This list includes 24 Literary devices that start with F, from “Fable” to “Free Verse”. It covers forms, techniques, and rhetorical figures commonly used in literature. You can use these devices for analysis, teaching, and creative writing.
Literary devices that start with F are recognizable techniques, forms, and figures authors use to shape meaning and tone. Many trace roots to folklore and poetic traditions, with notable examples like the fable and free verse.
Below you’ll find the table with Device, Definition, Example, and Notes.
Device: Lists the literary term so you can locate entries quickly and confirm spelling.
Definition: Gives a concise meaning to help you understand and apply the device.
Example: Provides a short contextual example so you see how the device works in text.
Notes: Offers quick usage tips, alternate names, or where the device commonly appears.
Literary devices that start with F
| Device | Also known as | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fable | Apologue, moral tale | Narrative technique, genre | The Tortoise and the Hare teaches that slow and steady wins the race. |
| Fabliau | Fabliaux (plural) | Poetic form, narrative genre | Chaucer’s “The Miller’s Tale” is a famous fabliau. |
| Falling Action | Dénouement (related), resolution phase | Structural device, narrative element | After the battle, the hero journeys home to see what has changed. |
| False Dilemma | Either/or fallacy, false dichotomy | Rhetorical device, logical fallacy | You are either with us or against us. |
| Fantasy | N/A | Genre, narrative mode | The novel featured dragons, elves, and magic. |
| Farce | Slapstick comedy | Dramatic device, genre | Characters chased each other through slamming doors. |
| Feminine Rhyme | Double rhyme | Poetic device, sound device | The words “motion” and “ocean” create a feminine rhyme. |
| Figurative Language | Figures of speech, tropes | Rhetorical device, stylistic device | Similes, metaphors, and personification are common types. |
| Figure of Speech | Rhetorical figure | Rhetorical device, stylistic device | It’s raining cats and dogs is an idiom. |
| First-Person Narration | First-person point of view, first-person perspective | Narrative technique, point of view | I walked down the street, wondering what to do next. |
| Flashback | Analepsis | Narrative technique, structural device | He remembered a time when they were happy together. |
| Flash-Forward | Prolepsis | Narrative technique, structural device | A brief scene showed her future failure. |
| Flat Character | Two-dimensional character, static character (related) | Narrative technique, characterization | The evil henchman had no motivation beyond simple greed. |
| Flyting | Ritual insult, word-sparring | Poetic device, rhetorical device | Beowulf and Unferth exchange elaborate insults before the fight. |
| Foil | N/A | Narrative technique, characterization | Laertes’s passionate rage highlights Hamlet’s indecisiveness. |
| Folktale | Folk story, fable (related) | Narrative technique, genre | The story of Jack and the Beanstalk is a classic folktale. |
| Foot | Poetic foot, metrical foot | Poetic device, prosody | An “iamb” is a foot with one unstressed and one stressed syllable. |
| Foreshadowing | N/A | Narrative technique, structural device | The stormy weather hinted at the conflict to come. |
| Form | Structure, genre conventions | Structural device, literary element | A sonnet has a specific 14-line form. |
| Formal Diction | High diction | Stylistic device, rhetorical device | The text used “one must” instead of “you should.” |
| Fourth Wall Break | Breaking the fourth wall, direct address | Narrative technique, dramatic device | The character turned to the camera and spoke directly to the audience. |
| Frame Story | Frame narrative, embedded narrative | Narrative technique, structural device | Frankenstein begins with letters that frame the main story. |
| Free Indirect Discourse | Free indirect speech, free indirect style | Narrative technique, point of view | She would go to the party. What a terrible idea it was. |
| Free Verse | Vers libre | Poetic device, form | Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” is written in free verse. |
Descriptions
Fable
A short fictional story, often featuring animals with human qualities, that illustrates or teaches a moral lesson.
Fabliau
A short, comic, often bawdy and satirical tale in verse, popular in medieval French literature.
Falling Action
The series of events that occur after the story’s climax, wrapping up the plot and leading toward the conclusion.
False Dilemma
A device that presents only two options or sides when more exist, forcing a choice between two extremes.
Fantasy
A genre or mode of fiction that uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting.
Farce
A comedy that aims to entertain through exaggerated, improbable situations, physical humor, and stereotyped characters rather than subtle wit.
Feminine Rhyme
A rhyme involving two or more syllables where the final syllable is unstressed, creating a softer, trailing-off effect.
Figurative Language
Language that goes beyond the literal meaning of words to give readers new insights or create a more vivid effect.
Figure of Speech
A specific word or phrase used in a non-literal way for rhetorical or vivid effect, such as a metaphor or simile.
First-Person Narration
A mode of storytelling where the narrator is a character within the story, relating events from their own perspective using “I” or “we.”
Flashback
An interruption in the chronological sequence of a narrative to present an event that occurred at an earlier time.
Flash-Forward
An interruption in the narrative to show an event that will happen at a later time in the story.
Flat Character
A character who is not complex or deeply developed and is defined by only one or two traits.
Flyting
A contest of insults, often in verse, between two parties. It was a formal poetic exchange common in older Germanic literature.
Foil
A character who contrasts with another character, typically the protagonist, to emphasize specific qualities of that main character.
Folktale
A story originating in popular culture, typically passed on through oral tradition, often with fantastical elements and a timeless quality.
Foot
The basic repeating rhythmic unit of a line in poetry, containing a specific number and pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Foreshadowing
A literary device where the author gives clues or hints about what is going to happen later in the story.
Form
The overall structure or shape of a work, including its genre, stanza pattern, or plot structure, which contributes to its meaning.
Formal Diction
A style of writing or speaking characterized by elaborate, impersonal, and grammatically correct language, often used for serious or official purposes.
Fourth Wall Break
A technique where a character acknowledges their own fictional nature, breaking the illusion of reality by addressing the audience.
Frame Story
A literary technique where a main story is used to introduce or contain another story or a set of shorter stories.
Free Indirect Discourse
A narrative style that blends third-person narration with the thoughts and feelings of a character, blurring the line between narrator and character voice.
Free Verse
Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter, rhyme scheme, or other traditional poetic rules, relying instead on natural speech rhythms.