What makes a riddle

It is a folklore genre as well as rhetorical device, often having veiled or double meanings. When someone uses it as a puzzle or a question, it could be a thought-provoking challenge for the audience to figure it out themselves, or it could be a funny comment intended to make the audience laugh. Some riddles show the wit of protagonists in a narrative , allowing them to escape a terrible situation by using their wit rather than their strength. Often times, puzzling riddles tell us that we cannot answer some questions, leading to hours of perturbed head scratching.

However, they open our minds to a number of possibilities. In this play, he alludes to the riddle of the Sphinx. Define riddle: In summation, riddles provide the audience with a challenging question or statement that requires critical thinking in order to be solved.

Contents 1 What is a Riddle? Victoria and Albert Museum The world's leading museum of art and design. Riddle form Riddles have no set form. Characteristics of the riddle A riddle is, of course, a verbal puzzle: an enigmatic statement, description or question posed by one person to another, or to a group, who have to guess the answer. The answers can be found at the bottom of the page: 1 I am within as white as snow, without as green as herbs that grow; I am higher than a house, and yet am lesser than a mouse.

History of the riddle The riddle is one of the most ancient of poetic forms. Here is one of the Anglo-Saxon riddles in translation: 5 Often I must war with the waves, fight with the wind — strive with both at the same time — when I depart to seek the earth beneath the waters; to me my home is an alien place. The Exeter Book Riddles, no. Gillian Spraggs This translation attempts to give some of the flavour of the elaborate patterns of alliteration found in the original and in Anglo-Saxon verse in general.

Advice on writing riddles Many riddles have the names of objects for their answers. Answers to riddles 1: Walnut on a tree 2: Needle and thread 3: Bell in a steeple 4: Shotgun 5: Anchor. Buy or Renew Membership Online. List of Terms Action. Ad Hominem. Alter Ego. APA Citation. Comic Relief.

Deus ex machina. Double Entendre. Dramatic irony. Extended Metaphor. Fairy Tale. Figures of Speech. Literary Device. Pathetic Fallacy.