Literary Terms

Question 1

Accentual verse

Answer 1

Lines have a fixed number of stresses regardless of the number of syllables.

Question 2

Accentual-syllabic verse

Answer 2

Lines have a fixed number of stresses and syllables.

Question 3

Accumulative figures of speech

Answer 3

Figures used to create a list where ideas are summarized (epizeuxis, anaphora, epiphora, symploce, etc.).

Question 4

Alliteration

Answer 4

Repetition of initial consonant sounds. “I bought a bag of big bell peppers.”

Question 5

Allusion

Answer 5

A short reference to a famous person or event

Question 6

Amphibrach

Answer 6

Metric foot. Unstressed-stressed-unstressed.

Question 7

Anadiplosis

Answer 7

Last word of the sentence repeated as the first word in the next sentence.

Question 8

Anapaest

Answer 8

Metric foot. Unstressed-unstressed-stressed.

Question 9

Anaphora

Answer 9

Word/phrase repeated at the beginning of successive sentences.

Question 10

Anti-climax

Answer 10

Figure of speech, opposite of climax. Events or sentences start decreasing in importance.

Question 11

Antithesis

Answer 11

Two opposite ideas put together to achieve contrast. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Question 12

Antonomasia

Answer 12

A descriptive phrase replaces a person’s name.

Question 13

Aposiopesis

Answer 13

A sentence is deliberately broken off. The difference from ellipsis is that missing words in aposiopesis can’t be guessed from the context.

Question 14

Apostrophe

Answer 14

Addressing an absent person, inanimate object or abstraction. “Seven, you’re my favorite number.”

Question 15

Assonance

Answer 15

Repetition of initial vowel sounds. “The cat had a snack”.

Question 16

Asyndeton

Answer 16

Opposite of polysyndeton. Conjunctions are omitted. “I came. I saw. I conquered.”

Question 17

Auditory imagery

Answer 17

The use of words to describe sounds.

Question 18

Author-oriented approach

Answer 18

Analyzing the text with the author’s biography in mind and its subconscious influence on the text.

Question 19

Ballad

Answer 19

Traditional poetic form. Often set to music. Usually talk about the supernatural, love, courage and end tragically.

Question 20

Ballad stanza

Answer 20

Four lines. Second and last lines usually rhyme. 1st and 3rd lines have four stressed syllables, 2nd and 4th have three.

Question 21

Black comedy

Answer 21

Deals with tragic and distressing events in a humorous way.

Question 22

Blank verse

Answer 22

A verse that uses iambic pentameter. Without rhyme.

Question 23

Blue comedy

Answer 23

Similar to black comedy. It deals with taboo topics.

Question 24

Burlesque

Answer 24

A parody. An absurd exaggerated imitation of something.

Question 25

Caesura

Answer 25

A break between words within a line.

Question 26

Catalexis

Answer 26

Missing syllable at the beginning or end of a line.

Question 27

Chiasmus

Answer 27

Two sentences where the 2nd is the reversal of the 1st one. "Don't live to work, work to live."

Question 28

Consonance

Answer 28

Repetition of consonant sounds. "He struck a streak of bad luck."

Question 29

Cliche

Answer 29

A phrase or an opinion that is being overused.

Question 30

Climax

Answer 30

Events or sentences increasing in importance.

Question 31

Context-oriented approach

Answer 31

Examining the historical, political and social background to put the text into perspective.

Question 32

Dactyl

Answer 32

Metric foot. Stressed-unstressed-unstressed.

Question 33

Detective fiction

Answer 33

Subgenre of crime fiction. Example is Sherlock Holmes.

Question 34

Double entendre

Answer 34

An expression that can be understood in two ways, one of which is sexual.

Question 35

Dramatic monologue

Answer 35

A poem written in the form of a speech or narrative. The speakers reveals what they are like through speaking about a particular event.

Question 36

Elegy

Answer 36

A type of poem mourning the dead.

Question 37

Ellipsis

Answer 37

A simple omittance of words. They can be easily guessed from the context.

Question 38

Elliptical figures of speech

Answer 38

Figures of speech used to omit something (aposiopesis, ellipsis, paralipsis, asyndeton).

Question 39

Enjambement

Answer 39

The sentence continues without a pause into the next line.

Question 40

Epanalepsis

Answer 40

The same word/phrase repeats at the end of the sentence.

Question 41

Epic

Answer 41

A long poem. About heroic deeds and events. Usually include a muse. Supernatural imagery, elevated language and extensive descriptions of characters.

Question 42

Epiphora

Answer 42

Opposite of anaphora. Word/phrase repeated at the end of successive sentences.

Question 43

Epistolary novel

Answer 43

A novel written as a series of letters. Example is Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Question 44

Epithet

Answer 44

The adjective or phrase that expresses a quality of the person. "Alexander the Great" or "Ivan the Terrible".

Question 45

Epizeuxis

Answer 45

A word is immediately repeated for emphasis.