Literary Terms & Devices

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

A story or poem in which the characters, setting, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities. Can be read for a literal meaning and on a second, symbolic meaning.

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

Repetition of the same sound in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word.

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

A brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature.

Question 4

Ambiguity

Answer 4

Use of language in which multiple meanings are possible. Ambiguity can be unintentional through insufficient focus on the part of the writer; in good writing, ambiguity is frequently intentional in the form of multiple connotative meanings, or situations in which either the connotative or the denotative meaning can be valid in a reading.

Question 5

Analogy

Answer 5

The comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. The key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so you can choose the correct second pair. Part to whole, opposites, results of are types of relationships you should find.

Question 6

Anaphora

Answer 6

regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses.

Question 7

Anecdote

Answer 7

A short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical.

Question 8

Anti-Hero

Answer 8

Protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the traditional qualities of a hero (e.g., honor, bravery, kindness, intelligence);

Question 9

Aside

Answer 9

A short passage directed to the audience but spoken in an undertone so that the other characters on stage do not hear.

Question 10

Assonance

Answer 10

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words.

Question 11

Catharsis

Answer 11

Meaning “purgation,” catharsis describes the release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy.

Question 12

Chiasmus

Answer 12

Figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of parallel clauses is reversed in the second.

Question 13

Consonance

Answer 13

The repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels.

Question 14

Connotation

Answer 14

Associations and implications that go beyond the written word.

Question 15

Couplet

Answer 15

Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter. A heroic couplet is a couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter.

Question 16

Deductive

Answer 16

Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. Sometimes this is informally called a “top-down” approach. We might begin with thinking up a theory about our topic of interest. We then narrow that down into more specific hypotheses that we can test. We narrow down even further when we collect observations to address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads us to be able to test the hypotheses with specific data – a confirmation (or not) of our original theories.

Question 17

Denotation

Answer 17

Dictionary definition of a word

Question 18

Epic

Answer 18

Long narrative poem: a lengthy narrative poem in elevated language celebrating the adventures and achievements of a legendary or traditional hero.

Question 19

Flashback

Answer 19

Scene that interrupts the normal chronological flow of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.

Question 20

Foreshadowing

Answer 20

Use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in the story, often used to build suspense or tension in a story.

Question 21

Hero

Answer 21

A character whose actions are inspiring or noble. Tragic heroes are noble and inspiring but have a fault or make a mistake which leads to their downfall.

Question 22

Hyperbole

Answer 22

Boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true.

Question 23

Imagery

Answer 23

Language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching.

Question 24

Inductive

Answer 24

Inductive reasoning works the other way, moving from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories. Informally, we sometimes call this a “bottom up” approach.

Question 25

Irony

Answer 25

Verbal irony is a figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite. Sarcasm is a strong form of verbal irony that is calculated to hurt someone through, for example, false praise.
Dramatic irony creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true. Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus the King, in which Oedipus searches for the person responsible for the plague that ravishes his city and ironically ends up hunting himself.
Situational irony exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens due to forces beyond human comprehension or control. The suicide of the seemingly successful main character in Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” is an example of situational irony.

Question 26

Lyric poem

Answer 26

A melodic poem that describes an object or emotion.

Question 27

Metaphor

Answer 27

A literary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike.

Question 28

Metonymy

Answer 28

A figure of speech in which some of an object, or idea is substituted (crown for “king”, sweat for “hard labour”).

Question 29

Narrative poem

Answer 29

A narrative poem tells a story in verse.

Question 30

Onomatopoeia

Answer 30

Use of words that imitate sounds.

Question 31

Paradox

Answer 31

Is a true, profound statement that initially appears seemingly untrue or self-contradictory.

Question 32

Parallelism

Answer 32

The deliberate arrangement of equally important ideas in similar grammatical constructions that mirror each other.

Question 33

Personification

Answer 33

A literary device in which human attributes are given to a non-human such as an animal, object, or concept.

Question 34

Pun

Answer 34

Usually humorous use of a word in a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound. It consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words or phrases for rhetorical effect.

Question 35

Realism

Answer 35

The literary practice of attempting to describe life and nature without idealization and with attention to detail

Question 36

Satire

Answer 36

Ridicule, irony, or sarcasm in speech or writing(or media) that ridicules people’s hypocrisy or foolishness.

Question 37

Setting

Answer 37

The time and place of the story or poem’s action, it helps to create the mood of the story.

Question 38

Simile

Answer 38

A literary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike, using the words “like” or “as.”

Question 39

Soliloquy

Answer 39

A long speech made by a character who is onstage alone and who reveals his/her private thoughts and feelings to the audience.

Question 40

Sonnet

Answer 40

A fixed form of lyric poetry that consists of fourteen lines, usually written in iambic pentameter.
The Italian sonnet (Petrarchan) is divided into an octave, which typically rhymes abbaabba, and a sestet, which may have varying rhyme schemes.
The English sonnet (Shakespearean) is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, which typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg.

Question 41

Stanza

Answer 41

A group of lines in a poem that are considered to be a unit. They function like paragraphs do in prose writing.

Question 42

Subplot

Answer 42

The secondary action of a story, complete and interesting in its own right, that reinforces or contrasts with the main plot. There may be more than one subplot, and sometimes as many as three, four, or even more, running through a piece of fiction. Subplots are generally either analogous to the main plot, thereby enhancing our understanding of it, or extraneous to the main plot, to provide relief.

Question 43

Syllogism

Answer 43

A form of deduction. An extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument.

Question 44

Symbol

Answer 44

Something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well.

Question 45

Theme

Answer 45

A central idea that runs throughout a piece of writing.

Question 46

Thesis

Answer 46

The organizing thought of an entire essay or piece of writing and which contains a subject and an opinion.

Question 47

Tone

Answer 47

The writer’s attitude toward the story, poem, characters, or audience. A writer’s tone may be formal or informal, friendly or anxious, personal, or arrogant.

Question 48

Understatement/Litotes

Answer 48

Literary device that says less than intended. Opposite of hyperbole. Usually has an ironic effect, and sometimes may be used for comic purposes.