Core Devices
These 10 devices carry meaning through comparison and implication. Each card carries an example so you can practice spotting the device, not just defining it.
Practice this set for free — no account needed. Loads 10 flashcards into the learner.
Practice in the free learnerHow to study this set
For metaphor and simile, check for the word "like" or "as" — a simile spells the comparison out with one, a metaphor leaves it out.
All 10 flashcards
Swap question and answerA comparison between two unlike things, without using "like" or "as."
Metaphor
Describing rage as "a storm inside him" is a metaphor.
A comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as."
Simile
"Stubborn as a mule" is a simile.
Giving human qualities to something non-human.
Personification
Describing the sea as "angry" personifies it.
Using an object or image to represent a larger idea.
Symbolism
Yorick’s skull in Hamlet symbolizes mortality.
A hint of what is to come later in the story.
Foreshadowing
The ghost’s early appearance foreshadows the violence to come in Hamlet.
Deliberate exaggeration for effect.
Hyperbole
"I’ve told you a million times" is hyperbole.
Deliberately presenting something as less significant than it is, often for ironic effect.
Understatement
Calling a catastrophe "a bit of a problem" is understatement.
A brief reference to another work, person, or event, without full explanation.
Allusion
Calling a long, difficult journey "an odyssey" alludes to Homer’s poem.
Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.
Imagery
A detailed description of the smell and sound of a storm at sea is vivid imagery.
Placing two contrasting things side by side to highlight their difference.
Juxtaposition
Hamlet’s hesitation is juxtaposed with Laertes’ immediate action.
What to learn next
Next: Level 2, "Extended Devices" — structure, irony and perspective.
Continue to Level 2: Extended Devices →