This list includes 20 Literary devices that start with N, from “Narration” to “Number symbolism”. These devices often shape voice, meaning, or theme across poetry, prose, and drama. You will use them for analysis, teaching, editing, and creative writing.
Literary devices that start with N are techniques and figures of speech beginning with N that shape narrative and meaning. Notable examples include “Narration,” central to storytelling since oral traditions, and “Number symbolism,” common in myth.
Below you’ll find the table with Device, Definition, and Example.
Device: The literary term or technique; use it to find the entry you need quickly and compare similar devices.
Definition: A concise explanation of the device’s meaning; you can use it to understand or teach its function.
Example: A short, contextual sentence showing the device in use so you can recognize or apply it.
Literary devices that start with N
| Device | Category | Also called | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Narrative | Storyteller | First-person narrator telling their life story. |
| Narration | Narrative | Storytelling | Author summarizing past events to move the plot. |
| Narrative | Structural | Story; storytelling | A novel’s central sequence of events and their presentation. |
| Narrative voice | Narrative | Voice; narrative tone | A weary first-person voice guiding the reader. |
| Narrative perspective | Narrative | Point of view | Limited third-person following one character. |
| Narrative frame | Structural | Frame story | A traveler telling others’ tales around a fire. |
| Narrative hook | Structural | Hook | Opening line that poses a mystery to readers. |
| Narrative arc | Structural | Story arc | Protagonist rises, faces crisis, then resolves. |
| Narrative time | Narrative | Temporal structure | Stretching a single moment across pages. |
| Narrative tension | Narrative | Suspense | Rising suspense as obstacles worsen for protagonist. |
| Narrative gap | Narrative | Ellipsis in story | Skipping months between chapters to imply events. |
| Nested narrative | Structural | Story within a story | Canterbury Tales’ multiple embedded tales. |
| Nonlinear narrative | Structural | Disordered chronology | Flashbacks that jumble chronological order. |
| Narratorial intrusion | Narrative | Authorial intrusion | Author directly addressing reader to explain events. |
| Non-diegetic element | Narrative | Extradiegetic element | Background score commenting on a scene. |
| Non sequitur | Rhetorical | Illogical leap | A reply that does not logically follow the previous statement. |
| Neologism | Linguistic | Coined word | Lewis Carroll’s “chortle” as a playful invention. |
| Nominalization | Rhetorical | Turning verbs into nouns | Turning “decide” into “decision” for abstraction. |
| Negative capability | Poetic | Keatsian concept | Keats embracing uncertainty in poetic thought. |
| Number symbolism | Figurative | Numerical symbolism | Three representing completeness in a tale. |
Descriptions
Narrator
The voice or persona that tells the story, shaping what readers know, how events are presented, and the story’s tone.
Narration
The act and method of telling a story, including pace, level of detail, and what is shown versus told.
Narrative
The organized account of connected events in a work, encompassing structure, perspective, and temporal order.
Narrative voice
The distinctive tone, diction, and persona through which a story is told, shaping reader response and intimacy.
Narrative perspective
The vantage point from which events are presented, e.g., first person, third-person limited, or omniscient.
Narrative frame
A framing device where one story contains one or more inner stories, setting context and shaping interpretation.
Narrative hook
An opening element designed to grab reader interest quickly and pull them into the story.
Narrative arc
The shape of a story’s plot from beginning through complications to climax and resolution.
Narrative time
How time is handled in a story—order, duration, pacing, and shifts like flashbacks or foreshadowing.
Narrative tension
The sense of anticipation or unease created by conflict, uncertainty, or delayed outcomes in a narrative.
Narrative gap
A deliberate omission of events or details that invites readers to infer or imagine what happened.
Nested narrative
A structure where a narrative contains another narrative or multiple embedded narratives.
Nonlinear narrative
A narrative that presents events out of chronological sequence to create surprise, emphasis, or thematic links.
Narratorial intrusion
When the narrator steps out of the story to address readers, comment, judge, or explain.
Non-diegetic element
An element that exists outside the story world (e.g., commentary, music) that informs audience interpretation.
Non sequitur
A statement or conclusion that does not logically follow from the preceding argument, often used for humor or disruption.
Neologism
A newly coined word or expression used to create effect, character voice, or novelty.
Nominalization
Converting actions or qualities into nouns to abstract, formalize, or conceal agency in prose.
Negative capability
A poet’s willingness to tolerate ambiguity and unresolved tensions rather than forcing clear answers.
Number symbolism
Using specific numbers to convey symbolic meaning or themes, common in myth, religion, and literature.