Literary Devices questions with
complete solutions graded A+
Syntax - correct answer ✔✔Syntax - The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-
formed sentences in a language.
"Whose woods these are I think I know."
This line in Frosts poem plays with syntax to create a questioning effect and rhyme.
Diction - correct answer ✔✔Diction - The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or
writing.
"I says, go on." (Huck Example)
"De bes' way is to res' easy en let de ole man take his own way" (Jim Example)
The two dialog examples above from Huckleberry Finn use words that convey the southern
dialect of the time.
Formal diction - correct answer ✔✔Formal diction - A form of diction used in formal settings like
presentations, conferences, or formal writing.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
(President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address)
,This piece of Lincoln's Address convey's formal speech becuase it was a serious speech for a
solemn
Colloquial diction - correct answer ✔✔Colloquial diction - A form of diction that uses words
common in everyday speech like talking to our friends.
"You gonna run out on a dare?" asked Dill. "If you are, then--" "Dill, you have to think about
these things," Jem said. "Lemme think a minute . . . it's sort of like making a turtle come out . . ."
(To Kill a Mockingbird pg. 15)
The dialog example above convey's informal speech of two friends talking to one another.
Literal language - correct answer ✔✔Literal language - Uses words solely by their defined or
primary meaning.
" I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on the planet." (the
Martian pg. 146)
This example above is very funny and literal because it's true that he is the best botanist on the
planet because he is the only botanist on the planet Mars.
Figurative language - correct answer ✔✔Figurative language - Uses figures of speech like similes
or alliterations to compare something with another to make the first concept understandable.
" But his eyes, dimmed a little by many pointless days under sun and rain, brood on over the
solemn dumping ground." (The Great Gatsby pg. 24)
This example above shows that the author used the type of Figurative language called
personification because he says that the billboard's "eyes" are "brooding" over the land.
Brooding is a human attribute which the author gave to the billboard.
, Connotation - correct answer ✔✔Connotation - The association of words that go beyond the
literal or dictionary meaning. Words that create emotions or feelings for the reader
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and
their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts" (Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1-5)
This famous example of Shakespeare is a good example of connotation because it applies the
basis for symbolic meaning using objects like "stage" or "parts".
Denotation - correct answer ✔✔Denotation - The use of the dictionary definition or literal
meaning of the word.
"The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode." (Poe, The
Cask of Amontillado)
This is an example of denotation because he uses the words "gait" and "strode" to show that
the friend was walking in long strides.
Simile - correct answer ✔✔Simile - Drawing comparisons between two unrelated things, places,
people, and concepts. Marked sometimes by the use of the words "such as", "like", or "as".
"Nana said, "Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a
woman. Always. You remember that Mariam."" (Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns)
This quote from Khaled Hosseini's, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a good example of simile
because Miriam's mother uses it effectively to make a point in her warning.
complete solutions graded A+
Syntax - correct answer ✔✔Syntax - The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-
formed sentences in a language.
"Whose woods these are I think I know."
This line in Frosts poem plays with syntax to create a questioning effect and rhyme.
Diction - correct answer ✔✔Diction - The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or
writing.
"I says, go on." (Huck Example)
"De bes' way is to res' easy en let de ole man take his own way" (Jim Example)
The two dialog examples above from Huckleberry Finn use words that convey the southern
dialect of the time.
Formal diction - correct answer ✔✔Formal diction - A form of diction used in formal settings like
presentations, conferences, or formal writing.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
(President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address)
,This piece of Lincoln's Address convey's formal speech becuase it was a serious speech for a
solemn
Colloquial diction - correct answer ✔✔Colloquial diction - A form of diction that uses words
common in everyday speech like talking to our friends.
"You gonna run out on a dare?" asked Dill. "If you are, then--" "Dill, you have to think about
these things," Jem said. "Lemme think a minute . . . it's sort of like making a turtle come out . . ."
(To Kill a Mockingbird pg. 15)
The dialog example above convey's informal speech of two friends talking to one another.
Literal language - correct answer ✔✔Literal language - Uses words solely by their defined or
primary meaning.
" I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on the planet." (the
Martian pg. 146)
This example above is very funny and literal because it's true that he is the best botanist on the
planet because he is the only botanist on the planet Mars.
Figurative language - correct answer ✔✔Figurative language - Uses figures of speech like similes
or alliterations to compare something with another to make the first concept understandable.
" But his eyes, dimmed a little by many pointless days under sun and rain, brood on over the
solemn dumping ground." (The Great Gatsby pg. 24)
This example above shows that the author used the type of Figurative language called
personification because he says that the billboard's "eyes" are "brooding" over the land.
Brooding is a human attribute which the author gave to the billboard.
, Connotation - correct answer ✔✔Connotation - The association of words that go beyond the
literal or dictionary meaning. Words that create emotions or feelings for the reader
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and
their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts" (Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1-5)
This famous example of Shakespeare is a good example of connotation because it applies the
basis for symbolic meaning using objects like "stage" or "parts".
Denotation - correct answer ✔✔Denotation - The use of the dictionary definition or literal
meaning of the word.
"The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode." (Poe, The
Cask of Amontillado)
This is an example of denotation because he uses the words "gait" and "strode" to show that
the friend was walking in long strides.
Simile - correct answer ✔✔Simile - Drawing comparisons between two unrelated things, places,
people, and concepts. Marked sometimes by the use of the words "such as", "like", or "as".
"Nana said, "Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a
woman. Always. You remember that Mariam."" (Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns)
This quote from Khaled Hosseini's, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is a good example of simile
because Miriam's mother uses it effectively to make a point in her warning.
