literary terms

Question 0

preface or introduction; introduces play, foreshadows plot, and explains theme

Answer 0

prologue

Question 1

story acted out, usually on a stage, by actors and actresses who take the part of specific characters

Answer 1

drama

Question 2

literary work in which the central character meets an unhappy or disastrous end

Answer 2

tragedy

Question 3

included in drama to tell actors or directors how to move or deliver lines

Answer 3

stage directions

Question 4

conversation between two or people as a feature of a book, play, or movie

Answer 4

dialogue

Question 5

words spoken by a character in a play, usually in an undertone, not intended to be heard by other characters on stage

Answer 5

aside

Question 6

long uninterrupted speech that is spoken in the presence of other characters

Answer 6

monologue

Question 7

speech, usually lengthy, in which a character, alone on the stage, expresses his or her thoughts aloud

Answer 7

soliloquy

Question 8

humorous use of a word or phrase to suggest two or more meaning at the same time

Answer 8

pun

Question 9

reference in one work of literature to a person, place, or event in another work of literature or in history, art, or music

Answer 9

allusion

Question 10

comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them

Answer 10

metaphor

Question 11

comparison made between two dissimilar things through the use of specific word of comparison such as like, as, than, or resembles

Answer 11

simile

Question 12

extended comparison showing the similarities between two things

Answer 12

analogy

Question 13

character who setts off another character by contrast

Answer 13

character foil

Question 14

use hints of clues in a narrative to suggest what action is to come

Answer 14

foreshadowing

Question 15

kind of writing that holds up to ridicule or contempt that weaknesses and wrong doing of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general

Answer 15

satire

Question 16

placing two things side-by-side for the purpose of contrast in order to heighten differences between them

Answer 16

juxtaposition

Question 17

figure of speech in which an animal, an object, a natural force, or an idea is given personality, or described as if it were human

Answer 17

personification

Question 18

any object, person, place, or action that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, an attitude, beliefs, or value

Answer 18

symbol

Question 19

verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, where each line usually contains ten syllables and every other syllable is stressed

Answer 19

blank verse

Question 20

most common verse line in English poetry

Answer 20

iambic pentameter

Question 21

humorous scene, incident, or speech in the course of a serious fiction or drama; relieves dramatic tension or heightens impact through contrast

Answer 21

comic relief

Question 22

repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant clusters, in a group of words

Answer 22

alliteration

Question 23

two consecutive lime of poetry that rhyme

Answer 23

couplet

Question 24

the bringing together or two contradictory terms (wise fool, sad joy, cheerful pessimist)

Answer 24

oxymoron

Question 25

a 14-line poem, usually written in rhymes do iambic pentameter

Answer 25

sonnet