Literary Devices Quiz

Contrasting Terms

• Oxymoron - 2 contrasting words
• Paradox - seemingly contradictory statement
• Dichotomy - general contrasting issues over the course of a novel (love and hate, war and peace, etc.)
• Juxtaposition - generally a small part of a text - more specific. Example may be illustrating 2 characters different views on love, optimism or pessimism about an event, or a juxtaposition in a scene of light and darkness for a purpose.

Figurative Language

• Epigraph - short quotation at the beginning of a book or chapter to suggest theme

Poetry

• Sound devices

  • Assonance - repetition of vowel sounds within words in close proximity Ex. water caught the putter
  • Consonance - repetition of consonant sounds within words in close proximity Ex. rapt except accept (p)
  • Alliteration - repetition of first consonant sounds, not letters
  • Onomatopoeia - words that spell sounds
  • Internal rhyme - rhyme that occurs within a single line
  • End rhyme - rhyme at the end of lines
  • Half rhyme (eye rhyme) - the sound is similar but not perfect ex. fowl or foul or go/no
  • Enjambment - flow of one line to the next to complete a thought

• Other rhetorical devices (rhetorical devices are simply any effective use of language for a purpose)

  • Repetition
  • Hyperbole - exaggeration
  • Personification
  • Extended metaphor - comparison throughout, not just in a phrase
  • Simile - comparison using "like" or "as"
  • Idiom - lines with a set meaning beyond the literal meaning

• Asyndeton – lines without conjunctions, but where they would occur in normal writing

• Allusion – reference to something outside the text

• Metaphor

• Onomatopoeia

• Anaphora

Test your knowledge of literary devices with this engaging quiz. From understanding oxymorons to identifying rhetorical appeals, this quiz covers essential concepts used in storytelling and poetry. Perfect for literature students looking to deepen their understanding of the topic.