Final Exam flash cards

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

the repetition of the same consonant sounds or different vowel sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables. For example, “seven silver swans swam” or “even Alice’s otter ate the ice cream.” Words trip off the tongue with similar sounds.

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

an indirect reference to another famous person, literary work, or even place.

Question 4

Antagonist

Answer 4

principle character in opposition to the protagonist. Sometimes
not a person but an obstacle such as a force of nature, society or inner conflict.

Question 5

Anti-hero

Answer 5

where the protagonist is flawed or dominated by negative traits or
questionable behavior, he or she is called an “anti-hero.” (Ex. Batman, a.k.a. Bruce
Wayne fights crime in large part because of his own troubled childhood. He does this
on his own terms rather than through the legal system.)

Question 6

Autobiography

Answer 6

a true story of a person’s life, written by the person.

Question 7

Biography

Answer 7

the true account of a person’s life, written by someone other than that person.

Question 8

Characterization

Answer 8

the method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character in a literary work. Methods may include what the character says about himself/herself, what others reveal about the character and the character’s own actions.

Question 9

Climax

Answer 9

the turning point, the moment when the readers’ interest and emotional intensity reach the highest point

Question 10

Comedy

Answer 10

professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh.

Question 11

Comic Relief

Answer 11

humorous scene, incident or speech that is included in a drama to provide a change from the emotional intensity.

Question 12

Conflict (Freytag)

Answer 12

in the plot of a story, conflict occurs when some person or force opposes the protagonist

Question 13

Conflict (six forms)

Answer 13

There are six different forms of conflict in literature:
i. Man vs. Self
ii. Man vs. Man
iii. Man vs. Society
iv. Man vs. Nature
v. Man vs. Supernatural
vi. Man vs. Machine/Technology)

Question 14

Denouement

Answer 14

the final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot, sometimes called resolution or falling action.

Question 15

Dialogue

Answer 15

conversation between two or more characters in either fiction or non-fiction.

Question 16

Diction

Answer 16

an author’s choice of words. Since words have specific meanings, and since one’s choice of words can affect feelings, a writer’s choice of words can have a great impact on a literary work. The writer, therefore, must choose his words carefully.

Question 17

Dramatic Irony

Answer 17

the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Question 18

Euphemism

Answer 18

a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive. “She is very social,” can be considered a euphemism for “She talks too much.”

Question 19

Exposition

Answer 19

the early part of a story that normally sets the tone, establishes the setting, introduces characters, and gives important background information.

Question 20

External Conflict

Answer 20

the character is pitted against an outside force, such as nature, obstacle,
or another character.

Question 21

Falling Action

Answer 21

in a plot structure this occurs after the climax. Sometimes also called a resolution or denouement, this ties up the loose ends of a story.

Question 22

Fiction/Non-fiction

Answer 22

works of prose that have imaginary elements. Sometimes based on true events but primarily from the author’s imagination, including plot, characters, setting and theme./any writing based entirely on facts, real and true events.

Question 23

Flashback

Answer 23

this is a writer’s technique in which the author interrupts the plot of the story to recreate an incident of an earlier time (goes back in time; giving the reader a memory). This device is often used to provide additional information to the reader.

Question 24

Foreshadowing

Answer 24

this is a writer’s technique in which the author provides clues or hints as to what is going to happen later in the story. It’s like the music in a scary movie alerting us that something bad is about to happen.

Question 25

Freytag Pyramid

Answer 25

Under Freytag’s pyramid, the plot of a story consists of five parts: exposition (includes setting, introduction of protagonist/antagonist/anti-hero), rising action (story goes into rise at conflict), climax, falling action/dénouement, resolution

Question 26

Genre

Answer 26

a literary type or form (such as drama, comedy, science fiction, fables, etc.

Question 27

Hyperbole

Answer 27

a figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs. An example, “I’ve told you a million times…”

Question 28

Imagery

Answer 28

a word or group of words in a literary work that appeals to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell. The use of images serves to intensify the impact of the work Words or phrases appealing to any sense or any combination of senses.

Question 29

Internal Conflict

Answer 29

a conflict within the character.

