Literary Devices Review

The Literary Devices Used in The Short Story, “The Bicycle” by

Jillian Horton

•“She had a grand piano that was like a magical animal; it was big and intriguing.” (simile)•“By my thirteenth birthday I was playing the music of Beethoven and Liszt with proficiency.” (allusion)•“Tante Rose’s piano became my friend, a familiar presence.” (personification)

• “When my fingers rushed over its flat white keys, from one end of the keyboard to the other, the instrument laughed like I was tickling it or cried like I was hurting it.” (personification)• “My friends passed me on their way home from school, riding as fast as cars, then dragging their feet along the pavement to make themselves slow down, scuffing their good shoes.” (simile)• “When the girls rode bicycles, their hair streamed out behind them and looked the way hair looks when you float motionless in the bath.” (metaphor)

• “I pulled the bicycle, with its gleaming chrome handlebars and polished metal frame, out of the shed. My hands gripped it firmly; I saw my knuckles go white. It was such a strange thing to want to do, and yet, more than anything, I wanted to do it…” (imagery)• “I shook my head and felt my hair fly out behind me, and I went faster and faster until it was like a cape at my back.”(simile)• “She stared into my eyes and her face was red like fire.” (simile)• “Anger had hardened her skin into a mask of stone.” (metaphor or hyperbole)

Name That Literary Device!1. The road

was a ribbon of moonlight

over the purple moor.

Name That Literary Device!2. Paula wears so

much make-up she has to

use a sandblaster

to get it off at night.

Name That Literary Device!3. I heard her

skirt swish as she walked leisurely up the winding staircase.

Name That Literary Device!4. My love is

like a red, red rose.

Name That Literary Device!5. Our family dinner was a

combination of boisterous conversation that made the room hum with the sound of happiness,

badly burnt chicken that tasted like rubber, and the scent of

freshly baked bread that reminded me of home.

Name That Literary Device!6. The stars danced

playfully in the moonlit

sky.

Name That Literary Device!7. Every time

I tell a lie, I expect my

nose to grow like

Pinocchio’s.

Name That Literary Device!8. An old man

turned ninety-eight. He won the lottery and died the next day of

chronic emphysema from inhalation of the latex particles scratched off a

decades' worth of lottery tickets.

Name That Literary Device!9. The deafening

silence was unbearable.

Name That Literary Device!10. Emily didn't like to

spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased

anything except the bare necessities.

Name That Literary Device!11. While running drills in

gym class one humid afternoon in June, Chris

yelled to his teacher, “Sir, can we go inside? I think I

might sweat to death!”

Name That Literary Device!12. As I stumbled to the

breakfast table in a sleepy haze, I knew the only thing that could wake me up was the delightful snap, crackle,

and pop of my favourite morning cereal.

Name That Literary Device!13. Because I could not stop for Death,

He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just

ourselvesAnd Immortality.

Name That Literary Device!14. When she tasted

the sour candy, Sarah’s mouth

suddenly puckered like a fish under water.

Name That Literary Device!15. A breathtaking flower

quickly withers and dies, which represents the

fleeting nature of beauty and reminds us that

everything will eventually age and decay.

Name That Literary Device!16. The goalie was a

brick wall, because when he was in the net, nothing could

get past him.

Name That Literary Device!17. The crimson blood flowed

slowly down his charred face, and I could smell the burning

wreckage in the distance as the screams of the people still trapped within the building

echoed ominously through the brisk night air.

Name That Literary Device!18. Betty Botter bought

some butter, but, she said, the butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter it will make my

batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my

batter better.

Name That Literary Device!19. Maureen, tormented by

envy and jealousy, put on the flowing green gown for the party where she knew her former lover would be

with another woman.

Name That Literary Device!20. The ending

of the game was truly bitter

sweet.