Literary Terms questions

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Literary Terms question collection

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

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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 or idea in a text called?
  1. Motif
  2. Genre
  3. Clause
  4. Caption

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. Epilogue
  3. Enjambment
  4. Onomatopoeia

Question 14

What is a sentence running into the next line called?
  1. Enjambment
  2. Caesura
  3. Sibilance
  4. Allusion

Question 15

What is a pause in a line, often marked by punctuation, called?
  1. Caesura
  2. Stanza
  3. Motif
  4. Assonance

Question 16

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

Question 17

What is the beat pattern in a poem called?
  1. Rhythm
  2. Font
  3. Theme
  4. Persona

Question 18

What is a writer's attitude towards a subject called?
  1. Tone
  2. Plot
  3. Setting
  4. Genre

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. Irony
  3. Allusion
  4. Monologue

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

What is a contrast between appearance and reality called?
  1. Irony
  2. Imagery
  3. Anaphora
  4. Rhyme

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

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

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