Question 30

Irony

Answer 30

a special kind of contrast between appearance and reality–usually one in which reality is the opposite of what one expects.

Question 31

Litotes

Answer 31

A figure of speech which sounds negative but is positive

Question 32

Metaphor

Answer 32

a comparison made by calling one item another item
For example, “the evening of life” or “sunshine of our love”.

Question 33

Mood

Answer 33

the atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions. A work may contain a mood of horror, mystery, holiness, or childlike simplicity, to name a few, depending on the author’s treatment of the work. (Not to be confused with Tone.)

Question 34

Narrator/point of view

Answer 34

the character or voice from whose point of view events are told. (see point of view)/the author’s point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker or “teller” of the story or poem.

Question 35

Onomatopoeia

Answer 35

a literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents. The words “splash,” “knock,” and “roar” are examples.

Question 36

Oxymoron

Answer 36

a combination of contradictory terms. Interestingly, from Greek oxumōron, from oxus sharp + mōros stupid. An example from Romeo in Act 1, scene 1 of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”:

Question 37

Personification

Answer 37

a figure of speech that endows ideas, or inanimate objects with human traits or abilities. To think of or represent an inanimate object as a person. For example, “The rocks will cry out his name” or “the planets danced in their orbits.”

Question 38

Plot

Answer 38

The structure or series of events in a story. The plot tells us what happens.

Question 39

Protagonist

Answer 39

the central character or hero in a narrative or drama, usually,
the one with whom the audience identifies

Question 40

Pun

Answer 40

a play on words when a word is used to convey two meanings at the same time. The line below, spoken by Mercutio in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” is an example of a pun. Mercutio has just been stabbed, knows he is dying and says:

Question 41

Repetition

Answer 41

the repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas

Question 42

Resolution

Answer 42

conclusion of a story that wraps any loose ends. Does not exist in a cliffhanger.

Question 43

Rising Action

Answer 43

the events in a story that moves the plot along by adding complications or expanding the conflict. Follows exposition. Builds suspense to the climax or turning point.

Question 44

Setting

Answer 44

the time and place in which a story unfolds. The setting in Act 1, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” for example, is on a Sunday in a public square in Verona, Italy. A drama may contain a single setting, or the setting may change from scene to scene.

Question 45

Simile

Answer 45

a comparison using “like” or “as”. For example, “As snug as a bug in a rug.”

Question 46

Stanza

Answer 46

a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.

Question 47

Style

Answer 47

a particular way in which a piece of literature is written. Style is not what is written but how it is written. Style can be formal, conversational (informal), journalistic, wordy, ornate, poetic or dynamic. The style of the Declaration of Independence can be described as elegant.

Question 48

Symbol

Answer 48

a character, an action, a setting, or an object representing something else can be a symbol. For example, a dove is usually a symbol of peace.

Question 49

Theme

Answer 49

an ingredient of a literary work, which gives the work unity. The theme provides an answer to the question “What is the work really about?”. Unlike plot, which deals with the action of a work, theme concerns itself with a work’s message.

Question 50

Tone

Answer 50

this expresses the author’s attitude or feeling toward his/her subject.

Question 51

Tragedy

Answer 51

a dramatic work that presents a downfall of a character. Events in a tragic plot are set in motion by a decision that is often an error in judgment and eventually leads to a disastrous conclusion, usually death.

Question 52

Zoomorphism

Answer 52

is the device of giving animal-like qualities to anything that is not that animal such as humans, gods, and inanimate objects. Zoomorphism can also include giving the features of one animal to another, such as if a dog were to say “meow” in a cartoon or work of literature. Some other examples include Batman, Spiderman, and Catwoman. Another example: “She was barking up the wrong tree by questioning him.”

Question 53

Enjambment

Answer 53

this occurs when a phrase carries over a line-break without a major pause. In French, the word means “straddling” which means to sit or stand with one leg on either side of something. So, when you read an enjambed line, you must continue on to the next without stopping in order to understand the meaning. Enjambment is essential to understanding (READ TO THE PUNCTUATION) Shakespeare and poetry.