Glossary Of Literary Terms

Question 0

Resolution

Answer 0

The end

Question 1

Plot

Answer 1

What happens in the story

Question 2

Denouement

Answer 2

The way that everything ties up in the end of the story

Question 3

Catharsis

Answer 3

When there is some kind of strong emotional release at the end of the story

Question 4

Conventions or tropes

Answer 4

Things that come back again and again that signal that it is this genre

Question 5

Motifs

Answer 5

Elements of a text that come back again and again - a motif is a recurring word, phrase, image, object, idea, or action in a work of literature. Motifs function as unifying devices and often relate directly to one or more major themes.

Question 6

Theme

Answer 6

The point of the story - an underlying message that a writer wants the reader to understand. It is a perception about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader.

Question 7

Metaphor

Answer 7

When you use one thing to refer to another thing

Question 8

Allegory

Answer 8

An extended symbol or metaphor - a work with 2 levels of meaning, a literal one and a symbolic one. In such a work, most of the characters, objects, settings, and events represent abstract qualities. Personification is often used in traditional allegories.

Question 9

Allusions

Answer 9

When an author directly or indirectly refers to something outside of the text - an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work with which the author believes the reader will be familiar.

Question 10

Archetypes

Answer 10

Classic literary figures (like a character, place or theme) that tend to repeat across generations and cultures - is a pattern in literature that is found in a variety of works from different cultures throughout the ages. It can be a plot, a character, an image, or a setting.