Literary terms

Question 1

What is a motif?

Answer 1

A motif is a symbolic image or idea that appears frequently in a story. Motifs can be symbols, sounds, actions, ideas or words. Motifs strengthen a story by adding images and ideas that relate to the theme(s) of a narrative

Question 2

What is a symbol?

Answer 2

A symbol is any image or thing that stands for something else.

Question 3

What are the four sentence moods?

Answer 3

Imperative
Exclamatory
Interrogative
Declarative

Question 4

What is imperative sentence mood?

Answer 4

A command sentence - ‘sit down’, ‘be quiet’

Question 5

What is exclamatory sentence mood?

Answer 5

A sentence which ends with an exclamation mark

Question 6

What is interrogative sentence mood?

Answer 6

A question

Question 7

What is declarative sentence mood?

Answer 7

A statement - ‘The sky is blue’ - If you choose to analyse this, you must explain the EFFECT of the sentence being declarative e.g. It displays the character’s unwavering certainty

Question 8

What is foregrounding?

Answer 8

When a writer draws attention to a particular word, phrase or sentence by placing it early on in the text/sentence

Question 9

What is end-focusing?

Answer 9

When a writer chooses to place a word, phrase or sentence at the end of the text/sentence to achieve a particular effect.

Question 10

What is alliteration?

Answer 10

Repeated consonant sounds

Question 11

What is assonance?

Answer 11

Repeated vowel sounds

Question 12

What is asyndetic listing?

Answer 12

Listing without conjunctions but with commas

Question 13

What is syndetic listing?

Answer 13

Listing with conjunctions like and/or

Question 14

What is a noun?

Answer 14

A naming word, a ‘thing’

Question 15

What is a concrete noun?

Answer 15

A noun denoting a physical, material object rather than an abstract quality, state or action

Question 16

What is an abstract noun?

Answer 16

A noun denoting an abstract quality rather than a physical thing e.g. Happiness, sadness etc.

Question 17

What is a verb?

Answer 17

A doing word

Question 18

What is a modal verb?

Answer 18

An assisting verb

Question 19

What is an adverb?

Answer 19

A word which describes the verb

Question 20

What is an adjective?

Answer 20

A describing word

Question 21

What is a pre-modifying adjective?

Answer 21

An adjective before the noun e.g. the tall building

Question 22

What is a post-modifying adjective?

Answer 22

An adjective after the noun e.g. the class is loud

Question 23

What is a possessive pronoun?

Answer 23

A pronoun indicating possession, for example mine, yours

Question 24

What is a simile?

Answer 24

Comparing by using as or like

Question 25

What is a metaphor?

Answer 25

Comparing by saying something is something else

Question 26

What is personification?

Answer 26

Personification – (or Anthropomorphism), applying human characteristics to objects, Gods or things. i.e. the angry sea. (Zoomorphism is when you give humans (or other things) animal features, i.e. he growled with wolfish hunger).

Question 27

What is phonology?

Answer 27

The study of the sounds in language

Question 28

What is sibilance?

Answer 28

Repeated s sounds

Question 29

What is plosive phonology?

Answer 29

Harsh sounds ‘p’, ‘b’, ‘d’, and ‘t’ - e.g. Panicking policemen pushed.

Question 30

What is a euphemism?

Answer 30

A milder way of referring to something e.g. ‘they’re a bit of a character’, being ‘downsized’ instead of sacked

Question 31

What is a dysphemism?

Answer 31

A harsher way of referring to something e.g. The patient kicked the bucket

Question 32

What is juxtaposition?

Answer 32

Pairing of two things together/near each other to achieve an effect (different to antithesis as they don’t have to be opposites)

Question 33

What is antithesis?

Answer 33

The pairing of direct opposites near each other

Question 34

What is an oxymoron?

Answer 34

The pairing of opposites directly next to each other e.g. ‘bitter sweet’