To be fair, in order to tell a “good” story, certain literary devices must be used in order for the characters and the plot to make sense. Otherwise it’s just rambling. That’s why classic stories are classics. But I do think you make a valid point in that these literary devices were noticed and defined much later on, as civilization evolved and rediscovered old stories (the older Greek epics, such as Homer’s Odyssey, comes to mind); those literary devices can definitely be interpreted and even implemented in various ways depending on the author and reader.

This applies even with music. Take Chevelle, for example; their frontman, Pete, has written every single one of their songs to date. He doesn’t follow the “traditional” lyrical style, and rarely uses rhymes. Yet somehow, they manage to knock out banger after banger. Also, Pete famously enjoys hearing how others interpret Chevelle songs. Same with Rush - Neil was a lyrical genius. My dad actually used one of their songs (The Trees) for a poem assignment in high school 😂