Literary Devices — Answer Key
Part A: Fix the Sentence
Each sentence has an error. Rewrite it correctly on the line.
1. Fix the sentence:
"The thunder roared angrily" is an example of onomatopoeia.
Corrected: "The thunder roared angrily" is an example of personification.
Roaring angrily is something a person or animal does, not thunder, so giving the thunder a human emotion makes this personification. Onomatopoeia would be a word that imitates a sound, like boom.
2. Fix the sentence:
"Silly Sally sang seven songs" repeats vowel sounds, so it is onomatopoeia.
Corrected: "Silly Sally sang seven songs" repeats consonant sounds, so it is alliteration.
Repeating the same beginning consonant sound across nearby words is alliteration. Repeating vowel sounds is a different device called assonance, which is why the original sentence was wrong.
3. Fix the sentence:
Onomatopoeia gives human qualities to animals or objects.
Corrected: Personification gives human qualities to animals or objects.
Personification is the device that gives human qualities, like feelings or actions, to animals or objects. Onomatopoeia is unrelated; it is about words that sound like the noises they name.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. "The flowers danced in the breeze" is an example of personification because flowers cannot actually dance.
Flowers cannot really dance, so giving them that human action turns them into something almost alive. That is the heart of personification: lending human behavior to non-human things.
2. "The bees buzzed around the garden" contains the onomatopoeia word buzzed.
Buzzed is the word that imitates the actual humming sound bees make, which is what onomatopoeia does. The other words in the sentence simply describe the scene without copying a sound.
3. "Big brown bears bathed by the bay" is an example of alliteration because the words start with the same sound.
Each main word starts with the same /b/ sound, and that repetition of the beginning consonant is exactly what alliteration is. The repeated sound gives the line a tongue-twister rhythm.
4. Words like crash, sizzle, and pop are examples of onomatopoeia.
Crash, sizzle, and pop are spelled to mimic the noises they describe, which is the definition of onomatopoeia. You can almost hear the sound when you say the word out loud.
Part C: Short Answer
Answer each question in one or two complete sentences.
1. Read: "The old house groaned and creaked in the storm." Which literary device is used? Explain why the author might have chosen it.
Sample answer: This is personification because it gives the house human actions like groaning. The author used it to make the house feel alive and spooky during the storm.
A house cannot really groan or creak with feeling, so giving it those human-like actions is personification. Authors often use it to set a mood, and here it makes the storm scene feel haunted and alive.
2. Write your own sentence using alliteration. Identify the repeated consonant sound.
Sample answer: Graceful giraffes galloped across the golden grasslands. The repeated "g" sound is the alliteration.
The repeated /g/ sound at the start of giraffes, galloped, golden, and grasslands is the alliteration. Picking one consonant and repeating it across nearby words is what creates the effect.