Figures of speech and poetic devices

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

the repetition of consonant sounds

Question 2

anaphora

Answer 2

repetition of words, usually at the beginning of a phrase or sentence.

Question 3

antithesis

Answer 3

a contradiction where two statements are contradicted within a sentence

Question 4

assonance

Answer 4

the repetition of vowel sounds

Question 5

bathos

Answer 5

anti-climax after the build up of ideas or expectations

Question 6

climax

Answer 6

the arrangement of ideas in ascending order of importance

Question 7

ellipsis

Answer 7

shows that an idea is ongoing or that it will be explained in more detail

Question 8

enjambment

Answer 8

a run-on-lines, used to quicken the pace of a poem

Question 9

extended metaphor

Answer 9

the main comparison is repeated in different ways throughout, indirect comparison

Question 10

euphemism

Answer 10

using a mild, indirect term instead of being blunt to describe something unpleasant or sensitive.

Question 11

hyperbole

Answer 11

deliberate over-exaggeration

Question 12

imagery

Answer 12

language that brings to mind sensory impressions or appeals to the 5 senses.

Question 13

what are the 5 types of imagery

Answer 13

visual= sight
aural= hearing
olfactory= smell
gustatory= taste
tactile= touch

Question 14

irony

Answer 14

a device that emphasizes the contrast between the way things are expected to be and the way they actually are.

Question 15

metaphor

Answer 15

an indirect comparison of one thing to another without the use of ‘like’ or ‘as’

Question 16

onomatopoeia

Answer 16

words in which spoken sounds resembles the actual sound

Question 17

oxymoron

Answer 17

a statement with two parts or ideas that seem to be contradictory, but upon closer examination are linked. these words or ideas are placed side by side in a sentence

Question 18

paradox

Answer 18

a statement that looks illogical but is quite logical when looked at closely. these two contradictions are placed further apart in a sentence.

Question 19

personification

Answer 19

giving an inanimate object living or human qualities

Question 20

pun

Answer 20

a clever or humorous play on words, where one word may have multiple meanings which are used .

Question 21

refrain

Answer 21

a word, phrase or sentence which is repeated in a poem

Question 22

rhetorical question

Answer 22

a question that does not require an answer. it can be used to make a reader think about the question in more depth.

Question 23

simile

Answer 23

a direct comparison using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’

Question 24

tautology

Answer 24

the repetition of a word or phrase to repeat meaning

Question 25

allusion

Answer 25

references to familiar historical or literary persons or events that readers are expected to recognise and which enrich a work by introducing associations from another context

Question 26

anthropomorphism

Answer 26

a form of personifications where human qualities are given to animals

Question 27

apostrophe

Answer 27

the poet addresses an inanimate object, person or idea as if it were human

Question 28

consonance

Answer 28

the repetition of consonants within a word or sentence

Question 29

epigram

Answer 29

a short, pointed saying. it has been compared to a scorpion because it has a sting in the tail

Question 30

epithet

Answer 30

an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. an adjective is called an epithet in literature.

Question 31

innuendo

Answer 31

a usually disapproving remark that hints or suggests something, without saying it outright. it is an insinuation.

Question 32

litotes

Answer 32

use a negative and a positive to understate what is intended

Question 33

meiosis

Answer 33

a deliberate under-exaggeration

Question 34

metonymy

Answer 34

a figure of speech that compares unlike things in such a way that one is closely related to the other.

Question 35

polysyndeton

Answer 35

a literary technique in which conjunctions are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas

Question 36

synechdoche

Answer 36

a part is used to represent a whole

Question 37

name the sound devices

Answer 37

• alliteration
• assonance
• onomatopoeia
• rhyme

Question 38

name the comparison devices

Answer 38

• simile
• metaphor
• personification
• anthropomorphism
• apostrophe

Question 39

name the contradiction devices

Answer 39

• irony
• sarcasm
• oxymoron
• antithesis
• paradox
• satire
• epigrams

Question 40

name the exaggeration and understatement devices

Answer 40

• Hyperbole
• Meiosis
• Bathos
• Innuendo