Literary Terms, Elements, And Poetic Devices

Question 0

Fiction

Answer 0

Works that contain imaginary elements, might be based on real world events but is shaped by the authors imagination, two main types- novels & short stories, 4 basic elements- character, setting plot & theme

Question 1

Genre

Answer 1

The distinct types that literary works are grouped into: 4main groups- fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry

Question 2

Non-fiction

Answer 2

Writing about real people, places and events, concentrated with factual info but the writer shapes the info according to their viewpoint, 2 ex- biography, autobiography

Question 3

Biography

Answer 3

Non-fiction where writer gives a factual account of someone’s life, written in 3rd person, could re-create past events and elaborate on some incidents

Question 4

Autobiography

Answer 4

A writers account of his/her life, conveys insight of writers past events from a different perspective, can be formal & informal, reveals writers character, attitude, motivation and understanding to the story

Question 5

Drama

Answer 5

Lit. where plot & characters are developed through dialogue & action (aka play form) performed on: stage, radio, films, tv, divided into acts with climaxes of their own, divided into scenes (limited to time & place) most 2-3 acts, some one act

Question 6

Myth

Answer 6

Traditional story passed through generations that explain why things happen, essentially religious/ present supernatural events & beings & articulate values/ beliefs of a culture group

Question 7

Setting

Answer 7

Time and place where the story occurs, ex: imaginary place, past, present and future, can include historical/ cultural context, a main element in fiction- plays a role in what happens and why

Question 8

Mood

Answer 8

Feelings or atmosphere the writer creates w/ connotation, imagery, figurative language, sound & rhyme, descriptive details

Question 9

Tone

Answer 9

Writers attitude towards his/her subject communicated through: diction, choice of details & direct statements, different from mood (emotional response of reader) tone is feeling of the writer, might want to read piece allowed to find tone

Question 10

Atmospher

Answer 10

Same as mood

Question 11

Plot

Answer 11

Sequence of actions & events Ina literary work, built around conflict, usually progresses through stages: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Question 12

Exposition

Answer 12

Provides important background info & introduces setting, character and conflict

Question 13

Rising Action

Answer 13

Conflict becomes more intense, suspense builds & main characters struggle to resolve their problems

Question 14

Climax

Answer 14

Turning point, outcome of conflict becomes clear,usually includes change in character or solution to the conflict

Question 15

Falling Action

Answer 15

Shows effects of the climax, suspense is over but the results of the cause of the climax are not fully worked out

Question 16

Resolution

Answer 16

(dénouement) often blends w/ falling action, reveals the final outcome of events & ties up loose ends

Question 17

Conflict

Answer 17

A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions

Question 18

External Conflict

Answer 18

A character struggles against some outside force: ex- other characters, society as a whole or some natural force

Question 19

Internal conflict

Answer 19

Struggle between opposing needs, desires or emotions within a single character

Question 20

Complication

Answer 20

Issues that develop to intensify the situation and the conflict

Question 21

Characters

Answer 21

An individual in a story or play, always has human traits even if it’s an animal, may also be god like

Question 22

Protagonist

Answer 22

The main character in fiction, drama, or narrative poetry, one we focus our attention to whose conflict sets the plot in motion, round and dynamic, change in an important wag by the end of the story, weakness usually creates the conflict

Question 23

Antagonist

Answer 23

Character or force that blocks the protagonist/ main character, usually human, sometimes will have supernatural powers

Question 24

Point of view

Answer 24

The vantage point from which a writer tells a story, 3 kimds

Question 25

First person

Answer 25

Narrator is the character of the story using pronoun I and does not reveal others thoughts or ideas, sometimes may not be objective, honest or perceptive, limits you to their experiences

Question 26

Third person limited

Answer 26

The narrator is outside the story but tells the story from the vantage point of only one character, narrator can enter the mind of the chosen character but cannot tell what the others are thinking except through observation

Question 27

Third person omniscient

Answer 27

(the “all knowing” point of view) the person telling the story knows everything that’s going on in the story, outside the story & can tell what everyone is thinking/feeling and what is happening everywhere

Question 28

Imagery

Answer 28

Language that appeals to the senses, most are visual, some are hearing, touch, taste, or smell

Question 29

Foreshadowing

Answer 29

The use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot, arouses the readers curiosity and builds suspense

Question 30

Symbols

Answer 30

Person, place, thing or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself, some are established symbols- ex. Dove is peace

Question 31

Irony

Answer 31

A contrast or discrepancy between expectations and reality, what something said and what it meant, what is expected and what happens, and what appears to be true and what is really true

Question 32

Verbal irony

Answer 32

Someone says one thing but means something different (often the opposite)

Question 33

Irony of situation

Answer 33

When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropiate

Question 34

Dramatic irony

Answer 34

Happens when the audience or the read knows something important that a character in the play or story doesn’t know

Question 35

Theme

Answer 35

The central idea or insight of a work of literature- not usually the same ad the subject, the idea the writer wishes to convey about that subject, different from mood

Question 36

Alliteration

Answer 36

The repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close to one another, sometimes at the beginning, can increase a poems rhyme or musical effect

Question 37

Allusion

Answer 37

Reference to a statement, person, place, event or thing that us known from literature, History, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science or popular culture

Question 38

Antithesis

Answer 38

A contrast of ideas expressed in a grammatically balanced statement

Question 39

Assonance

Answer 39

The repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences- ex. White high night, & proud, round, cloud

Question 40

Apostrophe

Answer 40

A prayer like figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, ex- love and liberty

Question 41

Epigram

Answer 41

A pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way

Question 42

Euphemism

Answer 42

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to someone unpleasant or embarrassing

Question 43

Hyperbole

Answer 43

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Question 44

Metaphor

Answer 44

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

Question 45

Mixed metaphor

Answer 45

A combination of two or more incompatible metaphors, which produces ridiculous effects, ex- this tower if strength will forge ahead

Question 46

Metonymy

Answer 46

A figure of speech in which one work or phrase is substituted for another which it it closely associated ex- white house for the government

Question 47

Oxymoron

Answer 47

Figure of speech in which apparently contradicting terms appear in conjunction ex- cruel kindness

Question 48

Onomatopoeia

Answer 48

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named ex- meow

Question 49

Paradox

Answer 49

A statement/proposition that despite sound reasoning from acceptable premises leads to be a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable or self contradictory

Question 50

Personification

Answer 50

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form

Question 51

Pun

Answer 51

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound a but like but have a different meaning

Question 52

Simile

Answer 52

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing is a different kind ex- as brave as a lion

Question 53

Synesthesia

Answer 53

A technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters, or places in such a manner that they appeal to mo that on senses like hearing, seeing, etc

Question 54

Understatement

Answer 54

The presentation of something as boring, smaller, worse of less important than it actually is

Question 55

Denotation

Answer 55

The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feeling or ideas that the word suggests

Question 56

Connotation

Answer 56

An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning