Literary Devices

The definition of the author's style is…

• giving human qualities to an animal, object, phenomenon, idea, or anything that is not specifically human.

• a writer's attitude toward his or her subject such as serious, humorous, sarcastic, and respectful.

• a distinctive way the author uses language.

Answer explanation

A writing style is an author's unique way of communicating with words. An author creates a style with the voice, or personality, and overall tone that they apply to their text. A writer's style can change depending on the type of writing they're doing, who they're writing for, and their target audience.

Literary devices are used in…

• Novels

• Nonfiction

• Poetry

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Literary devices are ways of taking writing beyond its straightforward, literal meaning. In that sense, they are techniques for helping guide the reader in how to read the piece.

Literary devices apply to…

• Individual words and short phrases

• Whole sentences and long phrases

• The entire structure of a piece

• Any of the above

Read this excerpt:

“I remembered his voice: ‘I’d been carrying a heater. It ain’t loaded, but it sure does help a bluff.’ It was only yesterday that Dally told Johnny and me that. But yesterday was years ago. A lifetime ago.”

The underlined text uses which figurative language device?

• Hyperbole

• Personification

• Similie

• Imagery

Answer explanation

Basically, hyperbole refers to any sort of exaggerated description or statement.

We use hyperbole all the time in the English language, and you’ve probably heard someone say things like:

I’ve been waiting a billion years for this;

I’m so hungry I could eat a horse;

I feel like a million bucks;

You are the king of the kitchen.

extreme exaggeration 

"It was quiet except for the sound of our feet on the cement and the dry, scraping sound of leaves blowing across the street."  Which figurative language device is being used here?

• Assonance

• Onomatopoeia

• Imagery

• Simile

Answer explanation

Imagery is what it sounds like—the use of figurative language to describe something.

However, imagery doesn’t just involve visual descriptions; the best writers use imagery to appeal to all five senses. By appealing to the reader’s sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, your writing will create a vibrant world for readers to live and breathe in.

Sight imagery: The tree spread its gigantic, sun-flecked shoulders.

Sound imagery: The forest was hushed, resounding with echoes of the tree’s stoic silence.

Touch imagery: The tree felt smooth as sandstone.

Taste imagery: The tree’s leaves tasted bitter, like unroasted coffee beans.

Smell imagery: As we approached the tree, the air around it smelled crisp and precise.

Read this sentence from Chapter 8.  "I could see that even a few words were tiring him out; he was as pale as the pillow and looked awful." 

Which figurative language device is being used here?

• Simile

• Onomatopoeia

• Assonance

• Flashback

Answer explanation

A simile compares things using the words "like" or "as."

Example of simile: This tree is like the god of the forest.

OR: This tree acts as the god of the forest.

When the author gives a clue to what might happen.

• Plot

• Setting

• Foreshadowing

• Irony

Answer explanation

“Purple puppies like playing on a playground.” This is an example of:

• Personification

• Alliteration

• Motif

• Similie

Answer explanation

Alliteration is a literary device that repeats a speech sound in a sequence of words that are close to each other.

The irony is when an event or response occurs that is the ____________ of what is expected. 

• opposite

• obvious

• explanation

• original idea

“Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone” (Love Story by Taylor Swift) This song make use of:

• Historical paradox

• Literary Allusion

• Metaphor

• Irony

Answer explanation

Allusion is just a fancy word for a literary reference; when a writer alludes to something, they are either directly or indirectly referring to another, commonly-known piece of art or literature.