Literary Terms

Question 1

Tone

Answer 1

The attitude of the writer toward his or her subject. It may be stated or implied. It may be revealed by the author’s word choice and arrangement of ideas, events, and descriptions.

Question 2

Theme

Answer 2

The underlying meaning of a literary work. It may be stated or implied. It differs from the subject of a literary work in that it involves a statement or opinion about that subject. Not every literary work has one, and some literary works have more than one theme.

Question 3

syntax

Answer 3

The order or arrangement of words

Question 4

Symbol

Answer 4

Something concrete, such as an object, person, place, or happening, that stands for or represents something abstract such as an idea, a quality, a concept, or a condition

Question 5

simile

Answer 5

A figure of speech involving a direct comparison between two unlike things and using words such as like or as

Question 6

Rhyme

Answer 6

Words having the same sound in their stressed syllables. Its use may give pleasure to the ear, emphasize important words or lines, and unify parts of the poem or the whole poem

Question 7

Personification

Answer 7

A figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to nonhuman animals, objects, or ideas

Question 8

Mood

Answer 8

The atmosphere and feeling that a writer creates in a work through the choice of setting, imagery, details, descriptions, and other evocative words.

Question 9

Mixed metaphor

Answer 9

an inconsistent comparison

Question 10

Extended metaphor

Answer 10

A metaphor continued throughout a stanza, paragraph, or entire work

Question 11

Metaphor

Answer 11

a figure of speech that implies comparison between two fundamentally different things. The qualities of one are ascribed to the other.

Question 12

Lyric

Answer 12

A short poem expressing a basic, personal emotion such as grief, happiness, love, or melancholy.

Question 13

Dramatic Irony

Answer 13

When the reader or viewer is aware of something about which the character involved knows nothing

Question 14

Situational Irony

Answer 14

When things turn out contrary to what is expected

Question 15

Verbal Irony

Answer 15

A contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

Question 16

Imagery

Answer 16

The use of concrete details that appeal to the five senses. By appealing to a readier’s senses, a writer can more easily communicate an experience.

Question 17

hyperbole

Answer 17

A figure of speech using great exaggeration to emphasize strong feeling and to create a satiric, comic, or sentimental effect

Question 18

free verse

Answer 18

poetry that follows no set patterns of rhyme, meter, or line length

Question 19

Figurative language

Answer 19

the use of words outside their literal, or usual meanings. It is used to add beauty, increase vitality and impact, suggest associations and comparisons, and develop conciseness.

Question 20

diction

Answer 20

the author’s choice of words

Question 21

Consonance

Answer 21

The repetition of similar or identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds. It is often used instead of rhyme at the end of a line of poetry. It can stress important words and strengthen meaning through word association. It may add to the unity of sounds and sense in a poem.

Question 22

Blank Verse

Answer 22

Unrhymed poetry in iambic pentameter–ten syllable lines with five unstressed syllables alternating with five stressed syllables. An unstressed syllable begins the line. Poets who write in this type of poetry may vary the best within this basic structure.

Question 23

Assonance

Answer 23

The repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in stressed words or syllables. It can contribute to the meaning of a work, to its musical quality, and to its unity.

Question 24

trochaic parameter

Answer 24

stressed, then unstressed syllable

Question 25

Enjambment

Answer 25

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line

Question 26

caesura

Answer 26

a sudden stop in the middle of a line in a poem

Question 27

volta

Answer 27

turn in mood or content in poem

Question 28

italian sonnet

Answer 28

octave, sestet; in between, there is a shift in meanining and tone

Question 29

English (Shakespearean) Sonnet

Answer 29

3 quatrains and a concluding couplet

Question 30

iambic parameter

Answer 30

unstressed, then stressed syllable

Question 31

sonnet

Answer 31

a fixed form of 14 lines, normally iambic parameter, with a fixed rhyme scheme

Question 32

symbolism

Answer 32

when an author uses symbols to make a point

Question 33

symbol

Answer 33

something concrete, such as an object, person, place, or happening, that stands for or represents something abstract such as an idea, a quality, a concept, or a condition.
Anything that stands for or represents something else.

Question 34

paradox

Answer 34

an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless somehow true.
It may be either a situation or a statement.
It may be used for its shock value: its seeming impossibility startles the reader into attention and thus by the fact of its apparent absurity, it underscores the truth of what is being said
e.g.: to damn with faint praise

Question 35

onomatopoeia

Answer 35

the use of words whose sound suggests the sounds made by objects or activities
e.g.’s: clapping, quack, thumping, boom, flapping

Question 36

alliteration

Answer 36

the repetition of similar or identical sounds at the beginning of words or in accented syllables
it is used to create melody, establish mood, emphasize certain words, and point up similarities and contrasts

Question 37

allusion

Answer 37

a reference to a historical or literary figure or event.
It may allude to myth, religion, or to any other aspect of ancient or modern culture

Question 38

tone

Answer 38

the attitude of the writer toward his/her subject.
May be stated or implied
May be revealed by the author’s word choice or arrangement of ideas/events/descriptions

Question 39

connotation

Answer 39

the interpretations of a word beyond its literal definition
associations - (personal/universal)

Question 40

denotation

Answer 40

The literal meaning of the word; dictionary definition