devices

Question 1

allegory

Answer 1

a story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. A symbol

Question 2

alliteration

Answer 2

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
“the alliteration of ‘sweet birds sang’

Question 3

allusion

Answer 3

to make a reference to something, usually biblical

Question 4

amplification

Answer 4

extending a sentence to elaborate or exaggerate

Question 5

anagram

Answer 5

An anagram is a type of word play in which the letters of a word or phrase are rearranged to create new words and phrases

Question 6

analogy

Answer 6

where 2 unrelated objects are compared for their similarities

Question 7

anastrophe

Answer 7

the order of the noun and the adjective are exchanged. e.g. ‘He spoke of times past and future, and dreamt of things to be.’

Question 8

anecdote

Answer 8

a very short story relevant to the topic at hand

Question 9

anthromorphism

Answer 9

giving objects human qualities

Question 10

antithesis

Answer 10

means opposite. 2 statements which contrast each other, for example, ‘That’s one small step for a man – one giant leap for mankind.’(Neil Armstrong, 1969)

Question 11

aphorism

Answer 11

a short statement of general truth, e.g. ‘If the shoe fits, wear it.’

Question 12

archetype

Answer 12

a universal story, character or symbol used in many different stories. e.g. a hero

Question 13

assonance

Answer 13

the repetition of similar vowel sounds

Question 14

asyndeton

Answer 14

leaving out conjunction words

Question 15

authorial intrusion

Answer 15

where the author steps away from the text and speaks to the reader

Question 16

biblomancy

Answer 16

the practice of foretelling the future by interpreting a randomly chosen passage from a book, especially the Bible

Question 17

bildungsroman

Answer 17

is a story about the development of a certain character, a ‘coming-of-age’ story

Question 18

cacophony

Answer 18

the use of harsh sounding words for a noisy effect

Question 19

caesura

Answer 19

a pause in the middle of a line

Question 20

characterisation

Answer 20

creating characters for a narrative

Question 21

chiasmus

Answer 21

saying one thing, and then saying something very similar, but flipped around.

Question 22

circumlocution

Answer 22

talking around the subject when you don’t want to directly address it

Question 23

connotation

Answer 23

a common feeling associated with the word

Question 24

consonance

Answer 24

where a constant sound occurs in a sentence

Question 25

denotation

Answer 25

a word’s dictionary definition

Question 26

deus ex machina

Answer 26

when a new character shows up and solves a seemingly hopeless situation

Question 27

doppelganger

Answer 27

a twin or a double of a certain character

Question 28

epithet

Answer 28

a nickname

Question 29

euphenism

Answer 29

euphemisms are polite, mild phrases which substitute unpleasant ways of saying something sad or uncomfortable.

Question 30

euphony

Answer 30

nice sounding words

Question 31

foil

Answer 31

a foil is another character in a story who contrasts with the main character, usually to highlight one of their attributes.

Question 32

hubris

Answer 32

overly arrogant

Question 33

hyperbaton

Answer 33

a hyperbaton is a literary device wherein the author plays with the regular positioning of words and phrases and creates a differently structured sentence to convey the same meaning.

Question 34

hyperbole

Answer 34

uses words to exaggerate

Question 35

kennings

Answer 35

indirect refernces to words

battle-sweat = blood

Question 36

litotes

Answer 36

litotes are a discreet way of saying something unpleasant without directly using negativity
“not the brightest bulb”

Question 37

motif

Answer 37

‘motif’ is any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature