Literary terms

Question 1

Allusion

Answer 1

An indirect, but pointed or meaningful reference

Question 2

Antagonist

Answer 2

One who opposes and actively competes with another

Question 3

Couplet

Answer 3

Two successive rhyming lines in a verse that has the same meter to form a complete thought

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

A point by point comparison between two things that are alike

Question 5

Aside

Answer 5

A characters dialogue that cannot be heard by the other characters

Question 6

Blank Verse

Answer 6

An unrhyming verse written in iambic pentameter

Question 7

Characterization

Answer 7

The act of creating and describing characters

Question 8

Climax

Answer 8

The point of great intensity in any series or progression

Question 9

Personification

Answer 9

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to an object, animal, or idea

Question 10

Simile

Answer 10

Uses like or as the compare two unrelated things

Question 11

Situational irony

Answer 11

Contrast between what a reader/character expects and what actually happens

Question 12

Soliloquy

Answer 12

When a character speaks his or her thoughts out loud

Question 13

Foil

Answer 13

A character that contrasts with another character

Question 14

Verbal irony

Answer 14

When someone knowingly exaggerates or says one thing and means another

Question 15

Theme

Answer 15

The central idea of a work of literature

Question 16

Pun

Answer 16

A play on the sound of words to achieve a certain effect

Question 17

Symbol

Answer 17

Something that represents something else by association or resemblance

Question 18

Oxymoron

Answer 18

Two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect

Question 19

Protagonist

Answer 19

The leading character

Question 20

Conflict

Answer 20

The struggle between two opposing forces

Question 21

Diction

Answer 21

A writer’s choice of words for clarity, effectiveness, and precision