Lit Terms 1

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

the occurence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
ex: Sally Sells Seashells by the Sea Shore

Question 2

Allusion

Answer 2

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.
ex: “I was surprised his nose was not growing like pinnochio’s”

Question 3

Allegory

Answer 3

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
ex: The tortoise and the hare, (slow and steady wins the race)

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
ex: sword is to a warrior as pen is to a writer

Question 5

Antagonist

Answer 5

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
ex: Parents in romeo and juliet

Question 6

Antithesis

Answer 6

a contrast or opposition between two things.

ex: love is an ideal thing, marriage is a real thing

Question 7

Aphorism

Answer 7

a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, ex:“if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Question 8

Apostrophe

Answer 8

a punctuation mark ( ’ ) used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers
ex: can’t

Question 9

Aside

Answer 9

a remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.
ex: the cruciable “he have his goodness now. god forbid I take it from him”

Question 10

Assonance

Answer 10

in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible
ex: the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains.

Question 11

Autobiography

Answer 11

an account of a person’s life written by that person.

ex: autobiography of MLK

Question 12

Ballad

Answer 12

a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture.
ex: free fallin by tom petty

Question 13

Biography

Answer 13

an account of someone’s life written by someone else.

Question 14

Blank Verse

Answer 14

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.
ex: mending walls by robert frost

Question 15

Caesura

Answer 15

(in Greek and Latin verse) a break between words within a metrical foot.
(in modern verse) a pause near the middle of a line.
any interruption or break.
ex: Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down.” I could say “Elves” to him,
But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed

Question 16

Canto

Answer 16

one of the sections into which certain long poems are divided.
ex: the cantos by ezra pound

Question 17

Carpe Diem

Answer 17

used to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future.
ex: faith by alan weird

Question 18

Character

Answer 18

a person in a novel, play, or movie.

ex: jack from lost

Question 19

Classicism

Answer 19

he following of traditional and long-established theories or styles.
ex: the golden age

Question 20

cliche

Answer 20

a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
ex: frightened to death

Question 21

climax

Answer 21

the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.
ex: when in LoF Simon is killed

Question 22

comedy

Answer 22

literary genre and a type of dramatic work that is amusing and satirical in its tone, mostly having cheerful ending
ex: step brothers

Question 23

conceit

Answer 23

is a kind of metaphor that compares two very unlike things in a surprising and clever way
ex: love is like an oil change

Question 24

conflict

Answer 24

literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces usually a protagonist and an antagonist.
ex: piggy vs group in LoF

Question 25

connotation

Answer 25

refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly
ex: home suggest comfort, family and security

Question 26

consonance

Answer 26

agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions

ex: the ship has sailed to the far off shores

Question 27

couplet

Answer 27

two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit
ex: One Happy Moment John Cryden

Question 28

denotation

Answer 28

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.
ex: Robert Frost, mending wall

Question 29

Deus Ex Machina

Answer 29

an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.
ex: The parachute person at the end of LoF

Question 30

dialect

Answer 30

a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group
ex: Southern accents

Question 31

Dialogue

Answer 31

conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie.
ex: any dialogue ever

Question 32

Diary

Answer 32

a book in which one keeps a daily record of events and experiences.
ex: diary of anne frank

Question 33

Diction

Answer 33

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
ex: any speech

Question 34

Dissonance

Answer 34

the use of harsh-sounding, unusual, or impolite words in poetry to create a disturbing effect or to catch the reader’s attention by interrupting a smooth flow of words.
ex: wind by ted hughes

Question 35

dramatic monologue

Answer 35

a poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.
ex: Romeo and Juliet

Question 36

elegy

Answer 36

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
ex: O captain my captain, by walt whitman

Question 37

epic

Answer 37

A long narrative poem written in elevated style, in which heroes of great historical or legendary importance perform valorous deeds
ex: Odysseus

Question 38

epigram

Answer 38

a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.
ex: Hero and Leander by John Donne

Question 39

Epiphany

Answer 39

Epiphany is the point in a work of literature where a character has a sudden insight or realization that changes his or her understanding.
ex: Hamlet by shakespear

Question 40

epitaph

Answer 40

a phrase or statement written in memory of a person who has died, especially as an inscription on a tombstone.
ex: any tombstone ever

Question 41

epithet

Answer 41

the literary term for the application of a word or phrase to someone that describes that person’s attributes or qualities
ex: Ulysses by James Joyce

Question 42

Fable

Answer 42

a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.
ex: tortise and the hare

Question 43

Farce

Answer 43

a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.
ex: The comedy of errors, by shakespear

Question 44

Figurative language

Answer 44

uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation
ex: metaphors

Question 45

figure of speech

Answer 45

a word or phrase used in a nonliteral sense to add rhetorical force to a spoken or written passage.
ex: sally sells seashells

Question 46

flashback

Answer 46

a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story.
ex: a memory

Question 47

foil

Answer 47

prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding.
ex: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Question 48

foreshadowing

Answer 48

be a warning or indication of (a future event).

ex: LoF

Question 49

frame story

Answer 49

is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story
ex: ray bradbury novels

Question 50

free verse

Answer 50

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.

ex: the garden by ezra pound