✅ What are Literary Devices?
Literary devices are special tools or techniques that writers use to make their writing more
interesting, clear, and impactful.
They help:
• Create images in the reader’s mind
• Add emotion and meaning
• Make writing more beautiful and memorable
✏️ Common Literary Devices
1️⃣ Simile
• Definition: A simile is a direct comparison between two different things using ‘like’
or ‘as’.
• Purpose: It makes a description vivid by comparing to something familiar.
• Examples:
o He is as brave as a lion.
o She sings like a nightingale.
2️⃣ Metaphor
• Definition: A metaphor also compares two different things, but without using ‘like’
or ‘as’. It says one thing is another.
• Purpose: Creates strong imagery by equating things directly.
• Examples:
o Time is a thief.
o Her voice is music to my ears.
3️⃣ Personification
• Definition: Giving human qualities to non-human things, animals, or ideas.
• Purpose: Helps the reader connect emotionally to objects or nature.
• Examples:
o The wind whispered through the trees.
o The sun smiled down on us.
4️⃣ Alliteration
• Definition: The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words
that are close together.
• Purpose: Adds rhythm and musical effect.
• Examples:
o She sells sea shells on the sea shore.
o Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
5️⃣ Onomatopoeia
• Definition: A word that imitates a sound.
• Purpose: Makes writing more lively and realistic.
• Examples:
o Buzz (bee)
o Bang (gunshot)
o Tick-tock (clock)
6️⃣ Hyperbole
• Definition: An extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or humor.
• Purpose: Makes a strong point or creates a dramatic effect.
• Examples:
o I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
o I’ve told you a million times!
7️⃣ Irony
• Definition: When the opposite of what is expected happens or is said.
• Types:
o Verbal irony: Saying the opposite of what you mean.
“Oh, great!” (when something bad happens)
o Situational irony: When the outcome is opposite to what was expected.
A fire station burns down.
o Dramatic irony: The reader knows something the character does not.
8️⃣ Oxymoron
• Definition: Two opposite words are put together to create an effect.
• Purpose: Shows complexity or contradiction.
• Examples:
o Bittersweet
o Deafening silence
o Living dead
9️⃣ Symbolism
• Definition: Using an object, person, or event to represent a deeper meaning or
idea.
• Purpose: Adds layers of meaning.
• Examples:
o A dove symbolizes peace.
o Red can symbolize danger or love.
🔟 Allusion
• Definition: A brief, indirect reference to a famous person, place, event, or work.
• Purpose: Gives deeper meaning by connecting to well-known ideas.
• Examples:
o He’s a real Romeo with the ladies. (Reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo)
o This place is like Eden. (Reference to the Garden of Eden)
WORKSHEET
Choose the correct option for each.
Which sentence shows a simile?
a) He is a lion.
b) She is an angel.
c) He roars like a lion.
d) He is the sun.
Which line uses metaphor?
a) She is as sweet as sugar.
b) The world is a stage.
c) He fights like a tiger.
d) She sings like a bird.
“The flowers danced in the breeze.” Which device is used?
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Irony
d) Personification
“She sells sea shells by the sea shore.” What device is this?
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Alliteration
d) Onomatopoeia
Which is hyperbole?
a) The leaves are green.
b) I could sleep for a year!
c) The cat purred softly.
d) The night was dark.
“Boom! The balloon popped.” This is an example of:
a) Irony
b) Symbolism
c) Onomatopoeia
d) Simile
“A little giant.” What is this?
a) Oxymoron
b) Irony
c) Pun
d) Alliteration
Which line is personification?
a) He is like a rock.
b) The stars winked at us.
c) She is a flower.
d) Cold as ice.
“He is a shining star.” Which device?
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Symbolism
d) Onomatopoeia
Which word is an example of onomatopoeia?
a) Whisper
b) Bright
c) Strong
d) Brave
“I am so hungry I could eat a horse.” This shows:
a) Hyperbole
b) Simile
c) Metaphor
d) Irony
“Love is a battlefield.” What is this?
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Personification
d) Pun
“The old man is young at heart.” Which device?
a) Irony
b) Oxymoron
c) Simile
d) Alliteration
“He kicked the bucket.” This is a/an:
a) Hyperbole
b) Pun
c) Euphemism
d) Simile
Which is symbolism?
a) Dove means peace.
b) He is a lion.
c) Sweet sorrow.
d) Boom!
“Her smile was like sunshine.” This is a:
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Irony
d) Alliteration
“Baa baa black sheep.” Example of:
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Onomatopoeia
d) Irony
“Break a leg!” means:
a) Irony
b) Symbolism
c) Pun
d) Idiom
“Better late than never.” This is:
a) Irony
b) Proverb
c) Simile
d) Onomatopoeia
Which line has an allusion?
a) He is a Hercules.
b) She is tall.
c) The door creaked.
d) Cold fire.
“Silence screamed.” Is a/an:
a) Oxymoron
b) Simile
c) Personification
d) Alliteration
“Tick-tock” is:
a) Onomatopoeia
b) Simile
c) Metaphor
d) Irony
Which is assonance?
a) Sweet sleep beneath the tree.
b) Tall tower.
c) He is brave.
d) She runs fast.
Which shows irony?
a) A pilot afraid of heights.
b) Buzz buzz bee.
c) Strong as a bull.
d) Dove of peace.
