Literary Terms

Question 1

Protagonist

Answer 1

The central character

Question 2

Antagonist

Answer 2

The individual/force against which the protagonist struggle (see: conflict)

Question 3

Character

Answer 3

A person, place, animal, or object that influences (or is influenced by) the pot and that demonstrates a unique personality.)

Question 4

Plot

Answer 4

The events in a story

Question 5

Conflict

Answer 5

Struggle.

Person vs Person/Self/Nature/Society etc.

Question 6

Prose:

Answer 6

Writing that is not poetry.

Question 7

Blank Verse:

Answer 7

A verse without rhyme, esp. that which uses iambic pentameter.

Question 8

Aside:

Answer 8

When a character play directs something to the audience/self, that isn’t indented to be heard by other characters.

Question 9

Soliloquy:

Answer 9

A (usually lengthy) speech in which a character, alone on stage, expresses their thoughts aloud. Dramatic device used to display inner feelings to audience.

Question 10

Rhyming Couplet:

Answer 10

Two subsequent lines that rhyme.

Question 11

Sonnet:

Answer 11

A fourteen line lyric (emotional) poem that usually contrasts two things or ideas being examined by the poet and leads to a resolution. Different rhyming scheme depends on type of sonnet.

Question 12

Classical Allusion:

Answer 12

An unexplained reference to something well known, like mythology.

Question 13

Metaphor:

Answer 13

A comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them. Unlike a simile, does not use “like,” “as,” “then,” etc.

Question 14

Simile:

Answer 14

A comparison between two things using “like,” “as,” “then,” etc.

Question 15

Alliteration:

Answer 15

The repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word.

Question 16

Assonance:

Answer 16

The repetition of vowel sounds, but not consonants. (May be within words.)

Question 17

Consonance:

Answer 17

The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels. (May be within words.)

Question 18

Euphony/Cacophony:

Answer 18

Soothing, pleasant/harsh, discordant sounds.

Question 19

Pathos:

Answer 19

To arouse feelings of sympathy, pity.

Question 20

Aptonym:

Answer 20

When a person’s name is appropriate/suited to their occupation, personality, features, etc.

Question 21

Homophone

Answer 21

When two words sound the same but have different meanings.

Question 22

Onomatopoeia:

Answer 22

A word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning.

Question 23

Personification:

Answer 23

Giving human like qualities to a non-human object, animal, etc.

Question 24

Pun:

Answer 24

The humorous use of a word or phrase, often suggesting two or more meanings at the same time.

Question 25

Nemesis with three examples

Answer 25

Retributive justice: The punishment fits the crime.
1. Tantalus drank ambrosia, in Tartarus food and water would move away when he tried to reach for it.
2. Maenads were too wild, turned into trees.
3. Arachne claimed better weaver than Athena, turned into spider.
4.

Question 26

Hubris with three examples

Answer 26

Excessive pride, or the act of putting oneself equal to or above the Gods.

1. Tantalus was invited to share the food of gods, but shared ambrosia with other mortals; this made gods angry.
2. Niobe boasted that her 16 children were better then Leto’s. All of her children were killed and she died of sadness and turned into a rock.
3. Arachne said she could weave better than Athena.

Question 27

Metamorphosis with three examples

Answer 27

A change in physical state.

1. Zeus changes into a bull to charm Europa
2. Hera disguises as an old woman to dupe Zeus’s lover, and Dionysus’s mother, Semele.
3. Artemis transformed Actaeon into a deer when he saw her naked.
4. Athena turned Arachne into a spider.

Question 28

Myth:

Answer 28

A traditional story, often explaining natural/social phenomenon. Often concern supernatural beings (i.e. Greek Gods) or events. Commonly passed down through generations via storytelling.

Question 29

Theme:

Answer 29

The writer’s message communicated through literature.

Question 30

Foil:

Answer 30

A character who sets off another character by contrast

Question 31

Malapropism:

Answer 31

The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect.

Question 32

Epiphany:

Answer 32

Sudden realization, often life changing.

Question 33

Setting:

Answer 33

Time (era), place, situation in which a literary work takes place.

Question 34

Atmosphere:

Answer 34

The emotional feelings a work creates.

Question 35

Pathetic Fallacy

Answer 35

When the natural world reflects emotions/events in the human world. (i.e. rain at a funeral.)

Question 36

Dramatic Irony:

Answer 36

A reader or audience member perceives something that a character in the story does not.

Question 37

Situational Irony:

Answer 37

A situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended; result in a contrary outcome.

Question 38

Verbal Irony:

Answer 38

A writer or speaker says one thing and means something entirely different.

Question 39

Foreshadowing:

Answer 39

When writers give hints about what is going to happen.

Question 40

Point of View:

Answer 40

The vantage point from which a narrative is told.
First person: Objective, told from the perspective of a character using “I.”
Second person: Directed to a reader or audience. Uses “you.”
Third person: Told from the outside. Most common. Use “he,” “she,” etc.

Question 41

Tone:

Answer 41

The attitude a writer takes toward his/her subject, characters, and readers. Can amuse, anger, shock the reader.

Question 42

Mood:

Answer 42

Feeling created in a reader

Question 43

Imagery:

Answer 43

Words that appeal to the senses. (especially visual.)

Question 44

Suspense:

Answer 44

Tension in the reader.

Question 45

Legend:

Answer 45

A non-historical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition, often fables, or telling stories concerning lives of heroes, saints, etc.

Question 46

Juxtaposition:

Answer 46

Contras

Question 47

Hyperbole

Answer 47

Exaggeration for effect.

Question 48

Paradox

Answer 48

A statement that appears contradictory but contains truth.

Question 49

Synecdoche:

Answer 49

Using a part to represent the whole. (i.e. give me a hand.)

Question 50

Hero Pattern (11 steps)

Answer 50

• Noble Birth
• Disadvantaged youth
• Separated from home
• Has antagonists
• Has Helpers
• Goes on a long journey
• Has a romantic interest
• Has confrontation with powers of darkness
• Returns home
• Achieves kingship or superior place in community
• The good get rewarded and the evil get punished