Lit Terms 3

Question 1

Gothic

Answer 1

Relating to the goths or their extinct East Germanic language
ex: edgar allen poe

Question 2

Hyperbole

Answer 2

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
ex: it was so cold polar bears were wearing jackets

Question 3

Iambic Pentameter

Answer 3

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, example Two households, both alike in dignity

Question 4

Imagery

Answer 4

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.
ex: writers use of smell sight taste touch

Question 5

In Media Res

Answer 5

into the middle of a narrative; without preamble.

ex: “having begun his story in medias res, he then interrupts it”

Question 6

Irony

Answer 6

the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
ex: ““Don’t go overboard with the gratitude,” he rejoined with heavy irony”

Question 7

Journal

Answer 7

a daily record of news and events of a personal nature; a diary.
ex: diary

Question 8

Kenning

Answer 8

a compound expression in Old English and Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meaning
Ex: oar-steed = ship

Question 9

Metaphor

Answer 9

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
““I had fallen through a trapdoor of depression,”

Question 10

Metaphysical Poetry

Answer 10

highly intellectualized poetry marked by bold and ingenious conceits, incongruous imagery, complexity and subtlety of thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate harshness or rigidity of expression.
ex: Hanry Vaughans “The World”

Question 11

Meter

Answer 11

is a unit of rhythm in poetry, the pattern of the beats.

ex: any poem

Question 12

Metonymy

Answer 12

type of metaphor in which an object is used to describe something that’s closely related to it.
ex: use “the crown” instead of “the king”

Question 13

Motif

Answer 13

is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story.
Ex: Holdens hat

Question 14

Motivation

Answer 14

s defined as a reason behind a character’s specific action or behavior.
Ex: intrinsic

Question 15

Myth

Answer 15

a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
ex: Loch Ness Monster

Question 16

Narrator

Answer 16

a person who narrates something, especially a character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem.
ex: Holden

Question 17

Neoclassicism

Answer 17

the revival of a classical style or treatment in art, literature, architecture, or music.
ex: enlightenment period

Question 18

Novel

Answer 18

a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.
ex: catcher in the rye

Question 19

Octave

Answer 19

An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter (in English) or of hendecasyllables (in Italian)
Ex: Chaucer’s poetry

Question 20

Ode

Answer 20

literary technique that is lyrical in nature, but not very lengthy. Sonnet or Elegy
ex:“Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” by William Wordsworth.

Question 21

Onomatopeia

Answer 21

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named
ex: (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle).

Question 22

Oxymoron

Answer 22

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction
ex: faith unfaithful kept him falsely true

Question 23

Parable

Answer 23

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.
Ex: Jesus in the Gospels

Question 24

Paradox

Answer 24

a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
ex: Jumbo Shrimp

Question 25

Parody

Answer 25

Parody is an imitation of a particular writer, artist or a genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect.
ex: SNL