Lit Terms (Up To Essay)

Question 1

Denotation

Answer 1

The dictionary or literal meaning of a word.

Question 2

Denouement

Answer 2

The outcome or clarification at the end of a story; the winding down from climax to ending.

Question 3

Deus Ex Machina

Answer 3

Literally, when the gods intervene at a story’s end to resolve a seemingly impossible conflict. Refers to an unlikely or improbable coincidence; a cop-out ending.

Question 4

Diction

Answer 4

The deliberate choice of a style of language for a desired effect or tone. Words chosen to achieve a particular effect that is formal, informal, or colloquial.

Question 5

Didactic

Answer 5

A didactic, story, speech, essay, or play is one in which the author’s primary purpose is to in instruct, teach, or moralize.

Question 6

Distortion

Answer 6

An exaggeration or stretching of the truth to achieve a desired effect.

Question 7

Enjambment

Answer 7

In poetry, the running over of a sentence from one verse or stanza into the next without stopping at the end of the first.

Question 8

Epigram

Answer 8

A short, clever poem with a witty turn of thought.

Question 9

Epigraph

Answer 9

A brief quotation found at the beginning of a literary work, reflective of theme.

Question 10

Epiphany

Answer 10

Eureka! A sudden flash of insight. A starling discovery and/or appearance; a dramatic realization.

Question 11

Epistolary Novel

Answer 11

A novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters. The novelist can use this technique to present varying first-person points of view and does not need a narrator.

Question 12

Essay

Answer 12

A short composition on a single topic expressing the view or interpretation of the writer on that topic. The word comes from the French essayer (“to attempt,” “to try”). It is one of the oldest prose forms.

Question 13

Dactyl

Answer 13

Foot of poetry with three syllables, one stressed and two short or unstressed. Think of the waltz rhythm.