Figurative Language Quiz

Which of the following is an example of a metaphor?

• "He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine."

• "Laughter is the sun which drives winter from the human face."

• "Much madness is divinest Sense — / To a discerning eye."

• "I cannot live without books."

What is a simile?

• A comparison of two or more similar things using words such as like, as, similar to, or resembles.

• A contradictory statement that illuminates a deeper truth.

• A compact paradox that consists of two words in close proximity that contradict one another.

• The act of referring to a person, place, or thing by using the word for something located in close proximity to it.

Which of the following is an example of hyperbole?

• "I cannot live without books."

• "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears."

• "Parting is such sweet sorrow."

• "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, / Who's the fairest of them all?"

What is personification?

• Giving human qualities to an object, place, animal, or idea.

• The act of addressing someone or something that is absent or dead as if it were present and alive.

• A compact paradox that consists of two words in close proximity that contradict one another.

• The use of rhetorical exaggeration or overstatement.

Answer explanation

Personification is giving human qualities to an object, place, animal, or idea.

Which of the following is an example of an oxymoron?

• "Wise fool, cold fire, or deafening silence."

• "Vision is the art of seeing things invisible."

• "An answer is invariably the parent of a great family of new questions."

• "He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine."

What is an apostrophe in figurative language?

• The act of talking to someone or something that is absent or dead as if it were present and alive.

• A contradictory statement that illuminates a deeper truth.

• The act of referring to a person, place, or thing by using the word for something located in close proximity to it.

• The attribution of human qualities to an object, place, animal, or idea.

Answer explanation

The act of talking to someone or something that is absent or dead as if it were present and alive.

What is an example of a metaphor?

• "Time is a thief that steals our moments."

• "As brave as a lion."

• "The wind whispered through the trees."

• "She sells seashells by the seashore."

Which of the following is an example of personification?

• "The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky."

• "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

• "He is as strong as an ox."

• "The early bird catches the worm."

What is an example of a simile?

• "Her smile was as bright as the sun."

• "The classroom was a zoo."

• "The thunder grumbled like an old man."

• "The world is a stage."

Which type of figurative language refers to a person, place, or thing by using a word close to it? Ex: Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

• metonymy

• personification

• apostrophe

• oxymoron