What is the Difference Between Literary Devices and Figures of Speech?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The key difference between literary devices and figures of speech is that literary devices refer to a broader category of literary or linguistic techniques, while figures of speech are a specific type of literary device that involves using words out of their literal meanings or ordinary usages.
Literary Devices: These are techniques that writers employ to enhance various elements of a story, such as setting, style, plot, and characterization. Literary devices can include narrative style, plot mechanisms, and figures of speech. Examples of literary devices include flashback, foreshadowing, and symbolism.
Figures of Speech: These are literary devices that convey a different meaning than what the literal words suggest. Figures of speech are mainly related to language and style, and they often involve comparisons or wordplay. Examples of figures of speech include simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, and hyperbole.
In summary:
- Literary devices are a broader category of techniques used in literature to enhance various elements of a story.
- Figures of speech are a specific type of literary device that involves using words out of their literal meanings or ordinary usages.
Comparative Table: Literary Devices vs Figures of Speech
Here is a table comparing literary devices and figures of speech:
| Feature | Literary Devices | Figures of Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Literary devices refer to techniques used by writers to make their work complete, interesting, or complex. | Figures of speech are a type of literary device that involves the use of language to evoke comparison, emphasize ideas, or create a particular effect. |
| Examples | Plot devices: Flashback, Deus ex-machina Characterization devices: Sympathy, Character foil Setting devices: Time and space, Sensory details |
Alliteration, anaphora, antimetabole, antithesis, apostrophe, assonance, hyperbole, irony, metonymy, oxymoron, synecdoche, consonance |
| Scope | Include techniques that enhance elements such as setting, plot, and characterization of a literary work. | Focus on language construction and the effects created in a particular text or passage. |
| Relationship | Literary devices are larger concepts that encompass various elements, including figures of speech. | Figures of speech are a subset of literary devices, focusing specifically on language construction and its effects. |
Figures of speech are a major component of literary devices, but they are only one aspect of them. Literary devices also include techniques that enhance elements such as setting, plot, and characterization of a literary work.
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- Literary vs Literacy
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