Literary Devices — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Read: "The morning fog crept silently through the village, wrapping its cold fingers around every house." Which TWO devices are used?
A) Simile and hyperbole
B) Alliteration and onomatopoeia
C) Personification and metaphor
D) Onomatopoeia and simile
The fog is personified (it 'crept' and has 'fingers' — human actions/body parts). 'Cold fingers' is also a metaphor comparing the fog's reach to fingers without using 'like' or 'as.'
2. Read: "Maya's heart pounded like a drum as she stepped onto the stage. A million butterflies fluttered in her stomach." Which devices are used?
A) Alliteration and onomatopoeia
B) Simile and hyperbole
C) Metaphor and alliteration
D) Onomatopoeia and personification
'Pounded like a drum' is a simile (uses 'like' to compare). 'A million butterflies' is hyperbole — a wild exaggeration of nervousness for emotional emphasis.
3. Read: "The rusty gate screeched in protest as Sam pushed it open. Shadows stretched like dark fingers across the path." What does the personification help the reader feel?
A) That the setting is cheerful and inviting
B) That the gate is brand new and works well
C) That the setting is eerie and unwelcoming
D) That Sam is very strong and powerful
Personification ('screeched in protest') and simile ('shadows like dark fingers') both suggest something threatening and unwelcoming, creating an eerie, foreboding mood.
4. Read: "Big, bright balloons bobbed and bounced above the birthday bash. Laughter rang out like bells." Which devices appear?
A) Personification and hyperbole
B) Metaphor and onomatopoeia
C) Hyperbole and metaphor
D) Alliteration and simile
'Big bright balloons bobbed' is alliteration (repeating 'B' sounds). 'Laughter rang like bells' is a simile (uses 'like' to compare laughter to the clear, joyful sound of bells).
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. In "The ocean roared and tossed its waves angrily at the shore," the ocean is given the human emotion of anger.
The simile compares the redness of someone's face to fire, emphasizing intense emotion — most commonly anger or embarrassment.
2. "Her voice was as smooth as silk" contains a simile that compares her voice to silk.
By calling the voice 'silk,' the metaphor creates a sensory image of a voice that is smooth, soft, and effortlessly flowing — qualities associated with silk fabric.
3. In "The whoosh of the wind whipped through the willows," the word whoosh is an example of onomatopoeia.
Onomatopoeia refers to words that phonetically resemble the sounds they describe. Reading them activates the reader's sense of hearing.
4. "I have told you a thousand times to clean your room" uses hyperbole to show frustration.
No one has literally waited a thousand years. This hyperbole communicates extreme impatience through deliberate, obvious exaggeration.
5. "Sneaky snakes slithered slowly" uses alliteration by repeating the /s/ sound.
Alliteration repeats the same initial consonant sound across multiple words. The repeated 'S' creates a playful, musical effect in this sentence.