Literary Terms

Question 1

allegory

Answer 1

story, poem or picture that has a hidden meaning, typically moral or political.

Question 2

analogy

Answer 2

comparison between one thing and another, usually for explanation or clarification.

Question 3

archetype

Answer 3

a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art or mythology

Question 4

axiomatic

Answer 4

something that is self-evident and cannot be questioned

Question 5

brevitas

Answer 5

Use of a concise statement to say a lot more

Question 6

convention

Answer 6

defining characteristics of a genre

Question 7

dialect

Answer 7

form of language which is specific to a region or group

Question 8

diction

Answer 8

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Question 9

didactic

Answer 9

intended for instruction

Question 10

discourse markers

Answer 10

embedded phrases in text that show a change of direction - ‘anyway’, ‘so’, ‘the next thing’

Question 11

elision

Answer 11

omission of letter/s replaced by an apostrophe

Question 12

figurative language

Answer 12

language that does not mean exactly as it says, representing an object or idea using metaphors.

Question 13

idiom

Answer 13

a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the original words

Question 14

lexicon

Answer 14

specific vocabulary of a person or branch of knowledge

Question 15

litotes

Answer 15

understatement, where affirmative is expressed by negative ‘not bad at all’

Question 16

metafiction

Answer 16

author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality of a work

Question 17

metonym

Answer 17

word that denotes one thing but refers to a related thing Westminster = UK government

Question 18

palimpsest

Answer 18

a narrative overwritten with another

Question 19

polysyndeton

Answer 19

the use of several conjunctions in a row

Question 20

pun

Answer 20

exploiting the two meanings of a word

Question 21

register

Answer 21

variety of language used for particular purpose/social setting

Question 22

satire

Answer 22

humour that exposes foolishness and corruption

Question 23

style

Answer 23

the way the writer expresses themself

Question 24

syntax

Answer 24

rules that govern structure of sentences

Question 25

tone

Answer 25

author’s attitude towards their subject

Question 26

trope

Answer 26

recurring theme