Literary Devices

Question 1

Metaphor

Answer 1

Reduced comparison

Question 2

Simile

Answer 2

Explicit comparison (AS or LIKE)

Question 3

Symbol

Answer 3

Concrete thing representing something abstract

Question 4

Alliteration

Answer 4

Repetition of first sound in two or more words, at beginning of word

Question 5

Assonance

Answer 5

Repetition of internal vowel sounds in neighbouring words

Question 6

Onomatopoeia

Answer 6

Sounds imitating the thing they refer to

Question 7

Parallelism

Answer 7

Structure of successive sentences or phrases the same

Question 8

Repetition

Answer 8

Repeated use of particular sounds, syllables, words, phrases etc

Question 9

Anaphora

Answer 9

Obvious repetition of a word or phrase beginning of successive sentences.

Question 10

Enumeration

Answer 10

A list of words, phrases etc to illustrate comprehensive phrase by listing some elements it describes. E.g. I grant him bloody, luxurious, false, deceitful…

Question 11

Climactic Order

Answer 11

Enumeration in climactic order

Question 12

Dialectical Order

Answer 12

Structuring text, e.g. thesis, antithesis, synthesis

Question 13

Contrast

Answer 13

Bringing together opposing views in order to emphasise their differences.

Question 14

Hyperbole

Answer 14

Strong overstatement, usually to amusing effect

Question 15

Anti-thesis

Answer 15

Emphasises contrast between two ideas

Question 16

Hypophora

Answer 16

Question raised and answered by author in succession

Question 17

Understatement

Answer 17

Statement deliberately weak, less emphasis than it deserves.

Question 18

Euphemism

Answer 18

Hide true nature e.g. he passed away (instead of ‘he dies’)

Question 19

Direct Address

Answer 19

Author speaks directly to reader

Question 20

Rhetorical question

Answer 20

Question asked, to which answer is perfectly clear

Question 21

Allusion

Answer 21

Uses references from well-known texts or events (e.g. alluding to Bible)

Question 22

Litotes

Answer 22

Form of understatement (uses denied opposite to weaken message) e.g. not bad instead of good

Question 23

Metonymy

Answer 23

Figurative expression, associated with subject e.g. land belongs to crown (king/queen)

Question 24

Synecdoche

Answer 24

Generalization that uses part of what is meant e.g. All hands on deck (all crew members)

Question 25

Personification

Answer 25

Metaphor where objects are represented as human beings

Question 26

Paradox

Answer 26

Self-contradictory statement (e.g. awfully hard work doing nothing)

Question 27

Word pun

Answer 27

Play on words

Question 28

Irony

Answer 28

Saying opposite of what you mean

Question 29

Ethos

Answer 29

Credibility/Trust

Question 30

Pathos

Answer 30

Emotion/ Imagination

Question 31

Logos

Answer 31

Logic (numbers and statistics)

Question 32

Allegory

Answer 32

a story or narrative, often told at some length, which has a deeper meaning below the surface

Question 33

Ambivalence

Answer 33

indicates more than one possible attitude is being displayed by the writer towards a character, theme, or idea, etc

Question 34

Anachronism

Answer 34

something that is historically inaccurate

Question 35

Anthropomorphism

Answer 35

the endowment of something that is not human with human characteristics

Question 36

Atmosphere

Answer 36

the prevailing mood created by a piece of writing

Question 37

Ballad

Answer 37

a narrative poem that tells a story usually in a straightforward way. The theme is often tragic or contains a whimsical, supernatural, or fantastical element.

Question 38

Caricature

Answer 38

a character described through the exaggeration of a small number of features that he or she possesses

Question 39

Catharsis

Answer 39

a purging of the emotions which takes place at the end of a tragedy

Question 40

Cliche

Answer 40

a phrase, idea, or image that has been used so much that it has lost much of its original meaning, impact, and freshness

Question 41

Colloquial

Answer 41

ordinary, everyday speech and language

Question 42

Connotation

Answer 42

an implication or association attached to a word or phrase

Question 43

Diction

Answer 43

the choice of words that a writer makes

Question 44

Didactic

Answer 44

a work that is intended to preach or teach, often containing a particular moral or political point

Question 45

Empathy

Answer 45

a feeling on the part of the reader of sharing the particular experience being described by the character or writer

Question 46

Motif

Answer 46

a dominant theme, subject, or idea which runs through a piece of literature

Question 47

Oxymoron

Answer 47

a figure of speech which joins together words of opposite meanings

Question 48

Satire

Answer 48

the highlighting or exposing of human failings or foolishness within a society through ridiculing them

Question 49

Syntax

Answer 49

the way in which sentences are structured