Literature Devices

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

The repetition of consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive words within the same sentence or line

Question 2

Anthropomorphism

Answer 2

Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed in a story as people, such as by walking, talking, or being given arms, legs, and/or facial features. (This technique is often incorrectly called personification.)

Question 3

Blank verse

Answer 3

Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter

Question 4

Creative license

Answer 4

Exaggeration or alteration of objective facts or reality for the purpose of enhancing meaning in a fictional context

Question 5

Dialogue

Answer 5

Where characters speak to one another; may often be used to substitute for exposition

Question 6

Dramatic irony

Answer 6

Where the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the characters in the story are not aware

Question 7

Exposition

Answer 7

Where an author interrupts a story in order to explain something, usually to provide important background information

Question 8

Figurative language

Answer 8

Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual literal meaning of the words themselves. There are many techniques that can rightly be called verbal irony and oxymoron.

Question 9

Foreshadowing

Answer 9

Where future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before they happen. Foreshadowing can take many forms and be accomplished in many ways, with varying degrees of subtlety. However, if the outcome is deliberately and explicitly, information doesn’t constitute Foreshadowing.

Question 10

Hyperbole

Answer 10

A description that exaggerates

Question 11

Iambic pentameter

Answer 11

Poetry written with each line containing ten syllables, in five repetitions of a two-syllable pattern where in the pronunciation emphasis is on the second syllable

Question 12

Imagery

Answer 12

Language, which describes something in detail, uses words to substitute for and create sensory stimulation, including visual imagery and sound imagery. Also refers to specific and recurring types of images, such as food imagery and nature imagery.

Question 13

Irony (aka situational irony)

Answer 13

Where an event occurs which is unexpected, and which is in absurd or mocking opposition to what is expected or appropriate. See also dramatic irony; verbal irony

Question 14

Metaphor

Answer 14

A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another

Question 15

Onomatopoeia

Answer 15

Where sounds are spelled out as words: or, when words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds they describe

Question 16

Oxymoron

Answer 16

A contradiction in terms

Question 17

Paradox

Answer 17

Where a situation is created that can not possibly exist because different elements of it cancel each other out

Question 18

Parallelism

Answer 18

Use of similar or identical language, structures, events, or ideas in different parts of a text

Question 19

Personification 1

Answer 19

Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are seemingly endowed with human self-awareness; where human thoughts, actions, and perceptions are directly attributed to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. (Not to be confused with anthropomorphism)

Question 20

Personification 2

Answer 20

Where an abstract concept, such as a particular human behavior or a force of nature, is represented as a person.

Question 21

Repetition

Answer 21

Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times to emphasize a particular idea.

Question 22

Simile

Answer 22

An indirect relationship where one thing or idea is described as being similar to another. Similes usually contain the word “like” or “as”, but not always.

Question 23

Symbolism

Answer 23

The use of specific objects or images to represent abstract ideas. This term is commonly misused, describing any and all representational relationships, which, in fact, are more often metaphorical than symbolic. A symbol must be something tangible or visible, while the idea it symbolizes must be something abstract or universal

Question 24

Verbal irony

Answer 24

Where the meaning is intended to be the exact opposite of what the words actually mean. (Sarcasm is a tone of voice that often accompanies verbal irony, but they are not the same thing.)