Quiz · Easy

Literary Devices: Identify the Device

Read a line, name the device. Covers figurative language, sound devices, irony, point of view and more, for English class and AP Lit or AP Lang.

by Kill h.19 questionsCreated Nov 8, 2026, 08:02 PM

Literature· Literary Devices#literarydevices#english#aplit#figurativelanguage

19 questions

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1
'The bacon sizzled and the fire crackled.' Which device is used?
- Onomatopoeia
- B
  Imagery only
- C
  Hyperbole
- D
  Euphemism
Words that imitate the sounds they describe (sizzle, crackle) are onomatopoeia.
2
'He ran as fast as a cheetah.' Which device is used?
- A
  Metaphor
- B
  Personification
- Simile
- D
  Oxymoron
A simile compares two things using 'like' or 'as.'
3
'Sally sells seashells by the seashore.' Which device is used?
- A
  Assonance
- B
  Onomatopoeia
- C
  Rhyme
- Alliteration
Alliteration repeats the same initial consonant sound (s). Assonance repeats vowel sounds inside words.
4
'The wind whispered secrets through the trees.' Which device is used?
- A
  Simile
- Personification
- C
  Onomatopoeia
- D
  Hyperbole
Giving a human action (whispering secrets) to something non-human is personification. There is no 'like' or 'as,' so it is not a simile.
5
'Her smile was sunshine on a gray day.' Which device is used?
- Metaphor
- B
  Simile
- C
  Alliteration
- D
  Allusion
A metaphor states that one thing IS another. 'Her smile was LIKE sunshine' would be a simile.
6
'I've told you a million times to clean your room!' Which device is used?
- A
  Understatement
- Hyperbole
- C
  Irony
- D
  Paradox
Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for emphasis. Understatement is the opposite: making something seem smaller than it is.
7
In Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows Juliet is only drugged, but Romeo believes she is dead. This is:
- A
  Situational irony
- B
  Verbal irony
- Dramatic irony
- D
  Foreshadowing
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something a character does not. Situational irony is when the outcome is the opposite of what is expected.
8
A fire station burns down. Which type of irony is this?
- A
  Dramatic irony
- B
  Verbal irony
- C
  Sarcasm
- Situational irony
The outcome is the opposite of what we expect from a place meant to fight fires. Verbal irony is saying the opposite of what you mean.
9
'The silence was deafening.' Which device is used?
- Oxymoron
- B
  Simile
- C
  Allusion
- D
  Apostrophe
An oxymoron pairs contradictory words (silence, deafening). A paradox is a whole statement that seems contradictory but holds a truth.
10
'He's a real Romeo with the ladies.' Which device is used?
- A
  Metaphor
- Allusion
- C
  Personification
- D
  Symbolism
An allusion is a brief reference to a well-known person, place, event or work, here Shakespeare's Romeo.
11
'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields...' (Churchill). Which device is used?
- A
  Chiasmus
- B
  Hyperbole
- C
  Antithesis
- Anaphora
Anaphora repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Chiasmus reverses the order of words ('Ask not what your country can do for you...').
12
The captain shouts, 'All hands on deck!' Using 'hands' to mean sailors is an example of:
- A
  Metonymy
- Synecdoche
- C
  Personification
- D
  Euphemism
Synecdoche uses a part to stand for the whole (hands for sailors). Metonymy uses something closely associated, like 'the crown' for the monarchy.
13
'The White House announced a new policy today.' Which device is used?
- A
  Synecdoche
- B
  Allusion
- Metonymy
- D
  Apostrophe
The White House is not part of the administration; it is closely associated with it. That association makes it metonymy, not synecdoche.
14
'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?' This line has five unstressed-stressed pairs. Its meter is:
- A
  Trochaic tetrameter
- B
  Dactylic hexameter
- C
  Anapestic trimeter
- Iambic pentameter
An iamb is unstressed-STRESSED (da-DUM), and pentameter means five feet per line: but SOFT / what LIGHT / through YON / der WIN / dow BREAKS.
15
'Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful.' (Donne). Speaking directly to Death is:
- Apostrophe
- B
  Personification only
- C
  Soliloquy
- D
  Allusion
Apostrophe addresses an absent person or an abstract idea as if it could hear. It often comes with personification, but the direct address is what defines it.
16
Early in a story, the narrator mentions a loaded gun in a drawer. Later, a character uses it. The early mention is:
- A
  Flashback
- Foreshadowing
- C
  Red herring
- D
  Motif
Foreshadowing hints at what will happen later (Chekhov's gun). A red herring is a clue meant to mislead.
17
A narrator tells the story but turns out to have lied about key events. This narrator is:
- A
  Omniscient
- B
  Objective
- Unreliable
- D
  Second person
An unreliable narrator's account cannot be fully trusted, as in Gone Girl or 'The Tell-Tale Heart.' An omniscient narrator knows everything and is typically trustworthy.
18
A character whose traits contrast with the protagonist's, highlighting them (like steady Horatio beside impulsive Hamlet), is a:
- Foil
- B
  Antagonist
- C
  Static character
- D
  Archetype
A foil exists to make another character's qualities stand out. An antagonist opposes the protagonist; a foil need not be an enemy.
19
Saying someone 'passed away' instead of 'died' is an example of:
- A
  Hyperbole
- Euphemism
- C
  Understatement
- D
  Connotation
A euphemism replaces a harsh or blunt term with a gentler one.