Literary Terms List 1

Question 1

Colloquial

Answer 1

Words or phrases that are used in everyday conversation or informal writing which are usually considered inappropriate for a formal essay

Question 2

Dialect

Answer 2

The version of a language spoken by people of a particular region or social group

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

A reference or mentioning of a person, place, event, or a literary work

Question 4

Symbol

Answer 4

Anything that stands for or represents something else beyond it, usually an idea conventionally associated with it

Question 5

Catalog

Answer 5

Long lists of related things, people, or events

Question 6

Alliteration

Answer 6

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are relatively close together

Question 7

Consonance

Answer 7

Antonym of cacophony; where the sounds in words have similar consonant sounds; also to be in accordance with sounds

Question 8

Elegy

Answer 8

An elaborately formal lyric poem lamenting the death of a friend or public figure, or serious reflection on a serious subject

Question 9

Gothic

Answer 9

An adjective in literary terms describing a story or poem as affected by mystery, horror, and the supernatural, often with haunted castles, secret passages, grisly visions/graphic scenes, and other facets used in tales of terror. Exotic and far away, isolated locals are often present

Question 10

Free Verse

Answer 10

Poetry written in unrhymed, unmetered verse, not to be confused with blank verse

Question 11

Metaphor

Answer 11

The most important and widespread figure of speech in which one thing, idea, or action is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing, idea or action, so as to suggest some common quality/qualities shared by the two (ex. “He is a pig”)

Question 12

Conceit

Answer 12

An unusually far-fetched or elaborate metaphor presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or feelings

Question 13

Extended Metaphor

Answer 13

*See metaphor

A long or drawn out figure of speech occurring throughout an entire work or for a long duration in the work

Question 14

Allegory

Answer 14

A narrative usually symbolic or an extended metaphor where the major characters or agents represent a second meaning (often the plot/characters/story are fictional but represent some part of society or reality)

Question 15

Figures of speech

Answer 15

Examples are metaphor, simile, personification, etc. where there are comparisons or statements are made where two different things are shown to have an added or special relationship that may no at first be apparent

Question 16

Personficiation

Answer 16

The technique by which animals, abstract ideas, or inanimate objects are referred to as if they were human

Question 17

Ambiguity

Answer 17

Use of vague or unclear expression; when uncertainty is present

Question 18

Simile

Answer 18

A comparison using like or as

Question 19

Conflict

Answer 19

A clash of actions, desires, ideas, or goals in the plot of a story. This term may exist between the main character and some other person or persons (man vs. man), between the main character and some external force -0 physical nature, society, or “fate” (man vs. nature), or between the main character and some destructive element in his own nature (man vs. self)

Question 20

Assonance

Answer 20

Repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words

Question 21

Atmosphere

Answer 21

What the audience experiences or feels while reading a text (Synonym of mood; sometimes loosely referred to as tone)

Question 22

Aphorism

Answer 22

A terse statement of a principle; maxim or adge

Question 23

Epitaph

Answer 23

An inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there

Question 24

Apostrophe

Answer 24

A rhetorical or poetic device where the speaker addresses a person who is dead or absent, or an inanimate object

Question 25

Analogy

Answer 25

A comparison of similar things, often to explain something unfamiliar with something familiar (often using a point to point ration; ex. dog is to cat as bark is to meow)

Question 26

Autobiography

Answer 26

An account of part or all of a person’s life written by that person

Question 27

Cadence

Answer 27

The rising and falling rhythm of speech, especiallly that of the balanced phrases in free verse or in prose. Also the fall or rise in pitch at the end of a phrase or sentence