Name___________________________
Literary Devices
Random Questions
Directions: Read the following story. Answer the following question and use the author’s
words to explain your answer.
“A Gift in His Shoes”
Donovan and Larry were early for baseball practice. They decided to run up and down the
bleachers to exercise before the rest of the team arrived.
Larry was first to the top. He whispered to Donovan, “Look over there.” He pointed to a
man sleeping on the highest, narrow bench of the bleachers. His pants and shirt were faded,
worn, and too large for his thin frame. One big toe stuck out of a huge hole in his sock. His
scraped-up shoes sat a few feet away.
Donovan whispered, “We should help him out. Let’s hide something good in his shoes.
Then, when he wakes up, he will have a nice surprise.”
1.
Which literary element expresses the author’s attitude toward the man in the story?
a. Tone
b. Imagery
c. Personification
d. Mood
I know this because ________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
2.
Which literary element creates the atmosphere for the reader?
a. Tone
b. Imagery
c. Personification
d. Mood
I know this because ________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
Bursting through the door, the flustered mother screamed uncontrollably at the innocent
teacher who gave her child an F.
Which of the following words best describes the mood of the above scenario?
a. Frightening
c. Disappointed
b. Satisfied
d. Furious
I know this because_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
Grandmother lurched over and grabbed the pale skin of Randal's thin forearm with her
leathery hand. The folds and creases beneath her skin coiled themselves out like electrical
wiring, like the bloated, roughly-textured relief map of the world that his mother just posted
above his bedside table. Randal looked ahead toward the winding spiral staircase, fidgeted with
a small hole in his baseball jersey, and bit his lip. His mouth filled with the sweet, coppery taste
of blood as she leaned in closely toward him, breathing her hot breath on the damp hair at the
base of his neck. She smelled of wet cigarettes and bacon. As they slowly climbed the long,
steep staircase, the only sound was his grandmothers' labored breathing and the mournful
creak of the wooden stairs.
Which literary device is used in the underlined line above?
a. Personification
b. Sensory detail
c. Mood
d. Simile
Irony
Some of the following are examples of irony. Please circle any ones that are ironic.
a. A death row pardon two minutes too late
b. It’s raining cats and dogs
c. She is like the wind
d. 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife
True or False:_____________________________
The following situation is an example of irony:
An old woman re-arranged her bedroom furniture according to fengshui principles, in order to
improve health, happiness, wellness. The first night of the new arrangement, she got up to use
the bathroom, tripped over a piece of the furniture she had moved, and broke her arm.
Personification
Time crawled as Chester sat in the hot detention room painfully watching the clock tic.
What is being personified?___________________________________________________
Which human trait or quality is given? __________________________________________
As Alice searched for her missing pencil, she said sarcastically, “Well, I guess it just walked off
of my desk.” She looked at her classmates accusingly.
What is being personified? __________________________________________________
Which human trait or quality is given? __________________________________________
Symbolism
At the end of the great battle the general walked across the battlefield to surrender. To show
his seriousness, he carried an olive branch as he approached the enemy.
In the above excerpt, what does the olive branch symbolize?
a. War
c. Peace
b. Strength
d. Happiness
“The sun, a dazzling orange, filled the sky with brilliant pinks, reds, and purples as it sunk
beyond the horizon.”
What literary device is used in this sentence?
A. personification
B. imagery
C. symbolism
D. sensory details
because_________________________________________________________________
Klein could be clever or clueless, kind or cold, curmudgeonly or compassionate---all in the same
day; you never knew which Klein you would get.
What literary device is used in the above passage?
A. alliteration
B. hyperbole
C. irony
D. personification
Directions: Read the poem and answer the question below.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The “wind” in this stanza of the poem represents __________________. This is an example
of
A. imagery
B. personification
c. symbolism
d. metaphor
If you should meet a Crocodile
Don’t take a stick and poke him;
Ignore the welcome in his smile
Be careful not to stroke him.
What literary device is used in this poem?
A. simile B.
irony
C. onomatopoeia
D. rhyme
because _____________________________________________________
Identify the literary device in the following sentence.
Our school is a bee-hive, swarming with activity.
A. simile
B. metaphor
C. personification
D. alliteration
because _________________________________________________________________
Inside the ocean
I see fish.
Inside the waves
I hear a splash.
Inside the water
I felt a fish.
Identify the literary device used in the poem.
A. symbolism
B. metaphor
C. repetition
D. rhyme
because _________________________________________________________________
“Why aren’t you excited about school today, Martine?” asked her mother. “Are you feeling a
little under the weather?”
What literary device is used is this passage.
a. hyperbole
b. personification
c.
metaphor
d. idiom
because ___________________________________________________________
Awfully nice and original copy are examples of which literary device?
a. Idiom
b. oxymoron
c. simile
d. personification
because ____________________________________________________________