Literary Devices
Not limited to the visual as the name may imply, this is the usage of metaphors, allusions, descriptive words, similes, and other literary devices to awaken the readers’ sensory perceptions.
What is imagery?
Mrs. Mallard repeats this word over and over after finding out that her husband has been killed in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour."
What is "free"?
Victor Frankenstein's best friend, who ends up being murdered by the creature.
Who is Henry Clerval?
Originally published in 1972, this satirical essay by Judy Brady highlights the difficulties involved in being a wife/mother.
What is "Why I Want a Wife"?
The most commonly rolled die in a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
What is a twenty sided die or d20?
When Shang sings that Mulan and the men in his army must be "as swift as a coursing river," he provides an example of this literary device.
What is a simile?
In "The Story of an Hour," this is what allegedly kills Mrs. Mallard's husband Brently.
What is a railroad disaster or train crash?
The creature learns to speak by listening to members of this family.
Who are the De Lacys?
DAILY DOUBLE: The Victorian ideology that stated that men and women belonged in two distinct places, the outside world for men and the home for women.
What is (the doctrine of) separate spheres?
The number of teaspoons in a tablespoon.
Not to be confused with denotation (the literal dictionary definition of the word), this word refers to the various social overtones, cultural implications, or emotional meanings associated with a sign.
What is connotation?
This celebration of a season is the reason why people are parading through the streets in "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas."
What is the Festival of Summer?
The titular Mariner from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" tells his story to this character.
Who is the Wedding Guest?
Virginia Woolf's "Professions for Women" speech was given in this decade, over 70 years after the "Angel in the House" poem that she references was published.
What is the 1930s? (1931)
This play - with characters like Polonius, Laertes, and Gertrude - is the longest one Shakespeare wrote.
What is Hamlet?
When Andrew Marvell tells his lover that "An hundred years should go to praise / Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze," his exaggeration is an example of this literary device.
What is hyperbole?
Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" ends with this character being stoned to death as part of an annual tradition.
Who is Tessie Hutchinson?
Victor refuses to mention the existence of his creature after this character is wrongfully convicted of murdering Victor's younger brother.
Who is Justine?
The author of the original "Angel in the House" poem, who based the title character after his own wife.
Who is Coventry Patmore?
The namesake for Rickrolling, this musical artist is most famous for his 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up."
Calling someone's weakness their "kryptonite" or "Achilles' heel" is an example of this literary device where an author references other well-known stories in their own story.
What is an allusion?
A well-known science fiction author, she is famous for stories like "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" and The Left Hand of Darkness.
Who is Ursula K Le Guin?
This Romantic poet authored works like "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan."
Who is Samuel Taylor Coleridge?
In her speech "Professions for Women," Virginia Woolf compares the process of writing a novel to this outdoorsy activity.
What is fishing?
During WWII, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were all stored in this famously-hard-to-break-into location.
What is Fort Knox?