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Literary Devices Review

Total questions: 41

Worksheet time: 21mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is an allegory in literature?

a)

A long list of anything; an inventory used to emphasize quantity or inclusiveness.

b)

A narrative in which the characters often stand for abstract concepts, typically teaching a lesson through an interesting story.

c)

The repetition at close intervals of consonant sounds for a purpose.

d)

A reference to something in literature, history, mythology, religious texts, etc., considered common knowledge.

2.

What does alliteration refer to?

a)

The repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds for a purpose.

b)

The repetition at close intervals of consonant sounds for a purpose.

c)

A device, usually in poetry, of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction.

d)

An elaborate figure of speech comparing two very dissimilar things.

3.

What is the purpose of an apostrophe in literature?

a)

To mark the climax of a story where the conflict begins to reach a turning point.

b)

To provide a point by point comparison between two dissimilar things.

c)

To call out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction in poetry.

d)

To create harsh, clashing, or dissonant sounds.

4.

What is the definition of assonance?

a)

The repetition at close intervals of consonant sounds for a purpose.

b)

The repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds for a purpose.

c)

A narrative poem originally meant to be sung.

d)

Harsh, clashing, or dissonant sounds.

5.

What is a ballad?

a)

A narrative poem that was originally meant to be sung, typically involving ordinary people with unusual adventures and a single tragic incident as the central focus.

b)

A long list of anything; an inventory used to emphasize quantity or inclusiveness.

c)

The character or force that opposes the protagonist in a story.

d)

The point at which the conflict of the story begins to reach a turning point.

6.

What does cacophony mean in literary terms?

a)

The opposite of EUPHONY, involving pleasant, harmonious sound.

b)

The repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds for a purpose.

c)

Harsh, clashing, or dissonant sounds, often produced by combinations of words that require clipped, explosive delivery, or words that contain a number of plosive consonants.

d)

A reference to something in literature, history, mythology, religious texts, etc., considered common knowledge.

7.

What is the role of a character in a story?

a)

To provide a point by point comparison between two dissimilar things.

b)

To call out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction in poetry.

c)

To move the story forward, which may be minor or depending on his or her role in the work of literature.

d)

To mark the climax of a story where the conflict begins to reach a turning point.

8.

What does characterization refer to?

a)

The techniques employed by writers to develop characters, including physical description, dialogue, actions, and thoughts.

b)

The struggle between two opposing forces that is the basis of the plot.

c)

The point at which the conflict of the story begins to reach a turning point.

d)

An elaborate figure of speech comparing two very dissimilar things.

9.

What is the definition of conflict in a story?

a)

The repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds for a purpose.

b)

The struggle between two opposing forces that is the basis of the plot.

c)

A narrative poem that was originally meant to be sung.

d)

Harsh, clashing, or dissonant sounds.

10.

What does the term 'Connotation' refer to in literature?

a)

The precise, literal meaning of a word

b)

The associations, images, or impressions carried by a word

c)

A brief tale told to illustrate a moral

d)

The background information at the beginning of a story

11.

What is 'Denotation'?

a)

The associations, images, or impressions carried by a word

b)

The final unraveling of a plot in drama or fiction

c)

The precise, literal meaning of a word, without emotional associations or overtones

d)

A character who provides a striking contrast to another character

12.

What literary device is described as the carrying of sense and grammatical structure in a poem beyond the end of one line, couplet, or stanza and into the next?

a)

Enjambment

b)

Epitaph

c)

Euphony

d)

Flashback

13.

Which term describes a brief story that sums up the life of a deceased person, typically found on a tombstone or monument?

a)

Epigram

b)

Epitaph

c)

Epigraph

d)

Euphony

14.

What is an 'Epigraph' commonly used for in literature?

a)

To provide a witty saying at the end of a book

b)

To show the source for the title of a work at the beginning of a book, play, chapter, or poem

c)

To describe a scene that happened before the beginning of a story

d)

To create vivid experiences or a picture for the reader

15.

What does 'Foil' refer to in the context of literary characters?

a)

A character who provides a striking contrast to another character

b)

A character who is the source of humor in a story

c)

The protagonist of a story

d)

A character who is involved in the falling action of a plot

16.

What type of irony occurs when the reader knows information that the characters do not?

a)

Verbal irony

b)

Situational irony

c)

Dramatic irony

d)

Metaphorical irony

17.

