Here you’ll find 12 Literary devices that start with V, organized from “Ventriloquism” to “Vowel rhyme”. Many are rhetorical or sound-based devices used in poetry, fiction, and literary analysis.
Literary devices that start with V are techniques authors use to shape sound, meaning, or emotional effect. Many have roots in oral tradition and appear in poetry and dramatic monologues.
Below you’ll find the table with Term, Definition, Example.
Term: Use this name to locate the device quickly and match it with your notes or lesson plans.
Definition: Short, clear description you can quote or paraphrase for studying, teaching, or quick reference.
Example: Brief contextual example shows how the device works in practice, helping you recognise or use it.
Literary devices that start with V
| Device | Alternate names | Category | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventriloquism | Authorial ventriloquism | Narrative technique / rhetorical device | The author channels a character’s angry speech. |
| Verbal irony | Irony (verbal); ironic statement | Figure of speech / irony | “What lovely weather,” she said in the storm. |
| Verisimilitude | Plausibility; realism | Narrative technique / realism | Detailed setting makes the fictional town feel lived-in. |
| Vernacular | Colloquial language; regional speech | Diction / style | He narrates in local dialect and slang. |
| Versification | Poetic meter; scansion | Poetic technique / prosody | The play’s verse follows iambic pentameter. |
| Vignette | Sketch; short scene | Narrative form / short scene | A brief snapshot of a girl’s summer afternoon. |
| Visual imagery | Sight imagery; pictorial description | Imagery / sensory device | The crimson sunset spilled over the harbor. |
| Visual metaphor | Pictorial metaphor; image-as-metaphor | Figure of speech / metaphor | Her smile was a sunrise in winter. |
| Voice | Narrative voice; speaker’s voice | Narrative technique / style | A wry, conversational first-person narrator. |
| Voice-over | Narrator commentary; offstage voice | Narrative technique / focalization | An unseen narrator summarizes past events. |
| Volta | Turn; rhetorical turn | Poetic device / rhetorical device | The sonnet shifts argument at the ninth line. |
| Vowel rhyme | Assonance; vowel harmony | Sound device / rhyme | The soft tone of the old road. |
Descriptions
Ventriloquism
The writer projects speech or opinion through another voice or persona, distancing the author and exploring other perspectives.
Verbal irony
Saying the opposite of what one means to create contrast, humor, or critique; often relies on tone and context.
Verisimilitude
Techniques that make a work seem true or believable, such as realistic detail, consistent rules, and convincing character behavior.
Vernacular
Use of everyday language or regional dialect to create authenticity, characterize speakers, or situate a text socially and culturally.
Versification
The study and practice of meter, rhythm, stanza form, and lineation—the formal elements that shape poetic language.
Vignette
A short, evocative scene or descriptive piece focused on mood or detail rather than extended plot or resolution.
Visual imagery
Language that evokes visual sensations, helping readers picture scenes, characters, objects, or actions.
Visual metaphor
A metaphor that uses striking visual images to equate one thing with another and produce a vivid, pictorial effect.
Voice
The distinct personality, tone, and perspective through which a story is told; shapes reader response and characterization.
Voice-over
A non-diegetic or offstage voice that comments on action, provides exposition, or guides reader interpretation.
Volta
A sudden rhetorical or thematic shift in a poem or argument, notably the turn between a sonnet’s sections.
Vowel rhyme
Rhyme based on matching vowel sounds rather than consonants; often creates internal echo and musicality (similar to assonance).