Literary Techniques

Question 1

Allusion

Answer 1

And implicit reference with in a literary work to a historical or literary person, place, or event; adding symbolic weight by making subtle or implicit connections with other works

Question 2

Bathos

Answer 2

A sudden or unexpected drop from the lofty to the trivial or excessively sentimental

Question 3

Caricature

Answer 3

Description or characterization that exaggerates or distorts a characters prominent features, usually to elicit mockery

Question 4

Deus Ex Machina

Answer 4

( Greek ) A sudden or improbable plot twist that brings about the plots resolution

Question 5

Epiphany

Answer 5

A sudden, powerful, and often spiritual or life-changing realization that a character reaches in an otherwise ordinary or every day moment

Question 6

Foreshadowing

Answer 6

Deliberate use of hints or suggestions to give a preview of events or things that do not develop until later in the narrative

Question 7

In Media Res

Answer 7

(Latin) ‘ In the middle of things’; refers to the technique of starting a narrative in the middle of the action

Question 8

Interior monologue

Answer 8

A record of the characters thoughts, unmediated by a narrator

Question 9

Irony

Answer 9

A wide ranging technique of detachment that draws awareness to the discrepancy between words and their meanings, between expectation and fulfillment, or, most generally, between what is and what seems to be

Question 10

Verbal irony

Answer 10

Using a statement that, by its context, implies the opposite

Question 11

Situational irony

Answer 11

A technique in which one understanding of her situation stands in sharp contrast to another, usually more prevalent, understanding of the same situation

Question 12

Romantic irony

Answer 12

And authors persistent reminding of his or her presence in the work, in order to force the reader or audience to maintain critical detachment, rather than excepting the work at face value

Question 13

Dramatic irony

Answer 13

A technique in which the author lets the audience read more fully to understand the characters situation which, to the character himself, remains unknowing

Question 14

Cosmic irony

Answer 14

The perception of fate or the universe as a malicious or indifferent to human suffering, creating a painful contrast between purposeful activity and ultimate meaninglessness

Question 15

Pathos

Answer 15

The quality in a work of literature that evokes high emotion, most commonly sorrow, pity, or compassion

Question 16

Poetic diction

Answer 16

The use of specific types of words, phrases, or literary structures that are not common in contemporary speech or prose

Question 17

Poetic license

Answer 17

The liberty the author sometimes take with ordinary rules of syntax and grammar, employing unusual vocabulary, metrical devices, or figures of speech or by committing factual errors in order to strengthen a text

Question 18

Wit

Answer 18

A form of wordplay that displays cleverness or ingenuity with language

Question 19

Archetype

Answer 19

A theme, motif, symbol, or stock character the whole day familiar and fix place in a cultures consciousness

Question 20

Imagery

Answer 20

Language that brings to mind sense-impression; language that appeals to the five senses

Question 21

Motif

Answer 21

A recurring structure, contrast, or other device that deploys or informs a works major themes

Question 22

Symbol

Answer 22

An object, character, figure, or color that is used to represent an abstract idea or concept

Question 23

Theme

Answer 23

A fundamental and universal idea explored in a literary work

Question 24

Thesis

Answer 24

The central argument that an author makes in a work

Question 25

Tone

Answer 25

The general atmosphere created any story, or the narrators attitude towards the story or reader