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
"Juliet is the sun, rising in the east to light up the morning sky." What literary device is used, and what does it express?
Answer: A metaphor equating Juliet to the sun, conveying that she is the source of the speaker's light, warmth, and joy.
Romeo directly declares 'Juliet is the sun' — a direct equation without 'like' or 'as,' making it a metaphor that conveys his perception of her as his entire world of light and warmth.
"Life is a journey, and some roads are longer than others." What literary device is used, and what does 'some roads are longer than others' suggest?
Answer: An extended metaphor comparing life to a journey in which the varied road lengths represent different lifespans or life experiences.
Life is called a journey (metaphor), and the second clause extends the metaphor: varied road lengths suggest that lifespans and experiences differ from person to person.
"The stars winked at him through the cabin window, as if they knew something he did not." What literary device is used, and what does it create?
Answer: Personification — giving the stars the ability to wink and hold secrets creates a sense of mystery and a universe aware of human affairs.
The stars are given the human gestures of winking and knowing secrets — personification that creates an atmosphere of mystery and the sense that nature is aware and communicative.
"My grandfather's hands were maps of his life — every line and scar a road traveled, every callus a mountain climbed." What is the dominant literary device, and what does it reveal?
Answer: An extended metaphor comparing hands to maps, with each detail (lines, scars, calluses) representing a life experience — together revealing a life of hard work and adventure.
Hands are equated to maps (metaphor) and the comparison is extended through specific features: lines as roads and calluses as mountains — an extended metaphor encoding a lifetime of labor.
"She burned bridges everywhere she went, and now she stood alone on an island of her own making." What literary devices are at work in this sentence?
Answer: Two idioms/metaphors: 'burned bridges' (permanently damaged relationships) and 'island of her own making' (isolation she created herself).
'Burned bridges' is an idiom meaning she permanently ruined relationships; 'island of her own making' is a metaphor for self-imposed isolation — together showing the consequence of her choices.
"I must have read that contract a thousand times before I finally understood it." What literary device is used, and what does it convey?
Answer: Hyperbole — 'a thousand times' is an exaggeration that emphasizes how difficult and time-consuming understanding the contract was.
Claiming to have read a contract 'a thousand times' is hyperbole — a deliberate exaggeration used to stress the difficulty and repeated effort required to understand the document.
"The thunderstorm raged like a furious animal trapped in a cage, hurling lightning bolts and howling through the trees." What literary devices are used, and what mood do they create?
Answer: A simile ('like a furious animal') and personification ('howling'), both creating an atmosphere of uncontrolled, violent power.
'Like a furious animal' is a simile; 'howling' is personification giving the storm a creature's voice — together they create a mood of raw, untameable violence.