Literary Devices Quiz

What is an anecdote?

• A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature

• A character's view of the situation or events in the story

• A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief

• A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present

What does the term "aphorism" refer to?

• A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature

• A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief

• A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present

• A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements

Which rhetorical device involves a direct opposition between things compared?

• Apostrophe

• Oxymoron

• Contradiction

• Allusion

What is an oxymoron?

• A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements

• A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature

• A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief

• A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present

What is an allusion?

• A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements

• A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature

• A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief

• A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object

What is the definition of "satire"?

• A literary style used to make fun of or ridicule an idea or human vice or weakness

• A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character

• A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast

• A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters

What does "bildungsroman" refer to?

• A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character

• A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast

• A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters

• A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person

What is an epitaph?

• A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person

• A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters

• A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character

• A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast

What is irony characterized by?

• A situation or statement characterized by significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant

• A sharp caustic remark

• A single word or short phrase intended to emphasize surrounding words

• A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true

What is an epiphany?

• A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of something

• A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes

• An imaginary place of ideal perfection

• An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language