Stylistic device

In literature and writing, stylistic elements are the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling to the literal or written. In literature and writing, stylistic elements are the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling to the literal or written. A figure of speech is any way of saying something other than the ordinary way. Figurative language is language using figures of speech. The easiest stylistic device to identify is a simile, signaled by use of the words 'like' or 'as'. A simile is a comparison used to attract the reader's attention and describe something in descriptive terms. A metaphor is a comparison which does not use the words 'like' or 'as'. Metaphors can span over multiple sentences. Example: 'That boy is like a machine.' is a simile but 'That boy is a machine!' is a metaphor. Synecdoche occurs when a part of something is used to refer to the whole. Many examples of synecdoche are idioms, common to the language. Metonymy is similar to synecdoche, but instead of a part representing the whole, a related object or part of a related object is used to represent the whole. Often it is used to represent the whole of an abstract idea.