Figurative Language and Literary Devices Flashcards
7 cards from real Reading Comprehension practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Figurative Language and Literary Devices flashcards as text
"Hope is a bird that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words." What literary device is at the core of this image, and what does it suggest about hope?
Answer: An extended metaphor comparing hope to a bird that lives within a person, suggesting hope is a natural, persistent, quietly comforting inner force.
The metaphor equates hope to a perching bird that sings wordlessly, extending the comparison to convey that hope is innate, present without explicit reason, and gently sustaining.
"The wind bit at his cheeks as he walked home through the frozen streets after midnight." What literary device is 'the wind bit at his cheeks,' and what does it communicate?
Answer: Personification — giving the wind the predatory action of biting conveys that the cold felt sharp, painful, and aggressive.
The wind is given the aggressive, predatory action of biting — a human/animal behavior — making this personification that vividly conveys sharp, piercing cold.
"She had butterflies in her stomach before stepping onto the stage for her first audition." What literary device describes 'butterflies in her stomach,' and what does it reveal?
Answer: An idiom describing nervousness; the phrase is a culturally understood expression for feeling anxious or jittery.
'Butterflies in your stomach' is a common idiom for nervousness; its meaning is conventional and understood culturally, not derived from the literal words.
"Justice is blind, and her scales weigh facts, not feelings." What literary devices are present, and what do they convey?
Answer: Personification (justice given human characteristics — blindness, ownership of scales) and metaphor (scales representing impartial evaluation), conveying that the law treats all people equally.
Justice is personified as a figure capable of blindness and owning scales; the scales also function as a metaphor for impartial measurement of evidence, conveying equal treatment under law.
"The news of her promotion was music to his ears after a long and difficult day." What literary device is 'music to his ears,' and what does it mean?
Answer: An idiom meaning the news was extremely welcome and pleasing to hear.
'Music to his ears' is a fixed idiom meaning something was very good to hear; its figurative meaning is understood conventionally, not from its literal words.
"The old barn stood like a forgotten soldier at the edge of the field, its walls leaning but refusing to fall." What literary devices are present, and what do they suggest?
Answer: A simile ('like a forgotten soldier') and personification ('refusing to fall') that together suggest the barn is aged, neglected, but stubbornly resilient.
'Like a forgotten soldier' is a simile; 'refusing to fall' personifies the barn as having willpower, together conveying quiet, weathered endurance.
"The sun is a golden coin the sky spends freely, scattering light into every corner of the earth." What literary devices are used, and what image do they create?
Answer: A metaphor (sun as a golden coin) and personification (the sky 'spends' it) that together create a vivid image of generous, abundant sunlight.
The sun is directly called a coin (metaphor), and the sky is given the human action of spending (personification), together conveying lavish, freely given light.