D List Literary Devices

Question 1

a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones (i.e., fluttering, blueberry)

Answer 1

dactyl

Question 2

two things split apart

Answer 2

dichotomy

Question 3

a meter in which a majority of the feet are dactyls

Answer 3

dactylic meter

Question 4

the dictionary meaning of a word

Answer 4

denotation

Question 5

“untying the knot;” in plot, conflict has been resolved and balance is restored in the world of the story

Answer 5

denouement

Question 6

“machine of the gods;” the supernatural intervention by the gods or god to resolve entanglements of a play or a predicament of the protagonist

Answer 6

deus ex machina

Question 7

dialogue or narration written to simulate regional or cultural speech patterns

Answer 7

dialect

Question 8

the conversation of characters in a literary work

Answer 8

dialogue

Question 9

the selection of words in a literary work; forms one of its centrally important literary elements, as writers use words to convey action, reveal character, imply attitudes, identify themes, and suggest values

Answer 9

diction

Question 10

poetry having as a primary purpose to teach or preach

Answer 10

didactic poetry

Question 11

a situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable

Answer 11

dilemma

Question 12

a metrical line containing two feet

Answer 12

dimeter

Question 13

the method of characterization in which the author by exposition or analysis, tells us directly what a character is like, or has someone else in the story do so (narrator tells)

Answer 13

direct presentation of character

Question 14

any dramatic device which, though it departs from reality, is implicitly accepted by author and audience as a means of representing reality

Answer 14

dramatic convention

Question 15

the presentation through dialogue of info about events that occurred before the action of a play, or that occur offstage or between the staged actions; this may also refer to the presentation of info about individual characters’ backgrounds or the general situation *historical, political, etc.) in which the action takes place

Answer 15

dramatic exposition

Question 16

the situation, whether actual or fictional, realistic or fanciful, in which an author places his or her characters in order to express the theme

Answer 16

dramatic framework

Question 17

tension created by the contrast between what a character says or thinks and what the audience or readers know to be true; as a result of this technique, some words or actions in a story or play take on a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters

Answer 17

dramatic irony

Question 18

a type of poem in which a speaker addresses a silent listener; as readers, we overhear the speaker

Answer 18

dramatic monologue

Question 19

Latin for a list of the characters or persons in a play

Answer 19

dramatis personae

Question 20

the presentation of character or of emotion through the speech or action of characters rather than through exposition, analysis, or description by the author

Answer 20

dramatization

Question 21

a meter in which a majority of the feet contain two syllables; iambic and trochaic are both examples

Answer 21

duple meter

Question 22

a character who, during the course of story, undergoes a permanent change in some distinguishing moral qualities, personal traits, or outlook

Answer 22

dynamic character

Question 23

a type of drama, allied to comedy, radically nonrealistic in both content and presentation, that emphasizes the absurdity, emptiness, or meaninglessness of life

Answer 23

drama of the absurd