Which figure of speech substitutes the name of a related object, person, or idea for the subject at hand?

a)

Metaphor

b)

Oxymoron

c)

Metonymy

d)

Personification

18.

What does 'mood' in literature refer to?

a)

The main theme of the story

b)

The sequence of events in the story

c)

The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

d)

The background setting of the story

19.

What is a 'motif' in an artistic work?

a)

A figure of speech involving exaggeration

b)

A unifying element like a recurrent image, symbol, theme, character type, subject, or narrative detail

c)

The main conflict in a story

d)

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

20.

Which point of view involves the narrator using the pronoun "I"?

a)

Third person limited

b)

Third person omniscient

c)

First person

d)

Second person

21.

What is an example of onomatopoeia?

a)

Metaphor

b)

Buzz

c)

Irony

d)

Paradox

22.

What is an oxymoron?

a)

A long, elaborate sentence structure

b)

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms

c)

A type of metaphor

d)

A direct comparison without using "like" or "as"

23.

What does 'plot' refer to in a story?

a)

The main character

b)

The setting of the story

c)

The plan of action or sequence of events of the story

d)

The moral or lesson of the story

24.

What is the central character in a story, who faces a problem and must undergo some conflict to solve it, called?

a)

Antagonist

b)

Protagonist

c)

Sidekick

d)

Foil

25.

What is a 'Pun'?

a)

A serious reflection by a character

b)

A pattern of end rhyme in a poem

c)

A form of wit involving a play on words with two or more meanings

d)

A logical argument based on deductive reasoning

26.

What does 'Resolution' refer to in a story?

a)

The central idea in a literary work

b)

The final unwinding, or resolving of the conflicts and complications in the plot

c)

The tension or excitement felt by the reader

d)

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

27.

What is a 'Rhyme scheme'?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things

c)

The central idea in a literary work

d)

A type of verbal irony

28.

What is 'Rising Action' in a plot?

a)

The part of the plot that leads through a series of events of decreasing interest

b)

The time and place in which the action of a story occurs

c)

The part of the plot that leads through a series of events of increasing interest and power to the climax

d)

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

29.

What is 'Satire'?

a)

A literary technique in which foolish ideas or customs are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society

b)

A dramatic convention involving a character speaking their thoughts aloud

c)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

d)

A logical argument based on deductive reasoning

30.

What does 'Setting' refer to in a story?

a)

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

b)

The central idea in a literary work

c)

The time and place in which the action of a story occurs

d)

A type of verbal irony

31.

What is a 'Simile'?

a)

A figure of speech in which two seemingly unlike things are compared

b)

A pattern of end rhyme in a poem

c)

The central idea in a literary work

d)

A type of verbal irony

32.

What is a 'Soliloquy'?

a)

A literary technique in which foolish ideas or customs are ridiculed

b)

A dramatic convention in which a character speaks his or her thoughts aloud

c)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

d)

A logical argument based on deductive reasoning

33.

What is 'Stream of Consciousness'?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

The central idea in a literary work

c)

The technique of presenting the flow of thoughts, responses, and sensations of one or more characters

d)

A type of verbal irony

34.

What does 'Style' refer to in literature?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

The way in which a piece of literature is written, referring not to what is said, but how it is said

c)

The central idea in a literary work

d)

A type of verbal irony

35.

What is 'Suspense' in a story?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

The central idea in a literary work

c)

The tension or excitement felt by the reader as he or she becomes involved in the story

d)

A type of verbal irony

36.

What is a 'Syllogism'?

a)

A figure of speech in which two seemingly unlike things are compared

b)

A pattern of end rhyme in a poem

c)

A logical argument based on deductive reasoning

d)

The central idea in a literary work

37.

What is a 'Symbol' in literature?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole thing

c)

A person, object, idea, or action that stands for something else, usually something literal that stands for something figurative

d)

The central idea in a literary work

38.

What does 'Syntax' refer to?

a)

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

b)

The central idea in a literary work

c)

Sentence structure

d)

A type of verbal irony

39.

What is the 'Theme' of a literary work?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

c)

The central idea in a literary work

d)

A type of verbal irony

40.

What does 'Tone' refer to in literature?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

The central idea in a literary work

c)

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

d)

A type of verbal irony

41.

What is an 'Understatement'?

a)

The pattern of end rhyme in a poem

b)

The central idea in a literary work

c)

A type of verbal irony in which something is purposely represented as being far less important than it actually is

d)

A logical argument based on deductive reasoning