device

Conventional technique in literature and in rhetoric, employed by the author or speaker to influence a reader's thoughts, feelings or understanding, and to allude to previous instances which have used this technique.

For example, in tragicomedy, an actor might portray a death scene which recalls the elaborate death scenes of tragedy, but is done to comic effect. This is an example of the device of parody, which is a convention in literature, drama, and rhetoric. In order to work successfully, devices are often not immediately obvious to the ordinary reader. Identifying them, explaining the way they work, and evaluating their quality is part of literary criticism. Some devices (such as allegory) develop into distinct genres when they form the basis of a work. Others (like alliteration, ambiguity, anachronism, climax, and anticlimax) have more specialized uses.