Literary Terms #3

Question 1

Periodic Sentence

Answer 1

Sentence that places the main idea or central complete thought at the end of the sentence, after all introductory elements- e.g. (Across the stream, beyond the clearing, from behind a fallen tree, the lion emerged,”

Question 2

Persona

Answer 2

A writer often adopts a fictional voice to tell a story. Persona or voice is usually determined by a combination of subject matter and audience.

Question 3

Personification

Answer 3

Figurative language in which inanimate objects, animals, ideas, or abstractions are endowed with human traits of human form

Question 4

Plot

Answer 4

System of actions represented in a dramatic or narrative work

Question 5

Point of View

Answer 5

The perspective from which a fictional or nonfictional story is told. First person, third person, third person omniscient points of view are commonly used.

Question 6

Protagonist

Answer 6

Chief character in a dramatic or narrative work, usually trying to accomplish some objective or working toward some goal

Question 7

Pun

Answer 7

A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings

Question 8

Red herring

Answer 8

Device through which a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue

Question 9

Repetition

Answer 9

Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity

Question 10

Rhetoric

Answer 10

Art effective communication, especially persuasive discourse. This focuses on the interrelationship of invention, agreement, and style in order to create disclosure

Question 11

Rhetorical Question

Answer 11

A question asked for rhetorical effect to emphasize a point; no response is expected

Question 12

Round Character

Answer 12

A character drawn with sufficient complexity to be able to surprise the reader without losing credibility

Question 13

Satire

Answer 13

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesnt simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.

Question 14

Sarcasm

Answer 14

A type of verbal irony in which, under the guise of praise, a caustic and bitter expression of strong and personal disapproval is given. This is personal, jeering, and intended to hurt

Question 15

Setting

Answer 15

Locale and period in which the action takes place

Question 16

Simile

Answer 16

A figurative comparison of two things, often dissimilar, using like or as

Question 17

Situational Irony

Answer 17

When the audience expects one outcome but gets another

Question 18

Soliloquy

Answer 18

When a character in a play speaks to his thoughts aloud- usually alone

Question 19

Stock Character

Answer 19

Conventional Character types that recur repeatedly in various literary genres. e.g. the wicked stepmother or prince charming

Question 20

Stream of Consciousness

Answer 20

Technique of writing that undertakes to reproduce the raw flow of consciousness, with the perceptions, thoughts, associations, and memories presented just as they occur without being tidied into grammatical sentences or given logical and narrative order.

Question 21

Style

Answer 21

The choices in diction, tone, and syntax that a writer makes, In combination they create a work’s manner of expression. Style is thought to be conscious and unconscious and may be altered to suit specific occasion. Often habitual and evolves over time.

Question 22

Symbol

Answer 22

A thing, event, or person that represents or stands for some idea or event. Symbols also simultaneously retain their own literal meanings. A figure of speech in which a concrete object is used to stand fro an abstract idea.

Question 23

Synecdoche

Answer 23

Part of something is used to stand for the whole. ex: “wheels” for cars

Question 24

Syntax

Answer 24

The arrangement of words as elements in a sentence to show their relationship

Question 25

Theme

Answer 25

A central idea of a work of fiction or nonfiction, revealed and developed in the course of a story or explored through argument

Question 26

Tone

Answer 26

A writer’s attitude toward his subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization of the sentences and global events