Chiasmus, zeugma, metonymy and other named devices

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   “Ship, carry our cargo, carry our crews, carry our good name across the sea.” Ari finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

   • Anaphora alone: the repeated “carry our” is the sentence's one device.
   • Apostrophe and chiasmus: the speaker addresses the ship and reverses the words.
   • Apostrophe and anaphora: the speaker addresses the ship and repeats “carry our.”
   • Personification and epistrophe: the ship is given a human job, and the clauses end alike.
2. 2.

   Asking good questions and finding answers kept feeding each other all year. Luz is revising this plain sentence into a chiasmus without changing its meaning. Which revision does it?

   • Our questions led us to answers, and our answers led us to more discoveries.
   • We asked, we answered, we asked again, throughout the year.
   • Our questions led us to answers, and our answers led us to new questions.
   • Our answers ended our questions, and our questions ended our answers.

3. Read this first

   Use this

   An invented principal wants a closing line that listeners will repeat on the way home. Version A: “We built this school, and this school built us.” Version B: “This school, which we built together, has helped every one of us grow.”

4. 3.

   Tala must recommend one version for the principal's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

   • Version A, because its anaphora repeats the opening word of each half.
   • Version A, because it uses more of the same words, which makes it longer and more formal in tone.
   • Version A, because its chiasmus packs the idea into a short reversal that is easy to repeat.
   • Version B, because its which-clause explains exactly who built the school.
5. 4.

   “The heat wave took the garden's color, the dog's energy, our patience.” Jun finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

   • Asyndeton alone: the list of three objects runs on with no “and.”
   • Zeugma and asyndeton: “took” serves three objects in shifting senses, with no “and.”
   • Zeugma and anaphora: “took” serves three objects, and each clause begins alike.
   • Metonymy and polysyndeton: “color” stands for flowers, and the conjunctions repeat in each phrase.
6. 5.

   The hikers caught the early bus. They also caught a glimpse of a moose. Pia is combining these sentences into one zeugma without changing their meaning. Which revision does it?

   • The hikers caught the early bus and caught the late bus home.
   • The bus, the trail, the moose: what a morning for the hikers.
   • The hikers missed the early bus and a glimpse of a moose.
   • The hikers caught the early bus and a glimpse of a moose.

7. Use this

   An invented writer wants a sentence that makes a school morning feel hurried. Version A: “We woke, dressed, ate, ran.” Version B: “We woke and dressed and ate and ran.”

8. 6.

   Bo must recommend one version for the writer's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

   • Version A, because it uses fewer letters, which suits a newspaper's small columns.
   • Version B, because repeating “and” piles up the chores so the morning feels long.
   • Version A, because its zeugma makes one verb serve each of the actions.
   • Version A, because dropping “and” speeds the list, so the morning feels hurried.
9. 7.

   “Should we fear what we do not understand, or understand what we fear?” Milo finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

   • Chiasmus and apostrophe: the words cross, and the speaker addresses fear directly.
   • Chiasmus and rhetorical question: “fear … understand” crosses to “understand … fear,” asked to make listeners think.
   • Rhetorical question alone: the speaker asks without expecting an answer.
   • Antithesis and irony: fear and understanding are opposites, and the speaker means the reverse.

10. Use this

    An invented speaker wants a warm farewell to an old bridge that is being replaced. Version A: “Old bridge, you carried us over the river for ninety years.” Version B: “For ninety years, the town crossed the river on these planks.”

11. 8.

    Kira must recommend one version for the speaker's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

    • Version B, because “these planks” makes listeners picture the bridge's wood.
    • Version A, because its chiasmus turns the bridge and the town around.
    • Version A, because speaking to the bridge directly makes the farewell feel personal.
    • Version A, because it gives the bridge's age, ninety years.
12. 9.

    “The town sent hammers and saws and willing hands to rebuild the pier.” Ren finds two devices in this sentence. Which pair of labels fits it?

    • Synecdoche and polysyndeton: “willing hands” stands for workers, and “and” repeats between items.
    • Synecdoche and anaphora: “willing hands” stands for workers, and the clauses begin alike.
    • Metonymy and asyndeton: “hammers” stands for builders, and the conjunctions are left out.
    • Polysyndeton alone: the repeated “and” is the sentence's one device.

13. Use this

    An invented critic wants a witty line about a pianist who charmed a crowd. Version A: “The pianist played the sonata and the audience.” Version B: “The pianist played the sonata, and the audience loved it.”

14. 10.

    Noah must recommend one version for the critic's purpose. Which choice and reason are right?

    • Version A, because its metonymy lets “the audience” stand for the critics.
    • Version B, because its plain report tells readers exactly how the audience felt in a few short words.
    • Version A, because “played” serves two objects in two senses, which gives the line its wit.
    • Version A, because it is shorter than Version B by a few words.