Literary Devices

Question 1

Allusion

Answer 1

A reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or some other branch of culture.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

Two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group (consonantal alliteration) as in from stem to stern

Question 3

Anecdote

Answer 3

A very brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something.

Question 4

Antagonist

Answer 4

The opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story.

Question 5

Apostrophe

Answer 5

A writer or a speaker, using an apostrophe, detaches himself from reality and addresses an imaginary character or object in his speech.

Question 6

Climax

Answer 6

That point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest.

Question 7

Diction

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Foreshadowing

Answer 8

The author gives clues about events that will happen later in the story. Often these clues are fairly subtle so that they can only be noticed or fully understood upon a second reading. Foreshadowing can come in the form of descriptive detail, such as storm clouds on the horizon, bits of dialogue, and even in the names an author gives characters.

Question 9

Hyperbole

Answer 9

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement, for effect.

Question 10

Imagery

Answer 10

The use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience.

Question 11

Irony

Answer 11

In general, a discrepancy between appearances and reality.

Question 12

Verbal irony

Answer 12

Occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.

Question 13

Situational Irony

Answer 13

Takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.

Question 14

Dramatic Irony

Answer 14

Is so called because it is often used on stage. In this kind of irony a character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.

Question 15

Juxtaposition

Answer 15

Placing two contrasting things together

Question 16

Metaphor

Answer 16

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles.

Question 17

Mood

Answer 17

The overall emotion created by a work of literature.

Question 18

Onomatopoeia

Answer 18

The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning.

Question 19

Oxymoron

Answer 19

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Question 20

Personification

Answer 20

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.

Question 21

Protagonist

Answer 21

The central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action.

Question 22

Pun

Answer 22

A play on words that produces a humorous effect by using a word that suggests two or more meanings, or by exploiting similar sounding words that have different meanings. A pun is a joke based on the interplay of homophones — words with the same pronunciation but different meanings. It can also play with words that sound similar, but not exactly the same.

Question 23

Simile

Answer 23

A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles.

Question 24

Theme

Answer 24

The insight about human life that is revealed in literary work.

Question 25

Tone

Answer 25

The attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience.