Literary devices for famous sayings
1. "To be or not to be, that is the question." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Literary device: Antithesis - the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in a balanced parallel structure.
2. "All that glitters is not gold." - William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Literary device: Metaphor - a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as".
3. "The road not taken." - Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
Literary device: Allusion - a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of art.
4. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Literary device: Parallelism - the repetition of similar grammatical structures to create rhythm and emphasis.
5. "To thine own self be true." - William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Literary device: Aphorism - a concise statement of a general truth or principle.
6. "The pen is mightier than the sword." - Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Literary device: Metaphor - a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as".
7. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." - William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Literary device: Extended metaphor - a metaphor that is developed over several lines or throughout an entire work.
8. "Hope springs eternal." - Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
Literary device: Personification - giving human qualities to something non-human.
9. "To err is human, to forgive divine." - Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism
Literary device: Paradox - a statement that appears to be self-contradictory but may include a latent truth.
10. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Literary device: Epistrophe - the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences.
Above is Literary devices for famous sayings.