Literary Terms and Devices Set 3

Question 1

euphemism

Answer 1

the substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensive

Question 2

imagery

Answer 2

vivid descriptive language that appeals to the five senses

Question 3

in medias res

Answer 3

beginning a narrative in a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events

Question 4

irony

Answer 4

the difference between the expected and actual result

Question 5

metaphor

Answer 5

a comparison (stated or implied) between two fundamentally unlike things to emphasize some shared quality

Question 6

metonymy

Answer 6

the substitution of one word or phrase for another with which it is closely associated

Question 7

narrative

Answer 7

recounting a sequence of events, usually in chronological order

Question 8

oxymoron

Answer 8

the use of incongruous or contradictory words side by side

Question 9

paradox

Answer 9

a statement that seems to contradict itself but reveals a truth

Question 10

prose

Answer 10

written language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure

Question 11

pun

Answer 11

a play on words that sound the same but have different meanings or on words with multiple meanings

Question 12

synecdoche

Answer 12

using a part to represent the whole

Question 13

theme

Answer 13

the universal meaning of a work (the “So What?”)

Question 14

understatement

Answer 14

deliberately making a situation seem less important or serious than it is