Literary Devices (7th Grade)

Question 1

Theme

Answer 1

A recurrent idea in a story.

Question 2

Symbolism

Answer 2

Representing things by means of symbols or of attributing deeper meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.

Question 3

Irony

Answer 3

The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their expected meaning.

Question 4

Setting

Answer 4

The place or time that an event or story takes place.

Question 5

Antagonist

Answer 5

One who opposes and contends against another; an adversary. The principal character in opposition to the protagonist.

Question 6

Foreshadowing

Answer 6

An advance sign or warning of what is to come in the future.

Question 7

Resolution

Answer 7

The complications of the plot are resolved or worked out.

Question 8

Climax

Answer 8

The turning point, the highest point in the action, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, in the protagonist’s affairs.

Question 9

Rising Action

Answer 9

A related series of incidents build toward the point of greatest interest.

Question 10

Internal Conflict

Answer 10

Psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character; mental struggle arising from opposing demands or impulses.

Question 11

External Conflict

Answer 11

Struggle between a literary and an outside force such as nature or another character, which drives the dramatic action of the plot.

Question 12

Exposition

Answer 12

The portion of a story that introduces characters, setting, and plot.

Question 13

Falling Action

Answer 13

All of the action in a story that follows the turning point; leads to the resolution of the story.

Question 14

Protagonist

Answer 14

The principal character, leading actor, or participant in a literary work or real event.

Question 15

Hyperbole

Answer 15

The use of exaggeration or overstatement. “I drank a ton of Pepsi, and now I feel kind of sick.”

Question 16

Alliteration

Answer 16

Repeated consonant sounds. “While I nodded, nearly napping….”

Question 17

Assonance

Answer 17

Repeated vowel sounds (not necessarily repeated letters). “Life is a barren field frozen with snow.” The “O” in “hockey” would not fit into this line as assonance.

Question 18

Metaphor

Answer 18

The comparison of two unlike objects not using “like” or “as.” “This classroom is a zoo sometimes!”

Question 19

Simile

Answer 19

The comparison of two unlike objects using “like” or “as.” “He eats like a pig.” “The sun refuses to set, bright as a penny in a loafer.” “Fog hanging like old coats between the trees.”

Question 20

Onomatopoeia

Answer 20

The use of words that actually sound like the natural sounds that they represent (for example “pop” and “snap”). “Outside, a few cars hissing past….”

Question 21

Personification

Answer 21

The giving of human characteristics to non human things. “The sun refuses to set.” “The trees are waving their arms in the wind.”