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English 20-1

English 20-1 · Worksheets

Devices and language

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Devices and language. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Devices and language

English 20-1 · maddyhelps.com

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  1. An allusion works only if

    1. a) it is explained in a footnote
    2. b) it appears in the first paragraph
    3. c) the reader recognises the work being referred to
    4. d) it is repeated several times

  2. The most complete analysis of a metaphor states

    1. a) the definition of metaphor
    2. b) where the metaphor appears in the text
    3. c) that the passage contains a metaphor
    4. d) what is compared to what, and what the comparison suggests

  3. Situational irony occurs when

    1. a) a symbol appears twice
    2. b) the reader knows more than the character
    3. c) the outcome is the opposite of what was expected or intended
    4. d) a speaker means the opposite of the words used

  4. A simile compares two things

    1. a) through exaggeration
    2. b) without using like or as
    3. c) using like or as
    4. d) by giving human qualities to an object

  5. A writer who uses a series of short, blunt sentences most likely intends to

    1. a) suggest luxury
    2. b) slow the passage down
    3. c) signal a change of narrator
    4. d) create urgency or abruptness

  6. Dramatic irony occurs when

    1. a) events turn out the opposite of what was expected
    2. b) the audience knows something a character does not
    3. c) a text refers to another work
    4. d) a character says the opposite of what is meant

  7. Personification gives

    1. a) human qualities to something that is not human
    2. b) two meanings to one word
    3. c) animal qualities to a person
    4. d) exaggerated size to an object

  8. A symbol differs from a motif in that a symbol

    1. a) is always an object
    2. b) is only found in poetry
    3. c) appears only once, while a motif appears twice
    4. d) stands for something beyond itself, while a motif is a recurring element that builds a pattern

  9. Alliteration is the repetition of

    1. a) initial consonant sounds in nearby words
    2. b) end-of-line sounds
    3. c) vowel sounds within words
    4. d) whole words at the start of lines

  10. Hyperbole is

    1. a) deliberate understatement
    2. b) a comparison using like
    3. c) the repetition of consonant sounds
    4. d) deliberate exaggeration for effect

Answer key · Devices and language

English 20-1 · maddyhelps.com

  1. c) the reader recognises the work being referred to — An allusion imports the associations of another text in a few words, which is efficient and risky. A writer choosing a widely known source is making a decision about audience.
  2. d) what is compared to what, and what the comparison suggests — Naming earns little on its own. Markers are looking for effect: what the comparison makes the reader feel or understand that plain statement would not.
  3. c) the outcome is the opposite of what was expected or intended — A fire station burning down is situational irony. Mere coincidence or bad luck is not — the reversal has to run against a clear expectation the text set up.
  4. c) using like or as — A metaphor makes the same comparison without the connective, which is why it tends to feel more assertive: her voice was gravel claims more than her voice was like gravel.
  5. d) create urgency or abruptness — Syntax carries tone as surely as diction does. Long accumulating clauses do the opposite, and a shift between the two mid-passage is nearly always deliberate.
  6. b) the audience knows something a character does not — Verbal irony is saying the opposite; situational irony is events turning out the opposite. Dramatic irony is a gap in knowledge, and it is what generates suspense in most tragedies.
  7. a) human qualities to something that is not human — The wind clawed at the window puts intention into weather. Noticing what kind of human quality is lent — malice, indifference, tenderness — is what turns identification into analysis.
  8. d) stands for something beyond itself, while a motif is a recurring element that builds a pattern — The two overlap — a symbol can be a motif if it recurs. The distinction worth holding is that a symbol points outward to an idea, while a motif accumulates significance by repetition.
  9. a) initial consonant sounds in nearby words — Assonance repeats vowel sounds and consonance repeats consonants elsewhere in the word. All three slow a reader down and bind words together in the ear.
  10. d) deliberate exaggeration for effect — Its opposite, understatement, is often used for irony or restraint. Both are about the distance between what is said and what is meant.