literary terms and devices

Question 1

allusion

Answer 1

an indirect or implied reference to something

Question 2

simile

Answer 2

a comparison between two objects using “like” or “as”

Question 3

metaphor

Answer 3

a direct comparison which does not involve the use of “like” or “as”

Question 4

personification

Answer 4

human characteristics to nonhuman objects/animals

Question 5

pun

Answer 5

a play on words; words with similar or identical sounds but with different meanings

Question 6

allegory

Answer 6

objects, events, or people are presented symbolically, so that the story conveys a meaning other than and deeper than the actual story; used to teach a moral lesson

Question 7

alliteration

Answer 7

the repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word or phrase

Question 8

oxymoron

Answer 8

combines contradictory words for effect

Question 9

paradox

Answer 9

an apparent contradiction or absurdity that contains a degree of truth

Question 10

hyperbole

Answer 10

deliberate exaggeration for emphasis

Question 11

imagery

Answer 11

descriptively creating pictures using senses and imaginations

Question 12

flashback

Answer 12

insertion of a scene that took place in the past

Question 13

foreshadowing

Answer 13

hint to readers that something is to follow or appear later in the story

Question 14

onomatopoeia

Answer 14

the word sounds like the thing it names

Question 15

pathetic fallacy

Answer 15

nature/objects are described in a way that is sympathetic or prophetic about events or emotions

Question 16

symbolism

Answer 16

use of specific objects or images to represent abstract ideas; object must be physical, idea must be abstract

Question 17

dramatic irony

Answer 17

audience knows something the character does not

Question 18

situational irony

Answer 18

opposite of what you think happens

Question 19

verbal irony

Answer 19

words are used to convey the opposite meaning of what is said