AP Language and Composition Glossary of Rhetorical Devices

Which term fits the following definition? The act of giving human qualities, emotions, or body parts to an inanimate object.

• Rhyme

• Simile

• Hyperbole

• Personification

Repetition of initial consonant sounds: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

• assonance

• consonance

• alliteration

• onomatopoeia

Which device is being used in the following sentence? The cat meowed at the chirping birds.

• Simile

• Personification

• Onomatopoeia

• Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration: “I'm so tired, I could sleep for a week!”

• metaphor

• simile

• hyperbole

• personification

Which figurative device is being used in this line? The old tree stretched his long and gangly fingers towards the sky.

• Simile

• Personification

• Hyperbole

• Idiom

The shark's fin cut the water like a razor slashing silk.

• literal language

• figurative language

Which of the following is an example of a simile?

• He is a rock.

• You were as brave as a lion.

• There were a million people at the party.

• The lion had a cavernous mouth.

Repetition of interior vowel sounds: “Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese."

• alliteration

• assonance

• consonance

• onomatopoeia

Repetition of interior consonant sounds: “The fickle kicker chuckled as he clunked the ball down.”

• consonance

• assonance

• meter

• repetition

Which of the following pairs is an example of onomatopoeia?

• gurgle and babble

• flow and flower

• serve and protect