Literary Devices

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

Repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words.
Ex: Dan danced with Dog.

Question 2

Anaphora

Answer 2

Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive versus, clauses, or versus.
Ex: I came, I saw, I conquered

Question 3

Anadiplosis

Answer 3

Repetition in the first part of a clause of a prominent word from the latter part of the preceding clause.
Ex: I am Sam, Sam is swimming, swimming is fun.

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

An extended comparison based on features of two unlike things; one familiar, the other unfamiliar.
Note: All similes and metaphors are analogies, not all analogies are similes or metaphors.

Question 5

Anastrophe (inversion)

Answer 5

Reversing the customary order of elements in a sentence.

Ex: Help you, I will.

Question 6

Antithesis

Answer 6

The presentation of two contrasting images.

Ex: black is the antithesis of white

Question 7

Antistrophe

Answer 7

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. (epistrophe)
Ex: I did this again. She did that again.

Question 8

Apostrophe

Answer 8

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.
Ex: Hello, Darkness, my old friend!

Question 9

Asyndeton

Answer 9

Omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used
Ex: They were red, yellow, blue.

Question 10

Catalogue

Answer 10

A list of thoughts or the act of creating long lists for poetic or rhetorical effect.

Question 11

Chiasmus

Answer 11

A reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases.
Ex: Mouse loves cat and cat loves mouse

Question 12

Colloquialism

Answer 12

A word or phrase used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing.

Question 13

Conceit

Answer 13

A figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similes or metaphors.
Ex: you are as slow as a snail

Question 14

Didactic

Answer 14

Writing whose purpose is to instruct or teach

Question 15

Epistrophe

Answer 15

The repetition of a word or words at the end of two or more successive clauses or sentences. (antistrophe)
Ex: I love apples. You love apples. We all love apples.

Question 16

Epizeuxis

Answer 16

A figure by which a word or phrase is repeated with vehemence or emphasis.
Ex: Come on! Go, go, go!

Question 17

Hyperbole

Answer 17

A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
Ex: I’m so tired that I’m going to die.

Question 18

Juxtaposition

Answer 18

To place close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast,

Question 19

Litotes

Answer 19

A form of understatement that involves making an affirmative doing by denying its opposite.
Ex: The writing is not bad

Question 20

Metonymy

Answer 20

A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.
Ex: replace “apple” with “food”. replace “running” with “exercises”

Question 21

Parallelism

Answer 21

Several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance.
Ex: Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun.

Question 22

Polysyndeton

Answer 22

The use of a number of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect.
Ex: He ran and jumped and laughed for joy.

Question 23

Syllepsis

Answer 23

A construction in which a word governs two or more other words but agrees in number, gender, or case which only one, or has a different meaning when applied to each of the words
Ex: I live in shame . . . and the suburbs

Question 24

Synecdoche

Answer 24

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or the whole is used to represent a part.
Ex: I’m all ears.

Question 25

Syllogism

Answer 25

A deductive system of formal logic that represents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion.
Ex: All cows have udders, no humans have udders, no humans are cows.

Question 26

Tautology

Answer 26

Needless repetition of the same sense in different word; redundancy
Ex: who died of a fatal dose of heroin

Question 27

Zeugma

Answer 27

Two different words inked to a verb or an adjective which is strictly appropriate to only one of them.
Ex: John and his license expired last week.