Alliteration: It is a literary devices which has repetition of consonant sounds at the starting of words. For example – ‘Cat can catch mouse’. Here /c/ which is pronounced as /k/ is a consonant sound and it is getting repeated at the starting of three words consecutively i.e. Cat, can and catch. Hence, it is a case of alliteration.
Consonance: This device also focuses on repetition of consonant sounds but not at the starting of the words, instead at somewhere middle or at the end of the words. For example – Peter is a greater ruler. Here /r/ sound is getting repeated at the end of words Peter, greater and ruler.
Assonance: This literary device highlights repetition of vowel sounds anywhere in the words. For example, An angel arranged apples. Here /a/ sound, which a vowel sound is getting repeated at the starting of words. It is assonance not alliteration as it is the vowel sound which is repeated not any consonant sound. Similarly, A Pig is in the pit. Here, vowel sound /i/ is repeated continuously in the words Pig, is, in and pit.
Simile: It is device which is used to create imagery. When two dissimilar objects are compared using words ‘like or as’ is called as simile. For example: Reema’s face is like Moon. The sentence doesn’t mean that Reema’s face look like moon, but it means that the beauty of her face is similar to the beauty of the Moon. Here face of Reema is compared to moon using word ‘like’. Similarly, Rohit is like a tiger. It doesn’t mean Rohit looks like tiger. It means Rohit has power, bravery or fierceness like a tiger.
Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech used to compare two things that aren’t actually alike, but have something in common. It is done by saying that one thing is another. For example, a “simile,” which uses words like “like” or “as” (e.g., He is as brave as tiger), a metaphor is a direct statement (e.g., He is a tiger). The meaning of both the statements is same that he is brave like a tiger.
Irony: It is a literary device in which a contrary statement is made which aims to mock or belittle the subject. For example, If the student has a very small pencil but the teacher mockingly says to him, what a large pencil you have. Then it’s irony as the small pencil of the student is stated as large by the teacher to mock him. There is irony of situation too. Suppose a fire brigade station is caught with fire, then it’s ironical situation.
Paradox: This literary device also has contrary statement like irony and which seems rubbish from the outside but there is always a deep hidden truth behind it. It doesn’t aim to mock or belittle someone. For example, If i say that evening is arrived in afternoon, it would seem like unbelievable. But if clouds have covered the whole sky and all the light of the day is suddenly disappeared, it would seem like sun has set and evening has arrived. So there is truth behind the statement. It is paradox.
Personification: It is a figure of speech in which non-living things or natural elements are presented as human beings or having human emotions. For example, Flowers are dancing. We all know that flowers don’t dance, its the human who dance. But the gliding of flowers with the wind is poetically presented as dance of the flowers. Hence, flowers are personified or we can say they are presented as a person.
Onomatopoeia: This literary device uses such words that contain sounds similar to the noises they describe. For example, tick-tock, boom etc. These words are similar to the sounds they represent.
Synecdoche: Synecdoche is that figure of speech which uses a part of the body to represent the whole body. For example: ‘The hands are doing the hard work’ or take an other example, ‘There are lot of brains involved in solving this problem’. In these examples ‘hands’ and ‘brains’ both are part of human body. Hence, by using them the writer is addressing the person. The hard work is done by the people, but they are symbolised by hands. Similarly the problem is worked on by the people but they are symbolised by ‘brains’. It is synecdoche.
Metonymy: This figure of speech is quite similar to synecdoche but difference is that the thing which symbolise the whole person is not part of his/her body but closely associated or related to him/her. For example, ‘The White House took this decision.’ The white house symbolise president hence, it’s the president who took the decision. Similarly, ‘May heaven pity on us.’ Here, it’s the god who is asked to pity on us but heaven is symbolising the God.