Literary terms

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

• the expression through symbolic figures and actions of truths
• generalizations about human conduct or experience

ex: bunyan’s pilgrims progress here the characters are symbols and the moral has to be inferred

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of words

ex: the slipper slimy snake slithered slowly the s is the alliteration

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

a literary device which is a reference , without explicit identification to a well known or historical person , place , event , or to another literary work or passage.
- the author assumes the reader to have knowledge of the reference

Question 4

anachronism

Answer 4

the confusion of two different time periods in history
the false assignment of an event , person , scene, or language to a time when that even or thing was not in existence

W university in hamlet – hamlet takes place in twelfth century , yet WU was not established until 1502.

Question 5

anecdote

Answer 5

a short narrative about a particular person or event

Question 6

aside

Answer 6

where an actor speaks aloud for the benefit of the audience or another character
-the words spoken are not intended for the rest of the characters

Question 7

Bathos

Answer 7

the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style
insincere or overdone pathos
a sudden decent from the sublime to the ridiculous

Question 8

contrast

Answer 8

the clever use of opposites to point out the differences between two or more things
it was the best of times it was the worst of times

Question 9

Fate/coincidence

Answer 9

the power or agency supposed to determine the outcome of events

• destiny
• an accidental and remarkable occurrence of two events by chance with no apparent causal relationship

Question 10

foil

Answer 10

anything that serves as a contrast for something else
- usually a minor character in a play serves as a foil to a major character
macbeth , banquo is a foil to macbeth. witches prophecies , each man acts different manner

Question 11

foreshadowing

Answer 11

indication of what is to come

to indicate before hand and hint as to conclusion or future

Question 12

humour/ comic relief

Answer 12

word play , abuse of words

nimble repartee euphemism , satire

Question 13

irony

Answer 13

a humerous or sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the word used is the direct opposite of its usual sense

• a result that is opposite of what might be expected
• uses include sarcasm , satire , dramatic irony , irony of a situation , and verbal irony.

greet a tall friend with hi shorty

Question 14

Metaphor

Answer 14

a type of figurative language where there is an implied comparison between unlike object that have one point ( object or action) in common
- the words as or like are NOT used

his fingers clawed the ground.

Question 15

nemesis

Answer 15

just retirbution - the punishment received is fitting for the crime committed
-the retribution can be administered by any means: human , nature , circumstance

not evil just acted wrongly

Question 16

onomatopoeia

Answer 16

a writing device which designates a word , or a combination of words whose sound seems to resemble closely the sound it is stating
hiss , buzz , rattle

Question 17

oxymoron

Answer 17

juxtaposition of opposing words

bittersweet , loving hate , pretty ugly

Question 18

paradox

Answer 18

a statement which seems to make no sense on the surface but which reveals a deep significance when looked at more closely- it is seemingly contradictory yet true in fact.
i am 16 i am still young i am very very old , some sixteen year olds have had experiences that have made them older than their years would indicate

Question 19

parallelism

Answer 19

the recreation or repetition of events ( plot characters ) in drama to achieve rhetrocial effect

Question 20

pathetic fallacy

Answer 20

a device where by events or objects in nature exhibit the same or similar mood as the main character in the story is experiencing
tends to amplify the moment

” the clouds wept at my mothers funeral”

Question 21

Pathos

Answer 21

an element in experience or artistic expression evoking pity or compassion
a play filled with pathos arouses feeling in those who see it

Question 22

personifiction

Answer 22

a type of metaphor which gives personal charcteristics in inanimate objects or abstract ideas

Question 23

pun

Answer 23

the device of humour using the same word in different senses or using the words which sound the same but are spelt different

Question 24

rhestrocial question

Answer 24

a sentence in the form of a question which does not expect a reply
“ isnt it a shame?”

Question 25

satire

Answer 25

literary art of riduculing a subject by being critical with an eye to persuade the reader, through laughter, to reform the ills of human kind

Question 26

similie

Answer 26

a comparison between two distincly different things
indicicated by the word like or as
she was as carefree as a bird

Question 27

supernatural

Answer 27

an agency above or beyond the forces of nature

Question 28

understatement

Answer 28

a writing device ( opposite to hyperbole) which deliberatly represents something as much less in magnitude or importance than it really is or is ordinarily considered to be
“ to most citizens of LA the earth quake in1992 was just a little shake”

Question 29

hyperbole

Answer 29

a device which is a bold overstatement or extreme exaggeration of fact or possiblity