Identifying Literary Devices Quiz

Which literary device is used when a story has a deeper meaning, often moral or political, beneath its surface narrative?

• Aphorism

• Allegory

• Euphony

• Melodrama

What is the term for a word or phrase that is no longer in common use, often used to give a sense of antiquity?

• Archaism

• Inversion

• Utopia

• Theme

Which literary device involves a pair of rhyming lines in a poem?

• Masculine rhyme

• Couplet

• Dramatic irony

• Foreshadowing

What is the term for a question asked to make a point rather than to solicit an answer?

• Rhetorical question

• Antecedent

• Aphorism

• Euphony

Which literary device is characterized by a pleasing combination of sounds?

• Euphony

• Inversion

• Gothic novel

• Melodrama

What is the term for a literary device where the audience knows something that a character does not, often used in plays?

• Foreshadowing

• Dramatic irony

• Allegory

• Theme

Which literary device involves the reversal of the normal order of words for emphasis or meter?

• Inversion

• Masculine rhyme

• Archaism

• Utopia

What is the term for a literary device that hints at events to come in a story?

• Foreshadowing

• Melodrama

• Allegory

• Aphorism

Which literary device is a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life?

• Aphorism

• Theme

• Antecedent

• Gothic novel

What is the term for a literary work that idealizes a perfect society?

• Utopia

• Melodrama

• Gothic novel

• Theme