Literary Terms

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

A fictional work in which the characters represent ideas or concepts
Ex) “Mr. Wordly Wiseman”

Question 2

Allusion

Answer 2

Reference to another thing, idea, or person

Question 3

Analogy

Answer 3

Asks the reader to think about the correspondence or resemblance between two things that are essentially different

Question 4

Antithesis

Answer 4

An opposition or contrast of ideas that is often expressed in balanced phrases or clauses

Question 5

Apostrophe

Answer 5

When a character or a thing is elevated to such a high status that it appears godlike

Question 6

Elegy

Answer 6

Work of music, literature, dance, or art that expresses sorrow. Mourns the loss of something.

Question 7

Euphemism

Answer 7

A mild or pleasant sounding expression that substitutes for a harsh, indelicate, or simply a less pleasant idea
Ex) using “departed” rather than “dead”

Question 8

Hyperbole

Answer 8

Exaggeration used to emphasize

Question 9

Irony

Answer 9

When a situation produces an outcome that is the opposite of what is expected

Question 10

Alliteration

Answer 10

Repetition of constant sounds, usually at the beginning of words

Question 11

Litotes

Answer 11

A special form of understatement, where the surface denial serves, through ironic contrast, to reinforce underlying assertion.
Exs) “He’s no fool” means “He is wise” or “Not uncommon” means “frequent”

Question 12

Metaphor

Answer 12

Comparison without using like or as

Question 13

Metonymy

Answer 13

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it
Ex) “The Crown forbids grazing in the commons”

Question 14

Mood

Answer 14

The prevailing or dominant feeling of a work, scene, or event

Question 15

Oxymoron

Answer 15

Combines two contradictory words in one expression

Question 16

Onomatopoeia

Answer 16

An effect created by words that have sounds that reinforce their meaning

Question 17

Paradox

Answer 17

A seeming contradiction that in fact reveals some truth

Ex) “he lifted himself up by his bootstraps”

Question 18

Parallelism

Answer 18

Repetition of similar grammatical components

Question 19

Personification

Answer 19

Ideas or objects are described as having human qualities

Question 20

Rhetorical question

Answer 20

A question that is asked for the sake of argument

Question 21

Simile

Answer 21

Comparison using like or as

Question 22

Synecdoche

Answer 22

A form of a metaphor. A part of something used to signify the whole
Ex) “all hands on deck”

Question 23

Tone

Answer 23

AKA: attitude- the way the author presents a subject.

Ex) can be serious, scholarly, humorous, mournful or ironic

Question 24

Loose sentences

Answer 24

When a main clause comes first, followed by further dependent grammatical units. A loose sentence makes sense if brought to a close before the period.

Question 25

Periodic sentences

Answer 25

Has main clause at the end of the sentence with additional grammatical units leading up to the point. A periodic sentence does not make sense until the end.

Question 26

Anaphora

Answer 26

The use of a word referring to or replace a word used earlier in a sentence, to avoid repetition

Question 27

Aphorism

Answer 27

A statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner

Question 28

Asyndeton

Answer 28

Absence of conjunctions

Question 29

Inverted syntax

Answer 29

A reversal of normal word order

Ex) “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”

Question 30

Juxtaposition

Answer 30

Absence of conjunctions

Question 31

Polysyndeton

Answer 31

Lots of conjunctions