LITERARY DEVICES

By Megan Cai

Mixed Metaphor

A succession of incongruous or ludicrous comparisons; metaphors jumbled together illogically

Function: Usually for comic effect to expose clichés and parody metaphors

Examples: “Wake up and smell the coffee.” + “Read the writing

on the wall.” = “Wake up and smell the coffee on the wall.”

"All at once he was alone in this noisy hive with no place to roost.” (Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities)

Epithet

A term used to characterize a person or thing or a descriptive substitute for the name of a person

Function: glorify people; evoke associations and feelings toward a subject; imagery

Examples: “The Great Emancipator” Abraham Lincoln “Catherine the Great” “whale-road” (Beowulf) “wine-dark sea” (Homer) “star-crossed lovers” (Romeo and Juliet,

Shakespeare)

Innuendo

A subtle or indirect observation about a person or thing, usually of a derogatory nature; an insinuation

Function: make an inappropriate remark indirectly; euphemism

Example: “Lady, shall I lie in your lap?” (Hamlet,

Shakespeare)

References

http://grammar.about.com/od/qaaboutrhetoric/f/QAmixmetaphor.htm

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/mixed-metaphors.aspx

http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/mixmetterm.htm http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/innuendo.htm http://grammar.about.com/od/e/g/epitheterm.htm