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 ourselves And 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.