Rivendell IGCSE Diagnostic Quiz 2 - Literary Devices

"The old tree's branches reached out like gnarled fingers, scratching at the window pane." Which literary device is used in this sentence?

• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia

Answer explanation

This is personification because it gives human characteristics (fingers scratching) to a non-human object (tree branches).

"The thunder rumbled and roared, shaking the house to its very foundation." Which literary device is prominently featured here?

• Hyperbole
• Onomatopoeia
• Alliteration
• Imagery
• Symbolism

Answer explanation

Onomatopoeia is used with "rumbled" and "roared," as these words imitate the sound of thunder.

"Life is a rollercoaster with its ups and downs." This sentence is an example of which literary device?

• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Allusion
• Irony

Answer explanation

This is a metaphor because it directly compares life to a rollercoaster without using "like" or "as".

"The silence was deafening in the empty hallway." Which literary device is illustrated in this sentence?

• Personification
• Oxymoron
• Alliteration
• Hyperbole
• Symbolism

Answer explanation

This is an oxymoron, combining contradictory terms: silence (lack of sound) and deafening (overwhelmingly loud).

"She was as busy as a bee, flitting from task to task without pause." Which literary device is used here?

• Metaphor
• Alliteration
• Simile
• Personification
• Hyperbole

Answer explanation

This is a simile, comparing her busyness to that of a bee using "as... as".

"The classroom was a zoo, with students chattering and papers flying everywhere." Which literary device is employed in this description?

• Personification
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Allusion
• Imagery

Answer explanation

This is a metaphor, directly comparing the classroom to a zoo without using "like" or "as".

"The wind whispered through the leaves, telling secrets of the coming storm." Which literary device is prominently used in this sentence?

• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia
• Hyperbole
• Personification
• Imagery

Answer explanation

This is personification, attributing human actions (whispering and telling secrets) to the wind.

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." This tongue-twister is a famous example of which literary device?

• Assonance
• Consonance
• Alliteration
• Rhyme
• Repetition

Answer explanation

This is alliteration, with the repetition of the initial "p" sound in multiple words.

"After the long drought, the parched earth drank in the rain greedily." Which literary device is illustrated here?

• Metaphor
• Simile
• Hyperbole
• Personification
• Imagery

Answer explanation

This is personification, giving human characteristics (drinking greedily) to the earth.

"The news hit me like a ton of bricks." This expression is an example of which literary device?

• Metaphor
• Simile
• Hyperbole
• Idiom
• Allusion

Answer explanation

This is a simile, comparing the impact of the news to being hit by a ton of bricks using "like".