Literary Devices

Question 1

Paradox

Answer 1

A statement that contradicts itself but still may be true

Question 2

Couplet

Answer 2

Two successive lines in a poem that rhymes

Question 3

Parable

Answer 3

A story illustrating a moral or religious lesson

Question 4

Irony

Answer 4

The use of words usually meaning the opposite or of the literal meaning or the opposite of what was expected

Question 5

Dramatic Irony

Answer 5

A plot device in literature or theatre in which the audience’s or reader’s knowledge of the events surpasses that of the characters

Question 6

Juxtaposition

Answer 6

The act of placing two or more things side by side, especially to show irony or contrast

Question 7

Metaphor

Answer 7

A comparison of two unlike nouns without using like or as

Question 8

Simile

Answer 8

A comparison of two unlike nouns using like or as

Question 9

Hyperbole

Answer 9

An exaggeration

Question 10

Foreshadowing

Answer 10

Language hinting towards future events

Question 11

Personification

Answer 11

giving something a human characteristic

Question 12

Symbol

Answer 12

a thing that stands for something else

Question 13

Motif

Answer 13

theme of a novel

Question 14

Pun

Answer 14

a joke exploiting different meanings of a word

Question 15

Allusion

Answer 15

reference to the bible or another form of literature

Question 16

Anachronism

Answer 16

something that is out of order