Literary devices

Question 1

First person narrator

Answer 1

A narrator who is also a character in the story

Question 2

Unreliable narrator

Answer 2

A narrator who’s story seems suspicious

Question 3

Reliable character

Answer 3

A character who’s story does not seem suspicious

Question 4

Third person narrator

Answer 4

A narrator who is not a character in the story

Question 5

Omniscient narrator

Answer 5

An all-knowing narrator who knows what the characters are thinking

Question 6

Tone (remember ___ and ___)

Answer 6

The speakers attitude toward the subject matter and audience (dénotations and connotations)

Question 7

Denotation

Answer 7

The explicit definition of a word

Question 8

Connotation

Answer 8

The implied meaning of a word

Question 9

Setting

Answer 9

The time and place in which the events of a story occur

Question 10

Mood

Answer 10

The overall feeling that a story conveys (can be established by the setting and emotions of characters)

Question 11

Protagonist

Answer 11

The main character in a story

Question 12

Antagonist

Answer 12

A character who gets in the way of the protagonist

Question 13

Dynamic character

Answer 13

A character who’s attitude changes during the course of a story

Question 14

Static character

Answer 14

A character who’s attitude does not change during the course of a story

Question 15

Foil character

Answer 15

A character whose life resembles that of another character in the story

Question 16

Characterization (through the characters ___ ___ and ___

Answer 16

Ways the author conveys the personality of the character to the reader (actions, attitude and appearance)

Question 17

Conflict

Answer 17

A problem that the character is dealing with

Question 18

External conflict

Answer 18

A struggle between a character and an outside force (person, nature, society, machine)

Question 19

Internal conflict

Answer 19

A struggle within a character

Question 20

Plot

Answer 20

The events of a story

Question 21

Exposition

Answer 21

Where the characters and setting are presented

Question 22

Inviting event

Answer 22

The main conflict is introduced

Question 23

Rising action

Answer 23

Where the story intensifies as the protagonist struggles with his/her problem

Question 24

Climax

Answer 24

The turning point in the story; the most emotionally intense moment in the story for the protagonist

Question 25

Falling action

Answer 25

The story becomes less intense

Question 26

Dénouement

Answer 26

The outcome of the conflict is revealed

Question 27

Topic

Answer 27

An issue or concept that a story deals with

Question 28

Theme

Answer 28

The main message of a story; what a story says about the topic it addresses

Question 29

Allusion

Answer 29

A reference to something for someone outside of the work of literature. (With ideas familiar to the reader)

Question 30

Foreshadowing

Answer 30

Elements in a story that prepare the audience, for what will happen later in the story. It is used mainly to make the events seem believable and expected.

Question 31

Imagery

Answer 31

The use of images, which, in literature, are descriptions that appeal to one of the five senses.

Question 32

Symbol

Answer 32

A concrete object that represents an abstract quality that it possesses, or that it is associated with. A symbol makes an abstract idea easier to conceptualize.

Question 33

Motif

Answer 33

A pattern of repeated images. It is usually used to symbolize important ideas in a story.

Question 34

Irony

Answer 34

A darkly, humourous contrast between what is expected to be the case in a situation, and what is actually the case in that situation.

Question 35

Pathos

Answer 35

A situation in a story that is designed to make the reader feel sympathy for a character. In literature, a pathetic character is one whom the reader sympathizes with.

Question 36

Pathetic fallacy

Answer 36

When nature is in sympathy with the human world; when nature reflects what is happening in the human world

Question 37

Paradox

Answer 37

A statement that appears to be contradictory, but that actually makes sense on a deeper level.

Question 38

Oxymoron

Answer 38

A paradox in which two opposites are linked together. Often, oxymorons for used in love poems to express overwhelming emotions.