“This is the beginning of the end.” Is:
a) Irony
b) Oxymoron
c) Metaphor
d) Simile
Which line has pun?
a) I am reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down!
b) Sweet sorrow.
c) As tall as a tree.
d) Roar like a lion.
“Hiss!” is:
a) Irony
b) Onomatopoeia
c) Symbolism
d) Hyperbole
“Alone, alone, all, all alone.” This is:
a) Alliteration
b) Metaphor
c) Personification
d) Repetition
“The moon smiled at me.”
a) Simile
b) Personification
c) Symbolism
d) Oxymoron
“It’s raining cats and dogs.”
a) Irony
b) Euphemism
c) Idiom
d) Pun
Which shows anaphora?
a) He roars.
b) She is brave.
c) We shall fight, we shall win.
d) Baa baa.
“Life is like a box of chocolates.”
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Oxymoron
d) Alliteration
“Dark light.” Is a:
a) Oxymoron
b) Metaphor
c) Simile
d) Irony
“My love is a red, red rose.”
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Hyperbole
d) Symbolism
“Not bad.” Means good. This is:
a) Irony
b) Oxymoron
c) Litotes
d) Pun
“Red rose” often means:
a) Hatred
b) War
c) Love
d) Silence
“I have a dream…” repeated many times is:
a) Anaphora
b) Simile
c) Metaphor
d) Irony
“The city never sleeps.”
a) Personification
b) Metaphor
c) Simile
d) Oxymoron
“My phone is dead.”
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Hyperbole
d) Personification
“She has a heart of gold.”
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Pun
d) Irony
“The stars danced.”
a) Alliteration
b) Personification
c) Metaphor
d) Irony
“Bang! Bang!”
a) Onomatopoeia
b) Oxymoron
c) Simile
d) Pun
“A deafening silence.”
a) Irony
b) Simile
c) Oxymoron
d) Alliteration
“Freedom is a bird.”
a) Simile
b) Symbolism
c) Irony
d) Pun
“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Symbolism
d) Irony
“Black sheep” in a family means:
a) Onomatopoeia
b) Simile
c) Symbolism
d) Euphemism
“I’m drowning in homework.”
a) Hyperbole
b) Simile
c) Irony
d) Oxymoron
“He’s a walking dictionary.”
a) Simile
b) Personification
c) Metaphor
d) Pun
“Love is blind.”
a) Symbolism
b) Irony
c) Metaphor
d) Oxymoron
“The classroom was a zoo.”
a) Simile
b) Metaphor
c) Irony
d) Symbolism
SECTION B
Fill in the blanks with the correct literary device or word.
51. A comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ is called a _____________.
52. Saying one thing is another without ‘like’ or ‘as’ is a _____________.
53. Giving human traits to non-human things is called _____________.
54. Repetition of beginning consonant sounds is _____________.
55. A word that imitates a natural sound is called _____________.
56. An extreme exaggeration is called _____________.
57. When the opposite of what is expected happens, it is _____________.
58. A figure of speech with opposite words joined together is _____________.
59. A mild word used to replace something unpleasant is a _____________.
60. A reference to another famous work, event, or person is an _____________.
61. A word or phrase that stands for a bigger idea is called _____________.
62. “Her eyes were _____________,” shows metaphor.
63. “As busy as a _____________,” is an example of simile.
64. “The wind _____________ through the trees,” is personification.
65. The phrase “Tick tock” is an example of _____________.
66. “I have a _____________ to catch!” exaggerates an ordinary event.
67. “Parting is such sweet _____________.” is an oxymoron.
68. “The dove is a _____________ of peace.” shows symbolism.
69. “He is a _____________ with words,” is a metaphor.
70. “Peter Piper picked...” shows _____________.
71. “I’m so hungry I could eat a _____________!” shows hyperbole.
72. “The leaves _____________ in the breeze,” personifies nature.
73. “Bang!” is an example of _____________.
74. “Silence _____________” is an oxymoron.
75. “Romeo” in “He’s a Romeo” is an _____________ to Shakespeare.
76. “He kicked the _____________” is a euphemism for dying.
77. “Sssss” is _____________ for a snake sound.
78. “A rose symbolizes _____________.”
79. “Not bad” means good. This is an example of _____________.
80. “We shall fight, we shall win” shows _____________.
81. “The stars _____________ at me.” shows personification.
82. “Love is a _____________” is metaphorical.
83. “He runs _____________ the wind.” shows simile.
84. “She sells sea shells” is an example of _____________.
85. “A fire station burns down” is an example of _____________.
86. A phrase like “cruel kindness” is an _____________.
87. “Baa baa black sheep” uses _____________.
88. “I have a ton of homework” uses _____________ for effect.
89. “The ocean _____________ back at me.” (personification)
90. “The world’s a _____________.” (metaphor)
91. “As blind as a _____________.” (simile)
92. “The rain _____________ softly.” (personification)
93. “Click, clack” is _____________.
94. “A wise fool” is an example of _____________.
95. “He is a shining _____________.” (metaphor)
96. “Soft, sweet songs” shows _____________.
97. “Life is a _____________ of chocolates.” (metaphor/simile)
98. “He’s the black _____________ of the family.” (symbol)
99. “My bed _____________ to me.” (personification)
100. “Buzzing bees” is _____________.
