his mother of his youthful paternity. It made him feel guilty, as if he had
taken something no properly his. He dropped his eyes and pretended to dust dirt off his
kundiman shorts.”
“FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH”
BY: JOSE GARCIA VILLA
FIGURES OF SPEECH -Creative group of words used beyond its literal meaning to enhance sense of
impression and intensify ideas