Literary devices are the building blocks of literature. They assist writers in exploring their writing skills and transform a boring thing into an interesting read. Therefore, you will see that all the great writers have mastered the usage of literary devices in their writing.  

Consequently, the question arises –  

Do you know how to use literary devices? 

How many literary devices do you know? 

If you have issues with the question, you can simply look at the next section. We will tell you about the exciting usage of literary devices in writing. Simultaneously, your writing will become more fun and proactive.  

Top Literary Devices To Enhance Your Essay Writing  

You can shed more light on your characters and stories with literary devices and build a brilliant read. Eventually, it will get you an A+ on the paper or allow you to publish it. Here are a few literary devices to enhance your writing skills, as per professional paper writers –  

Imagery  

Imagery is the usage of figurative language to describe something. It can be anything, whether what you see or feel. You can showcase it through the interplay of language and sensation.  

Moreover, it can be both literal and figurative, enabling you to create a vivid image of the incident in the reader’s mind. For example, you can take a tree as a word and say trees are the gods of the forest, i.e., present trees in a different sense to readers. Lastly, the best writers appeal to the reader’s senses, such as sight, touch, sound, smell, and taste.  

Symbolism  

Symbolism is the greatest assistant of writers when it comes to brilliant essay writing. It combines multiple ideas presented through metaphor and imagery. Symbolism comes naturally to humans while speaking without actually realizing it.  

One interesting thing about symbolism is that you can invent your own symbols to capture readers’ minds. You can choose a random object and write your essay around it. For example, you can take white-capped mountains, which represent the idea of solitude and calmness.  

Hyperbole  

In our school, we all have friends and teachers that speak dramatically. In a word, it is an example of hyperbole like, I have been waiting a thousand years for you. You will mostly find hyperbole in romantic poems or essays, as well as in adventure stories.  

In other words, hyperbole is fun. You can create crazy and fun statements to convey your story to the readers.  Moreover, you can personify your intense emotions and let readers know what you felt when the thing happened.  

Juxtaposition  

Often, in essays and stories, writers use contrasting elements to build tension in the story. It is known as juxtaposition. In Hegel’s words, it represents antithesis in the paper. Adding juxtaposition in an essay is a great exercise to boost your writing skills and creativity.  

Moreover, to master the art of juxtaposition, you need to add two polar things together. For example, at night, people were enjoying Christmas, children in Africa were yearning for bread. You can add some grey elements like Dickens and Burke and enhance your writing caliber.  

Pun  

If you want to add some humor to your writing portfolio, you must learn to use puns. Puns are a literary device that enables you to play with words and present a laughable sentence. Famous writers like Shakespeare and Dickens use puns to add depth and gravity to their words.  

For this, you can take any word with different meanings and create a new phrase or line around it. That way, you can make a double meaning of a sentence and leave it for the readers to enjoy. Lastly, all you need to do is challenge the sounds of language and create exciting lines for everyone to read and enjoy.  

Personification  

Another literary device to add to your writing portfolio is personification. In simple words, personification means giving human-like attributes to nonhuman things. It is a powerful way to build empathy in readers.  

You can take objects and describe them through the five senses, like imagery. That way, you can show the emotional bonding and essence with the object. For example, you can take the film Taxi Driver, where you can see the relationship between the actor and the car. It is personification.  

Paradox  

Paradox is a tricky literary device, where you deconstruct binaries and challenge the reader’s mind and belief. It is more like Derrida’s deconstructionism, where you can take polar opposites and create meaning out of them. For example, Oscar Wilde’s use of the line to be natural is such a difficult pose to keep up, highlighting the mastery of using personification.  

If you want to add paradox to your writing skill, you can use juxtaposition and irony. You can use words like hate and love and create a line with them. For example, you can write something like, to love and hate is the way of living life – thus, it shows your creativity and feelings.  

 Allegory  

If you are a creative writer, allegory is your homie. The sole purpose of the literary device is to represent an abstract idea or concept. You can take Animal Farm, for example, and it showcases the use of allegory in presenting the USSR’s communism.  

Consequently, if you want to master allegory and writing form, you can take a major trend and write about something happening around it. For example, social media is responsible for modifying beauty standards around the world. This way, you can present your thoughts in an abstract way.  

The Bottom Line 

In the end, you can apply the literary devices mentioned in the discussion to enhance your writing style and depth. That way, you can explain different elements much more easily. Lastly, it will keep the reader’s mind captivated and enhance their reading experience.  

FAQs  

Here are a few frequently asked questions –  

What is the most used literary device? 

The usage of metaphors is more to showcase direct comparisons.  

Can you use literary devices in an essay? 

Yes, it will add depth to the writing style.  

What is the oldest literary device? 

Anaphora is the oldest literary device. It has been present since the days of Old Greece.