This list includes 20 Literary devices that start with I, from “Iamb” to “Isocolon”. They include rhythmic, rhetorical, and structural techniques you can use for analysis, teaching, or creative writing.
Literary devices that start with I are recognized techniques writers use to shape sound, meaning, and structure. Many trace back to classical prosody and rhetoric, with examples in Shakespeare and classical poetry.
Below you’ll find the table with Device, Definition, and Example.
Device: The name of the literary device, so you can quickly identify and look up its formal term.
Definition: A concise explanation of how the device works, giving you clear meaning for classroom or writing use.
Example: A short contextual sentence showing the device in action, helping you recognize and apply it confidently.
Literary devices that start with I
| Device | Other names | Category | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iamb | iambic foot | meter | be-LIEVE (unstressed, stressed) |
| Iambic pentameter | blank verse when unrhymed | meter | Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? |
| Imitation | mimesis, imitatio, literary borrowing | technique | A modern retelling of a classical myth. |
| Imagery | sensory detail, sensory language | device | Velvet night and the smell of rain. |
| Imagism | imagist movement, imagist technique | poetic movement | In a Station of the Metro (Ezra Pound). |
| Idiom | idiomatic expression, set phrase | lexical device | Break the ice. |
| Implied metaphor | implicit metaphor | figurative language | He barked commands. |
| Inclusio | envelope structure, bookend | structure | Text opens and closes with the same phrase. |
| Inciting incident | trigger event, complication | plot device | Harry receives his Hogwarts letter. |
| Indirect characterization | showing, implicit characterization | characterization | She slept at her desk; coffee cups stacked. |
| Intercalation | narrative insertion, interruption | narrative | A short tale inserted into the main story. |
| Interlacing | entrelacement, weave | narrative | Multiple plotlines alternate and reconnect. |
| Intertextuality | allusion, textual reference | theory | Echoes of Austen in a modern novel. |
| Internal focalization | internal viewpoint, subjective focalization | narration | Narration limited to one character’s thoughts. |
| Internal rhyme | medial rhyme, middle rhyme | sound device | I drove myself to the lake and dove. |
| Invocation | address to muse, apostrophe to muse | poetic device | Sing, O Muse, of the man of many ways. |
| In medias res | in the middle of things | narrative | Story begins during battle, then adds backstory. |
| Inversion | anastrophe, hyperbaton | syntax | Never have I seen such beauty. |
| Isocolon | parallel clauses, equal-length parallelism | rhetorical | Veni, vidi, vici. |
| Irony | verbal, dramatic, situational | rhetorical | A fire station burns down. |
Descriptions
Iamb
A metrical foot of two syllables: unstressed then stressed; common in English verse.
Iambic pentameter
A line of five iambs (ten syllables) widely used in English poetry and drama, notably by Shakespeare.
Imitation
Deliberate adoption or echoing of another author’s style, theme, or form; classical rhetorical practice for learning or homage.
Imagery
Language that evokes the senses—visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory—to create vivid scenes and emotional resonance.
Imagism
Early 20th-century poetic movement favoring precise, concentrated images and economy of language for clarity and intensity.
Idiom
A fixed expression whose meaning isn’t predictable from its words; adds cultural color and conversational tone in literature.
Implied metaphor
A comparison suggested rather than stated; it implies one thing is another without a direct “is” or “like” statement.
Inclusio
A framing device that repeats words or themes at beginning and end to bracket and unify a passage or work.
Inciting incident
The event that launches the central conflict and sets the plot in motion; essential to story structure.
Indirect characterization
Revealing a character through actions, speech, thoughts, looks, and others’ reactions rather than explicit description.
Intercalation
Inserting one narrative within another to create contrast, suspense, or thematic layering; used in many traditions.
Interlacing
Weaving parallel narratives or scenes so plots interconnect, heightening suspense, complexity, and perspective shifts.
Intertextuality
How a text’s meaning is shaped by other texts through quotation, allusion, parody, or adaptation.
Internal focalization
A narrative perspective restricted to a character’s perceptions and thoughts, determining what readers know and feel.
Internal rhyme
Rhyme within a line or between internal words of lines, adding musicality and emphasis.
Invocation
A formal plea or address—often to a muse or deity—invoking inspiration or authority at a poem’s start.
In medias res
A narrative that opens amid action or crisis, later supplying earlier events through flashback or exposition.
Inversion
Deliberate reversal of normal word order to emphasize elements, alter rhythm, or meet metrical needs.
Isocolon
A type of parallelism where successive clauses have equal length and structure, creating balance and rhetorical force.
Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality where words, events, or outcomes mean something different from the literal.