Reading Comprehension (Prose, Poem & Drama) • Topic 4 of 4

Poetic Devices & Figures of Speech

The poem passage always carries two or three questions on figures of speech, so these definitions must be exact. A simile compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' ('her smile was as bright as the sun'). A metaphor makes the comparison directly, WITHOUT like or as, saying one thing IS another ('the classroom was a zoo'). Personification gives human qualities or actions to non-human things, animals or ideas ('the angry clouds gathered', 'the kettle sang'). Alliteration is the repetition of the same beginning consonant sound in nearby words ('the silent, slithering snake'). Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it names (buzz, hiss, crackle, splash). Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect ('my bag weighs a tonne'). Imagery is sensory language that builds a picture appealing to sight, sound, smell, touch or taste. Rhyme is the matching of end sounds, and the pattern across lines is the rhyme scheme (aabb, abab). On top of the device, CTET often asks for the central theme or the mood of the short poem — so read the lines for what they are really about and how they make you feel, just as in prose. Remember the one fault line examiners exploit: simile uses like/as, metaphor does not.

✅ Solved examples

1. Line: 'The moon is a silver coin tossed in the sky.' This figure of speech is a:
Metaphor — the moon is called a silver coin directly, without 'like' or 'as'. Had it said 'like a silver coin', it would be a simile.
2. Line: 'The friendly waves ran up to greet the children's feet.' The device used is:
Personification — the waves are given the human action of running up and greeting.
3. Line: 'The buzzing bees and the bubbling brook broke the silence.' Besides onomatopoeia (buzzing, bubbling), the repeated 'b' sound at the start of the words is an example of:
Alliteration — repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words.
4. Line: 'I have waited a thousand years for this single reply.' The figure of speech is:
Hyperbole — deliberate exaggeration ('a thousand years') used for emphasis, not meant literally.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Line: 'Her voice was as sweet as honey.' The figure of speech is:
Look for like or as.
A comparison using as.
Simile
2. Line: 'The old gate groaned as the wind pushed it open.' This device is:
A gate cannot really groan.
Human quality given to an object.
Personification
3. The word 'splash' in 'the stone fell with a splash' is an example of:
The word sounds like the noise.
Onomatopoeia
4. Sensory language that helps you see, hear or smell the scene in a poem is called:
Paints a mental picture.
Appeals to the senses.
Imagery
5. Line: 'Time is a thief that steals our days.' This is a:
No like or as.
Time IS called a thief.
Metaphor

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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