Name __________________________________ Date ______________________________

Literary Devices

Simile – a comparison made by using the words like or as.

Example: He was as quick as lightning when he won the race for the team.

Metaphor – a direct comparison or suggestion of similarity that does not use the terms like
or as.
Example: My dad is a rock – he always stands his ground when I ask for more money.

Personification – assigning human characteristics such as feelings or actions to a non-

human or inanimate object.
Example: The heartbreaking song really speaks to me; it makes me want to cry.

A. For each of the following examples, identify whether the sentence demonstrates an
example of simile, metaphor, personification or none of these using the choices below.

A. simile B. metaphor C. personification D. none of these

1. _______ I wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy.

2. _______ What I’ve felt, what I’ve known. Never shined through in what I’ve shown.

3. _______ You were Romeo and you were throwing pebbles and my daddy said stay away
from Juliet.

4. _______ And the shadow of the day will embrace the world in gray.

5. _______ Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead. Yesterday is a promise that you’ve

broken.

6. _______ My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me.

7. _______ I’m like a ringleader, I call the shots. I’m like a firecracker, I make it hot – when
I put on a show.

8. _______ I am not your carpet ride. I am the sky.

9. _______ How could you be so cold as the winter wind when it breeze yo?

10. _______ There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, and my spirit is crying for leaving.

11. _______ Everyone likes to dance to a happy song with a catchy chorus and a beat so they
can sing along.

12. _______ This love is killing me, but you're the only one.
 Literary Devices

B. Rewrite each of these sentences to include simile, metaphor or personification, based on

what is in parentheses.
Example: It’s hot outside today! (metaphor)
It’s a sauna out there today!

13. Today was such a long day. (simile)

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14. My best friend Jessica is really smart. (metaphor)

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15. The wind is blowing really hard. (personification)

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16. The tornado destroyed many homes during the storm. (personification)

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17. Katrina is always so quiet in class. (metaphor)

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18. Marcus ate a lot of pizza at dinner last night. (simile)

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19. Michael’s dog Skippy barks all night long. (personification)

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