Devices

Question 1

What is a simile?

Answer 1

A comparison using “like” or “as” (e.g., “as brave as a lion”).

Question 2

What is a metaphor?

Answer 2

A figure of speech where something is described as being something else to imply similarity (e.g., “Time is a thief”).

Question 3

What is personification?

Answer 3

Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., “the wind whispered”).

Question 4

What is alliteration?

Answer 4

Repetition of initial consonant sounds (e.g., “dark and deep desires”).

Question 5

What is assonance?

Answer 5

Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words (e.g., “slow road”).

Question 6

What is consonance?

Answer 6

Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words (e.g., “pitter-patter”).

Question 7

What is onomatopoeia?

Answer 7

A word that imitates the sound it represents (e.g., “buzz,” “bang”).

Question 8

What is hyperbole?

Answer 8

Exaggeration for emphasis or effect (e.g., “I’ve told you a million times”).

Question 9

What is an oxymoron?

Answer 9

A phrase that combines contradictory terms (e.g., “deafening silence”).

Question 10

What is juxtaposition?

Answer 10

Placing two elements side by side to highlight contrast.

Question 11

What is irony?

Answer 11

When the opposite of what’s expected occurs, often highlighting a difference between appearance and reality.

Question 12

What is symbolism?

Answer 12

Using an object, character, or colour to represent a deeper meaning or idea.

Question 13

What is foreshadowing?

Answer 13

Hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.

Question 14

What is imagery?

Answer 14

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Question 15

What is enjambment?

Answer 15

When a line of poetry continues without pause onto the next line.

Question 16

What is caesura?

Answer 16

A pause in the middle of a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation.

Question 17

What is anaphora?

Answer 17

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Question 18

What is epistrophe?

Answer 18

Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Question 19

What is chiasmus?

Answer 19

A rhetorical device where concepts are repeated in reverse order (e.g., “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You”).

Question 20

What is pathetic fallacy?

Answer 20

Attributing human feelings to nature or inanimate objects, often to reflect mood.

Question 21

What is a motif?

Answer 21

A recurring element, theme, or idea in a literary work.

Question 22

What is allegory?

Answer 22

A story or poem where characters and events represent broader ideas or concepts.

Question 23

What is metonymy?

Answer 23

Substituting the name of something with something closely related (e.g., “The pen is mightier than the sword”).

Question 24

What is apostrophe in literature?

Answer 24

Addressing an absent person, abstract idea, or object as if it were present.

Question 25

What is antithesis?

Answer 25

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases (e.g., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times").

Question 26

What is litotes?

Answer 26

Understatement by using double negatives (e.g., "not bad" to mean "good").

Question 27

What is euphemism?

Answer 27

A mild or indirect word substituted for one considered too harsh (e.g., "passed away" for "died").

Question 28

What is polysyndeton?

Answer 28

The use of multiple conjunctions in close succession (e.g., "and it was dark and it was cold and it was late").

Question 29

What is asyndeton?

Answer 29

The omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence (e.g., "I came, I saw, I conquered").

Question 30

What is diction?

Answer 30

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Question 31

What is tone?

Answer 31

The author's attitude toward the subject or audience.

Question 32

What is mood?

Answer 32

The atmosphere or emotional feeling created by a piece of writing.

Question 33

What is a paradox?

Answer 33

A statement that seems self-contradictory but reveals a deeper truth (e.g., "I must be cruel to be kind").

Question 34

What is an aside?

Answer 34

A brief remark by a character meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters.

Question 35

What is a soliloquy?

Answer 35

A speech given by a character alone on stage, revealing inner thoughts.

Question 36

What is a climax?

Answer 36

The point of highest tension or turning point in the narrative.

Question 37

What is anti-climax (or bathos)?

Answer 37

A sudden drop from the serious to the trivial, often for comic or ironic effect.

Question 38

What is narrative voice?

Answer 38

The perspective or persona telling the story (e.g., first-person, third-person omniscient).

Question 39

What is free indirect discourse?

Answer 39

A technique that blends third-person narration with the thoughts or speech of a character.

Question 40

What is catharsis?

Answer 40

Emotional release experienced by the audience at the end of a tragedy.

Question 41

What is hubris?

Answer 41

Excessive pride or arrogance that leads to the downfall of a character.

Question 42

What is in media res?

Answer 42

Starting a story in the middle of the action.

Question 43

What is a foil character?

Answer 43

A character who contrasts with the protagonist to highlight particular qualities.

Question 44

What is dramatic irony?

Answer 44

When the audience knows something the characters do not.

Question 45

What is a refrain?

Answer 45

A repeated line or phrase, typically at the end of stanzas in poetry.

Question 46

What is an epigraph?

Answer 46

A quotation at the beginning of a work that sets the theme or tone.