stylistic device definition example

accumulation enumeration, a row of similar expressions I have dared to love you wildly, passionately,
devotedly, hopelessly. (Oscar Wilde)

alliteration repetition of a sound at the beginning of Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled pepper.
neighboring words

allusion indirect reference to a famous event, person or To meet one’s Waterloo, the Scrooge Syndrome, the
piece of literature old man and the computer

anaphora successive clauses/sentence starting with the same The beginning of wisdom is silence. The next step is
word listening.

anticlimax opposite of climax, string of statements ending For God, for country, and for football.
with the weakest

antithesis contrast: opposing words, phrases, structures, It’s easier for a father to have children than for
characters, views children to have a real father. (Alexander Pope)

assonance repetition of internal vowel sounds in neighboring Sweet dreams are made of this. (Eurythmics) When I
words that do not end the same way get shocked at the hospital by the doctor when I’m not
cooperating. (Eminem)

blank verse poetry with a regular metre, but no rhyme
chiasmus reversal in the order of words in the two halves of a
sentence (Kreuzstellung)
consonance repetition of consonant sounds at the end of
neighboring words with different vowel sounds
You stars that reign’d at my nativity, Whose influence
hath allowed death and hell (Christopher Marlowe,
Doctor Faustus)
Love’s fire heats water, water cools not love.
(Shakespeare, Sonnet 154)
strength - earth - birth

couplet two lines of verse forming a unit So long as men can breath or eyes van see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
(Shakespeare, Sonnet 18)
cynicism strongest and most aggressive form of irony Familiarity breeds contempt. (proverb)

ellipsis (also leaving out essential grammatical items that are And he to England shall along with you. (Shakespeare,
hiatus) clear from the context Hamlet)

enumeration They were like the knives, slashing, paring, chopping,

slicing, dividing.

euphemism using polite expressions for sth. unpleasant To pass away (to die), rest room (toilet), the
underprivileged (the poor)
friendly fire (attack from one’s own army)

free verse poetry without regular metre or rhyme All truths wait in all things
They neither hasten their own delivery nor resist it,
They do not need the obstetric forceps of the surgeon.
(Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass)
hyperbole exaggeration; overstatement; making sth./sb. A momentary separation from anyone to whom one
greater than in reality has just been introduced is almost unbearable. (Oscar
Wilde)
stylistic device definition example
insertion a qualifying, explanatory, or appositive word, William Smith - you must know him - is coming
(parenthesis/aside) phrase, clause, or sentence that tonight.

irony saying the opposite of what you mean What lovely weather we’re having! (looking out at a
thunderstorm)

litotes understatement; making sth./sb. less important than The Queen was not amused.
in reality

metaphor poetical comparison without like or as Life’s but a walking shadow. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)

metre regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables - Lambic (- ‘): the dust of snow
within a line of a poem - Trochaic (‘ -): tiger, tiger, burning bright
- Anapestic (- - ‘): with the greatest of ease
- Dactylic (‘ - -): just for a handful of silver he left us
onomatopoeia using words which imitate the sound they refer to The cuckoo whizzed past the buzzing bees.
(Lautmalerei)
oxymoron condensed form of paradox in which two “O hateful love! O loving hate!” (Shakespeare, Romeo
contradictory words are used together and Juliet)

paradox seeming impossible at first glance, but being true Fair is foul, and foul is fair. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
on second thoughts

parallelism repeating similar or identical words, phrases, If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for
constructions in neighboring lines, sentences, it by being always immensely over-educated.
paragraphs

personification presenting ideas, objects, animals as persons Death pays all debts. (proverb)
a smiling moon

pun play on words (using homophones or homonyms) Seven days without water makes one weak. Politics is
like golf: you are trapped in one bad lie after another.

print bild, italic, spaced out, capital/upper case vs lower Leave me alone. Leave me alone, please. LEAVE ME
case letters ALONE!

register subset of language for a specific situation, purpose legalese, baby talk, sports jagen, Star Trek terms
frozen - formal - neutral - informal - familiar

repetition deliberately using a word or phrase more than once Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, creeps in this
petty pace from day to day. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)

rhetorical question question to which the answer is obvious Don’t we all love peace?

rhyme using words that repeat syllable sound (rhyme - end rhyme/tall rhyme (rhyme at the end of lines)
scheme: pattern of rhyming lines in a poem) - internal rhyme (letters of joy from girl and boy)
- eye rhyme (flow - how)
- rhyming couplets: aabb
- alternate rhyme: abab
- embracing rhyme: abba
sarcasm strong, aggressive, contemptuous from irony You are a brilliant student. (to someone who has just
failed an exam)

sentence structure paratactic vs hypotactic (simple vs complex)

 stylistic device definition example
simile comparison using like or as A woman without a man is like a fish without a
bicycle. (Irina Dunn) Thick as a brick. (Jetro Tull)

symbol sth. concrete (object, character, event) standing for dove (peace), Cupid (love), scales (justice), scepter
st. abstract (royal power), horseshoe (luck)

syn(a)sthesia the combination of two senses e.g. smell and sound A faint greenish light smelling of onions…

synecdoche using a part instead of the whole …lend me your ears. (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)

tautology repetition of a single idea in different words, With malice toward none, with clarify for all.
phrases, sentences (Abraham Lincoln)

telling name a name that conveys certain character traits Willy Loman (low man)
Lord Voldemort (flight of death)

As in questions and analysis tasks, you do not only have to identify the form, but also the function of stylistic devices,
the most common effects of these devices are listed here. Remember, however, that the functions also depend on the
specific context in which a stylistic device is used.

- to emphasize a certain aspect (most common functional)

- to arouse the reader’s interest/to grab the reader’s attention
- to make the reader think (don’t overuse this argument)
- to criticize/satirize a situation/person/ideas/event
- to produce a fine rhythm
- to create humor
- to evoke funny/revealing associations
- to create a graphic mental image/an authentic atmosphere
- to make the passage vivid
- to surprise the reader
- to amuse/entertain the reader