Literary Terms questions

By Interwoven Maths

Literary Terms question collection

Review Literary Terms questions for English, with correct answers shown and coverage across language techniques; structural methods; poetic devices.

Back to Literary Terms practice Back to English

Question 1

Which term means repetition of initial consonant sounds?
  1. Alliteration
  2. Assonance
  3. Onomatopoeia
  4. Personification

Question 2

Which term means a comparison using 'like' or 'as'?
  1. Simile
  2. Metaphor
  3. Hyperbole
  4. Allusion

Question 3

Which term means a direct comparison without like/as?
  1. Metaphor
  2. Simile
  3. Oxymoron
  4. Pathetic fallacy

Question 4

What is giving human qualities to non-human things called?
  1. Personification
  2. Juxtaposition
  3. Enjambment
  4. Anaphora

Question 5

What is repetition of soft s sounds called?
  1. Sibilance
  2. Alliteration
  3. Plosives
  4. Assonance

Question 6

What is the term for deliberate overstatement for effect?
  1. Hyperbole
  2. Euphemism
  3. Litotes
  4. Allusion

Question 7

What is it called when contrasting ideas are placed close together?
  1. Juxtaposition
  2. Enjambment
  3. Rhyme
  4. Sibilance

Question 8

What is a two-word contradiction like "deafening silence" called?
  1. Oxymoron
  2. Paradox
  3. Alliteration
  4. Motif

Question 9

What is a question asked for effect, not an answer, called?
  1. Rhetorical question
  2. Topic sentence
  3. Counterargument
  4. Stage direction

Question 10

What is a recurring image, object or phrase called?
  1. Motif
  2. Theme
  3. Symbol
  4. Semantic field

Question 11

What is a reference to another well-known text or event called?
  1. Allusion
  2. Illusion
  3. Assonance
  4. Apostrophe

Question 12

What is a group of related words around one topic called?
  1. Semantic field
  2. Rhyme scheme
  3. Narrative arc
  4. Caesura

Question 13

What is repetition at the start of lines called?
  1. Anaphora
  2. Epistrophe
  3. Refrain
  4. Enjambment

Question 14

What is a sentence continuing across a line break called?
  1. Enjambment
  2. End-stopping
  3. Caesura
  4. Stanza break

Question 15

What is a pause within a poetic line called?
  1. Caesura
  2. Enjambment
  3. End-stop
  4. Volta

Question 16

What is a grouped set of lines in a poem called?
  1. Stanza
  2. Paragraph
  3. Chapter
  4. Couplet

Question 17

Which term describes a poem's pace and beat?
  1. Rhythm
  2. Tone
  3. Mood
  4. Structure

Question 18

What is a writer's attitude towards a subject called?
  1. Tone
  2. Mood
  3. Voice
  4. Register

Question 19

What is the emotional feeling created for the reader called?
  1. Mood
  2. Form
  3. Diction
  4. Register

Question 20

What is language that appeals to the senses called?
  1. Imagery
  2. Symbolism
  3. Semantic field
  4. Pathetic fallacy

Question 21

What is repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words called?
  1. Assonance
  2. Consonance
  3. Sibilance
  4. Alliteration

Question 22

What are words that imitate sounds called?
  1. Onomatopoeia
  2. Oxymorons
  3. Aphorisms
  4. Euphemisms

Question 23

Which term describes a contrast between appearance and reality?
  1. Irony
  2. Paradox
  3. Juxtaposition
  4. Symbolism

Question 24

What are harsh repeated b, d, or k sounds often called?
  1. Plosives
  2. Sibilance
  3. Assonance
  4. Euphony

Question 25

What does a pattern like ABAB describe in a poem?
  1. Rhyme scheme
  2. Semantic field
  3. Narrative voice
  4. Setting

Question 26

The audience knows something a character does not. What is this?
  1. Dramatic irony
  2. Verbal irony
  3. Situational irony
  4. Foreshadowing

Question 27

What is a hint of a later event called?
  1. Foreshadowing
  2. Flashback
  3. Cliffhanger
  4. Red herring

Question 28

Weather reflects a character's mood. What is this called?
  1. Pathetic fallacy
  2. Personification
  3. Symbolism
  4. Foreshadowing

Question 29

What is a one-syllable word called?
  1. Monosyllabic
  2. Disyllabic
  3. Polysyllabic
  4. Iambic

Question 30

What is a turning point in a poem often called?
  1. Volta
  2. Stanza
  3. Caesura
  4. Couplet

About this topic

Review Literary Terms questions for English, with correct answers shown and coverage across language techniques; structural methods; poetic devices.

This topic covers

Example question types