Literary Devices Quiz

Adage

• A short, pointed, and memorable saying based on facts, considered a veritable truth by many.
• Become popular through frequent use over time.
• Express a general truth about life before becoming accepted as universal truth.
• Examples: "God helps those who help themselves", "Slow and steady wins the race", "To everything there is a reason"

Allegory

• Symbolism device conveying abstract concepts through more concrete objects or ideas.
• Used as a rhetorical device, suggesting meaning through metaphoric examples.
• Examples: George W. Bush's use of "Axis of Evil" and "allies", Plato's "Allegory of the Cave".

Alliteration

• Repetition of initial consonant sounds in stressed syllables of neighboring words.
• Creates musical rhythms in poetry and literature.
• Examples: "Let us go forth to lead the land we love", "But a better butter makes a batter better".

Allusion

• Reference to people, places, events, literary works, myths, or art, either directly or indirectly.
• Broadens context and deepens meaning of literary work.
• Examples: "Don't act like a Romeo in front of her (refers to Shakespeare's Romeo)", "This place is like a Garden of Eden (biblical reference)"

Anaphora

• Repetition of words or phrases at the beginnings of clauses for emphasis.
• Examples: "Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better", "My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration."

Antimetabole

• Repeating a phrase in reverse order.
• Derived from the Greek word meaning "turning about".
• Examples: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.", "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Antithesis

• Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses.
• Creates balance between opposite qualities and provides deeper insight.
• Examples: "Better reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.", "Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice."

Apostrophe

• Addressing an absent or non-existent person or thing as if present and capable of understanding.
• Examples: "Hello darkness, my old friend", "Car, please get me to work today.", "Twinkle, twinkle little star".

Aphorism

• Statement of truth or opinion expressed concisely and wittily.
• Often applied to philosophical, moral, and literary principles.
• Examples: "Tis education forms the common mind; just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined", "Life’s Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late."

Assonance

• Repetition of vowel sounds for internal rhyming within phrases or sentences.
• Creates mood and adds to the meaning of words.
• Examples: "Men sell the wedding bells", "We light fire on the mountain."

Asyndeton

• Deliberate omission of conjunctions from a series of related clauses.
• Produces a hurried rhythm in the sentence.
• Examples: "I remember those evenings at Grandma’s-full of laughter, food, family.", "The dark, the moon, the stars-all created a romantic effect".

Cacophony

• Juxtaposition of words creating a harsh sound.
• Use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious sounds.
• Examples: "I detest war because cause of war is always trivial.", "He is rotten, dirty, terrible, trudging, stupid dude!"

Chiasmus

• Two or more clauses related through a reversal of structures for a larger point.
• Clauses display inverted parallelism.
• Examples: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.", "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You."

Cliches and Idioms

• Idiom: A term or phrase whose meaning cannot be understood by literal translation, understood through common use.
• Cliche: Overused phrase, expression, or idea losing its intended force or novelty.
• Examples: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", "A picture is worth a thousand words", "As brave as a lion", "As clever as a fox".

Colloquialisms

• Informal words, phrases, or slang used in writing.
• Give works a sense of realism.
• Examples: "Anak ng Pating, Anak ng Kuba, Anak ng Tokwa, Anak ng Teteng", "Ansabe?-What did he say?", "BTS-Behind the scenes", "BRB-Be right back", "ICYMI-In Case You Missed It", "LMAO-Laughing My Ass Off", "OOTD-Outfit of the Day"

Consonance

• Consistent repetition of consonants, usually at the beginning of words (also alliteration).
• Examples: "She ate seven sandwiches on a sunny Sunday last year", "Shelley sells shells by the seashore".

Metonymy

• Substituting a word or phrase with a closely associated one.
• Describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.
• Examples: "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears", "The Silicon Valley" (technology sector), "The pen is mightier than the sword".

Onomatopoeia

• Words imitating or suggesting the sound they describe.
• Examples: "The buzzing bee flew away", "The sack fell into the river with a splash", "The books fell on the table with a loud thump."

Oxymoron

• Joining two opposite ideas for effect.
• Examples: "Awfully pretty", "Bittersweet", "Foolish wisdom", "Open secret"

Parallelism

• Giving parts of sentences a similar form to create a pattern.
• Used in poetry, epics, songs, written prose, and speech.
• Examples: "Easy come, easy go", "Flying is fast, comfortable, and safe", "Like father, like son"

Paradox

• Statement contradicting expectations, existing beliefs, or opinions.
• Examples: "I can't resist anything but temptation", "I am nobody", "Truth is honey which is bitter".

Personification

• Giving inanimate objects, animals, or ideas human qualities or abilities.
• Examples: "Blind justice", "Blushing birds", "The fire swallowed the entire forest", "Trembling shadows".

Pun

• Play on words, using different senses of the same word or similar senses of different words.
• Examples: "A happy life depends on a liver (organ or resident)", "An elephant's opinion carries a lot of weight", "What is the difference between a conductor and a teacher? The conductor minds the train, and the teacher trains the mind."

Repetition

• Repeating a word or phrase for emphasis or highlighting ideas.
• Key tool for developing style, tone, and rhythm.
• Example: The big stairs led up to a big house with a big front door.

Test your knowledge on various literary devices including adages, allegories, alliterations, and allusions. This quiz will challenge your understanding of how these devices are used in literature to convey deeper meanings and truths. Perfect for literature students and enthusiasts alike!