Literary Terms

Question 1

soliloquy

Answer 1

a dramatic device in which a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud

Question 2

connotation

Answer 2

a meaning or association of a word that goes beyond its literal or dictionary definiton (childish vs youthful)

Question 3

simile

Answer 3

a direct comparison of dissimilar objects, usually using like or as

Question 4

diction

Answer 4

word choice to create a specific effect

Question 5

Hyperbole

Answer 5

Extreme exaggeration to add meaning

Question 6

motif

Answer 6

a recurring feature of a literary work that contributes to the theme

Question 7

tone

Answer 7

the author’s attitude toward the subject of a work.

Question 8

1st person POV

Answer 8

the narrator is a character in the story

Question 9

persona

Answer 9

the speaker or narrator of the text

Question 10

apostrophe ( not ‘ )

Answer 10

addressing someone or some abstraction that is not physically present (Referencing Death as a being or something)

Question 11

Theme

Answer 11

the underlaying maid idea of a literary work. a universal question, concept, or conflict explored by an author

Question 12

Situational irony

Answer 12

When there is a disparity between what is expected and what actually occurs

Question 13

Metonymy

Answer 13

using an object to embody a more general idea ( “crown” for royalty)

Question 14

Syntax

Answer 14

word order

Question 15

epiphany

Answer 15

a sudden moment of understanding that causes a character to change or to act in a certain way

Question 16

denotation

Answer 16

the dictionary definition of a word

Question 17

3rd person POV

Answer 17

the narrator is outside of the story

Question 18

enjambment

Answer 18

in poetry, the running over of a line or thought into the next verse

Question 19

aside

Answer 19

a dramatic device where a character makes a short speech intended for the audience but not heard by other characters on stage

Question 20

alliteration

Answer 20

repetition of the initial consonant sounds of words

Question 21

Dramatic Irony

Answer 21

When the reader or audience knows something a character does not

Question 22

Verbal Irony

Answer 22

When the speaker says one thing but means the opposite

Question 23

figurative language

Answer 23

language that represents one thing in terms of something dissimilar (category for other lit terms like comparisons or symbols)

Question 24

Allegory

Answer 24

A figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal

Question 25

caesura

Answer 25

a pause in a line of poetry

Question 26

anaphora

Answer 26

intentional repetition of beginning phrases/clauses

Question 27

elegy

Answer 27

a sad poem or song; a poem or song that expresses sorrow for someone who is dead

Question 28

synecdoche

Answer 28

using a part of a physical object to represent the whole object (Twenty eyes watched our every move)

Question 29

Metaphor

Answer 29

an implied comparison between dissimilar objects

Question 30

deus ex machina

Answer 30

describes an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot

Question 31

plot/story arc

Answer 31

the basic progress/outline of a narrative, name all five parts

Question 32

paradox

Answer 32

using contradiction in a manner that oddly makes sense on a deeper level

Question 33

setting

Answer 33

the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances where the action takes place

Question 34

personification

Answer 34

a figure of speech in which non-human things are given human personificatio

Question 35

dialect

Answer 35

a way of speaking in a particular place or by a particular group of people

Question 36

symbol/symbolism

Answer 36

An object, person, or place used to represent something else

Question 37

foil

Answer 37

a secondary character who contrasts a major character in order to highlight key traits or weaknesses of the major character

Question 38

anecdote

Answer 38

a brief story used to illustrate a point or claim

Question 39

Imagery

Answer 39

Language that appeals to the five senses

Question 40

epigraph

Answer 40

in literature, a phrase, quotation, or poem at the end of a work that establishes a theme or tone

Question 41

analogy

Answer 41

a comparison of two like objects suggesting if they are alike in certain respects, they well probably be alike in other ways as well

Question 42

allusion

Answer 42

a reference to something well known that exists in real life

Question 43

a dramatic device in which a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud

Answer 43

soliloquy

Question 44

a meaning or association of a word that goes beyond its literal or dictionary definiton (childish vs youthful)

Answer 44

connotation

Question 45

a direct comparison of dissimilar objects, usually using like or as

Answer 45

simile

Question 46

word choice to create a specific effect

Answer 46

diction