Literary Devices in Prose Flashcards

Placing two contrasting characters side by side — a generous hero and a greedy villain — to highlight their differences is called:

Answer: Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition places contrasting elements side by side to emphasize their differences.

"I must be cruel to be kind." This statement, which seems contradictory yet reveals a deeper truth, is an example of:

Answer: Paradox

A paradox appears self-contradictory on the surface but contains a deeper or hidden truth.

After surviving a deadly hurricane, a character says, "Well, that was a slightly rough evening." This is an example of:

Answer: Understatement

Understatement deliberately describes something as less significant than it really is.

A recurring image of broken mirrors throughout a novel consistently represents bad luck. This repeated element is called:

Answer: Motif

A motif is a recurring element — image, idea, or phrase — that develops or reinforces the story's themes.

A story in which a community of farm animals overthrows their farmer, representing a political revolution, is best described as:

Answer: An allegory

An allegory is an extended narrative where characters and events systematically represent abstract ideas or real-world situations.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." This famous opening uses which device?

Answer: Antithesis

Antithesis places contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structure to highlight their opposition.

The audience knows a character is about to be ambushed, but the character does not. This gap in knowledge is called:

Answer: Dramatic irony

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience possesses information that a character in the story lacks.